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    Dutch vs German Christmas Markets (Valkenburg, Netherlands – Aachen, Germany 2024)



    Dutch vs German Christmas Markets (Valkenburg, Netherlands – Aachen, Germany 2024)

    We love traveling to Christmas markets all over Euroe each year! They all have their own distinct look, feel, and charm.

    Living in The Netherlands, we have been trying (for years) to schedule a visit to the famous Christmas Market in Valkenburg. These markets are literally UNDERGROUND in caves!

    We not only explore the Valkenburg cave Christmas markets, but also wandered around the town to see all that this southern Dutch city had to offer for Christmas.

    Later that day, we headed over the border to Aachen, Germany. In the old town center of Aachen, we found a large group of Christmas markets set upon beautiful backdrops of historical buildings and churches.

    The Germans get a lot of love for their winter/Christmas/Advent markets, and you can see why!

    Watch along as we enjoy the food, hot drinks, and festive spirit of Christmas markets in two different countries, in one day!

    #christmasmarket #christmasmarketeurope #germanchristmasmarket #valkenburg #aachen #dutchchristmasmarket #expatsinamsterdam #travelvlog #kerstmarkt

    ✼ Would be cool to see you over here ✼
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    ✼ ABOUT US ✼
    We are Nate and Katrina, two Americans living in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and traveling as much as we can to see what there is to see! Call us expats, immigrants, whatever… just call us already.

    We balance work life with travel… as best we can! We would love to visit every country in Europe while we live here, and definitely keep a list of our global “must visit” destinations.

    We try to give you a true view of us and how we travel and explore the world. Lots of food, definitely some jokes, and probably some swearing…. Hope you enjoy taking these trips with us!

    0:00 Intro
    1:18 Valkenburg Caves Christmas Market, The Netherlands
    7:24 Photo Booth in the cave
    9:17 Sweet Treats
    10:57 Out of the caves
    12:23 Valkenburg Santa’s Village
    13:09 Grillwurst Sausage
    14:41 Valkenburg Wrap Up
    15:15 Aachen, Germany Christmas Market
    16:08 More sausage
    17:12 Apple Pancake and Muzen
    19:36 Glühwein Time
    22:12 Giant Gingerbread Man
    23:32 Zimtsterne Cookies
    24:12 Glühwein and Hot Chocolate Wrap Up

    29 Comments

    2. @PH61a on

      Hey, my city of birth on the red glühwein cup: Roermond (13:15). Worth a visit too and if you like expensive shopping, there's also a huge designer outlet. Fact: Valkenburg is about 25 times smaller than Aachen. BTW: I really hate Christmas markets wherever they are.

    17. @Dutchbelg3 on

      The Achener Xmas market is huge. There is no comparison with the Dutch market. Dutch xmas markets are FAKE news. They are.. Achener Xmas market is the Biggest market. And we will let the Dutch build a wall on the border and Germany will pay for it! They will!!

    20. @corpi8784 on

      BTW there are different gingerbread variants in Germany.
      The most popular is probably the variant from Nürnberg.
      And those little stars are called Zimtsterne (cinnamon stars).
      Since you are/were in Aachen you should try the typical Aachen area variant-
      The Aachener Printen

    22. @maevajesse on

      As I said on Instagram, I went there two years ago really hyped because I had read that it was like the most awesome Christmas market of the Netherlands but I came back with really mixed feelings because yes the experience is different and it’s nicely decorated and the town is nice but the Christmas market itself is boring and not worth paying €10 two then pay again stuff inside and it’s just filled with crap you can find on the Internet. But I’m still glad I went to see what it is. Did you happen to stop by nice bierwinkel downtown? I brought back a couple of nice local beers (nothing to do with Hema’s beers 🤣🥲).

      Yeah, that cash thing😅 living in the Netherlands now I completely forgot that other countries still uses mostly cash so when I went to a German Christmas market last year, I bought some warm wool gloves because I needed some but I didn’t have cash. Fortunately, my German friend had some, because she’s German, so she saved me.

    24. @nordwestbeiwest1899 on

      Not only is it nicer in Germany, it also tastes better in Germany! The fact that cash is king in Germany is because Germans want to have control over their spending and the only way to achieve that is to pay in cash with hard currency!

    25. @lordgandalf22 on

      The Valkenburg cave was made when they started to dig up marl from the ground and they dug out a lot of marl and that's how the hallways where created in the mountain. Its amazing to see even when there isn't a Christmas market 😀 And there is hallway on hallway and yes you can get lost outside of the entrance part so yeah 😀 but tbh a lot of people go to Germany for the Christmas market. The dragon is a carving made by the miner there is a ton of those in the mines.

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