C A S T L E S C H A L O E N
Travels / V a l k e n b u r g
by Ruben Cress
Ruben Cress | Kasteel Schaloen
S u m m a r y
One of the sites I wanted to see was 'Kasteel Schaloen', a pretty cool, yet humble castle located near the 'Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial'. It was like 15 minutes apart from each other, so our time was well spent. Actually, we wanted to visit the cemetery, and I noticed a castle on the map as we were browsing our navigation and planning. You got to love efficiency (I sure do!).It was perfect for a quick stop. And it was indeed a quick stop. I just wanted to take a look around and take some photographs. I was a bit bummed about the working van you see in the first picture. It kind of disturbs the overall look of the image and it's not how I would like to portray the castle. Nonetheless, it was a nice experience to be able to wander around and get a taste of the history around Valkenburg.
Since I haven't taken that many photographs, and while we are speaking about history. I might as well share some cool things about what Valkenburg has to offer. Especially since the place shares a great deal of Dutch history. Besides a castle that we 'all' would like to see. Valkenburg also houses a -very accurate- replica of the Roman Catacombes, which was approved by the pope himself. Can't recall if the pope actually visited this place, or if he saw photographs of the replica. Either way, the Italians were quite impressed with the work of the Dutch people. And so were we: super impressed by the replica. It didn't feel like we were in the Netherlands while wandering these catacombs. For spoilers: check this.
But there is another history to these "catacombs", which has nothing to do with Italian history but is much more geographical orientated. I don't want to spoil too much, but during the time when bricks were made of clay, it was nearly impossible to create bricks without clay. Therefore, they found a softer yellow rock called "Marl" (Mergel in het Nederlands) and this specific type of rock was perfect to cut and create bricks with. 70% of the buildings were made of this rock, which was extraordinary since, as history shares, only the city's castle was made out of this marl. Fast forward, war, explosion, the people used the castle's debris to restore their homes. Which is quite incredible if you know the sizes of these bricks. These caves, or the quarry if you may call it, were used during the First and Second World Wars as well, by both the Germans and Dutch.
Ruben Cress | Kasteel Schaloen
Ruben Cress | Kasteel Schaloen
Ruben Cress | A lil'cutie posing at Kasteel Schaloen
Rich in history and good food
Valkenburg is quite rich in history. It isn't surprising that the town is a good attraction for many tourists that travel through the Netherlands. It is without a doubt that even the Dutch themselves will most likely learn something new after visiting Valkenburg. 
Ps: fun fact: Kasteel Schaloen is also made of Marl!
Cheers,
Ruben
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