Visiting the three country point at Vaalserberg, where the countries of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands all meet.
This is a flashback post to 2012 when I set off on a journey that took me from London to South Korea, through all of Southeast Asia, across China, a prolonged sojourn in Central Asia and then overland, down through Africa and many other places before returning to the UK with just 20 USD to my name after an incredible 1423 days.
December 3, 2012, I said goodbye to Dad, took a bus to London and then the Eurostar to Brussels and a connecting train to Leuven.
I backpacked Leuven and Maastricht (stories to follow) and then took a bus to the border town of Vaals and set off immediately for the Three Country Point between Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, which is located on the summit of the Vaalserberg, the highest point in the Netherlands at 322.4 metres.
The point where the countries of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands all meet, and is known as the Drielandenpunt (“three country point”) in Dutch, Dreiländereck (“three country corner”) in German and also Trois Bornes (“three border stones”) in French.
In my research for this post, I note that as of 2020, there are 175 such points around the world, and this was the first of only 2 tripoints for me, the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia, being the other one.
I have also visited the sole quadripoint, between Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia when I walked across the Kazungula Bridge, though it is now widely accepted that it is actually 2 separate tripoints and not 1 quadripoint.
I am writing this from memory, 12 years after the event but having regained access to my photos stored on my WD Passport Hard Drive, the details are clear. It was a cold, drab day. Having taken the bus to Vaals, I had walked right up to the border in Vaals and then turned right.
I followed the road named Viergrenzenweg (Between 1830 and 1919, the summit was a quadripoint, also bordering Neutral Moresnet, which is now part of Belgium’s German-speaking area):
And then the footpath to the summit of the Vaalserberg, the highest point in the Netherlands:
I believe that visiting this unique point adds a bit of interest to those who are Chasing 193: The Quest to Visit Every Country in the World.
Three countries in 5 seconds (or less). Bam. Easy eh!.
The 9 countries bordering Germany are Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
The 4 countries bordering Belgium are France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands
There are just 2 countries that border the Netherlands: Belgium and Germany.
Three Country Point where Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands all meet:
After my little excursion, I walked to Aachen through the forest and took a train to Leverkusen.