Drielandenpunt...It's A-Maze-ing!

St. Benedictus Abbey sits up on a hill near Vaals in The Netherlands. It was an impressive sight to see on our journey today, but it wasn't our destination. We were on our way to Drielandenpunt (Three Land Point). It's the point where Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands all meet. As soon as we arrived, we heard some wonderful music. It sounded a lot like an old Merry Go Round, but it turned out to be this nice gentleman and his hand cranked musical machine. After listening for a little bit, we took off to get a look around the park.

Drielandenpunt is a great place to spend the day if you love the outdoors. They have lots of fantastic hiking trails and outdoor cafes to keep you entertained. We checked out the map and got our priorities straight. First thing...

was lunch at the Taverne De Grenssteen. Not only does it have great food, it's really cool to just sit there and look around. We picked the perfect time to eat, too. By the time we had finished, it was starting to get very busy.

The restaurant had kind of a hunting lodge feel to it. (For some reason, though, I felt like someone was watching me while I ate.)

After a great lunch, we were ready for the real reason we decided to spend the afternoon here...the labyrinth! Drielandenpunt is home to the biggest hedge maze in all of Europe. The maze has three bridges that you have to go over to reach the center platform. It seems pretty simple, but once you get in there, it's easy to get confused.

That doesn't even take the water hazards into account. They add some fun to the mix. I'm sure that in the heat of summer, we would be jumping back and forth through the water, but it was a tad chilly today. There is a hidden sensor on the opposite side of each water hazard that you can use to turn it off temporarily, but someone has to be willing to get wet to reach it. Poor Russ took one for the team and jumped through the water first. Our hero!

Each time we reached a platform bridge, we would try to get our bearings before we started out again. The kids decided that they could do better without the old folks slowing them down, so they took off and left us. Silly kids. Don't they know that with age comes wisdom?

Russ and I were soon at the center platform. Hmmm. No kids. I guess I was right about that age and wisdom thing. (OK, I confess. We cheated. A Big Thank You to the nice Belgian couple who pointed us in the right direction and got us to the center.)

Who is that over there on that platform? Why, it's our lovely kids! Not only did they not reach the center, then ended up back at the first of the three platform and had to start all over again. Hee hee hee.

With a little encouragement (and a few hints), they made it over and we were all reunited once more. They had to brave the water hazard again that Russ had helped us through earlier. Notice the wet jeans? Once you make it to the center, they show you what chaos you went through to get there. We didn't realize it earlier, but there are hidden pictures in the maze. If you look closely, you can make out at least 3 different animal heads and an arrow. Very cool!

After relaxing for a little bit and enjoying the view, we were off through the exit and on to more fun.

They had a pretty little picnic area near the exit to the maze. I'm sure that a little later in the day, this place was packed. We were off to climb the tower, because I heard the view from the top is amazing!

It was well worth the climb! Check out this view! They were having some kind of bike race that went in a big circle around the park through Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands. If you look at the roads at the bottom, you can see some of them. They were everywhere, and you could see them far off into the distance.

Here's a look back at the hedge maze, restaurants, and playground. There was a great view in every direction from the top of the tower. After all that hard work climbing the tower, we treated ourselves to soft served ice cream cones. Don't you wish this was taste-o-vision? Just think of sweet vanilla with the consistency of whipped cream. Yep. It was that good.

These are the three markers that show Belgium, Germany, and The Netherlands all coming together. Those are some of the bike racers on the other side of the hedge. There were lots of them taking a break and having lunch at the park. Exhausted from exploring the hedge maze and climbing the observation tower, we soon decided to head for home.

Interestingly enough, the road home was also the trail of the bike race I've mentioned. Now I can say that I've taken part in an official International Bike Race! One more thing to mark off my strange and unusual To Do list. (We just won't mention the fact that I wasn't exactly on a bike at the time. That will just be our little secret.)