Bocholtz, Vaals and Mechelen

A hilly landscape with beautiful stream valleys, steep slopes and a rich soil consisting of fertile loess, flint and limestone, that can only be in Limburg. Make sure your calves are greased, because the Vijlenerbos has extensive slopes and height differences of up to 100 meters around the three-country point. The tourist Vaals, located between the Sneeuwberg and the Vaalserberg, is characterized by the presence of the Three-Country Point: where the three borders of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany meet. A few meters away from the concrete monument that marks that special point is also the highest point of the Netherlands, which is 322.5 meters above NAP. Because Vaals is almost fused with the German city of Aachen, the village can also be seen as a suburb of it. More than a quarter of the inhabitants of Vaals have German nationality and in the village you hear a mixture of Limburgish and German. On the way you will pass the Onderste Molen in Mechelen, which grinds on the Geul. This beautiful water mill was used as a corn mill, but it was also used to generate electricity. The original mill was built in 1215 and was then called the Commandeursmolen. Later, after a restoration, the mill was renamed the' Onderste molen\\\'. The mill was made fully operational again in 2005 and is now run on a voluntary basis.