Solo Travel Netherlands: Three-Country Point, Old Huis Te Vraag Cemetery, & Museum Tot Zover 2024

Solo Travel Netherlands: Three-Country Point, Old Huis Te Vraag Cemetery, & Museum Tot Zover 2024

Sunday, June 23, 2024. I just drove from Germany and am now here in Amsterdam. For the record, the sign for the city is Amsterdam. That is because there are three diagonal crosses on the flag. Diagonal crosses are called Saint Andrew’s crosses. The places I visited are as follows: Number 1, Three Country Point. It is a spot where the borders of three countries meet in one, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Number 2, Aachen Cathedral. This cathedral in Germany is one of the oldest in Europe. Number 3, Concrete Village near Amsterdam. It started as an affordable housing area using cheap materials, mostly concrete. Number 4, Huis te Vraag Cemetery in Amsterdam. I like walking in old cemeteries, this one was abandoned in 1992. Unfortunately, it was closed. Number 5, Museum Tot Zover in Amsterdam. It is about how funerals are done around the world. I also explained how to park cheaply in Amsterdam. It is expensive to park on the streets, it costs €180 a day. That is $200 a day. Luckily, I got that down to €6 a day by using the Park and Ride. Enjoy the video. Good morning from Aachen. A little history of the city. It originated as a Celtic settlement, then the Romans colonized it around the 1st century. The first Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne, lived here. It so happens the highest point in Netherlands is here, near the three-country point. It is 322.5 meters high here or about 1,058 feet. Now I am in the Netherlands. Now I am in Germany. Now I am in Belgium. Three Country Point of Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. It is one of the 175 known tripoints around the world. Tripoints are where the boundaries of three countries intersect. At one point, there were four here. Between 1839 and 1920, it included the neutral territory of Moresnet. The street leading to the spot is still named Viergrenzenweg. Four Borders Way in Dutch. The Four Corners Monument in the United States is also a quadripoint. It is more common with states and counties, not international borders. Wilhelmina Towers. Named after the Dutch Queen who abdicated in 1948, it opened in 2011 with an observation deck on top. There is a view of the tripoint from up there. This tower replaced the one bombed in 1944 by the Nazis. The observation deck of the previous tower had a view of nearby Aachen, which was in the Reich, and the Nazis did not appreciate that. This sign informs the driver of the speed limits in Germany. It is 50 within city limits, 100 outside city limits, and an advisory speed limit of 130 kilometers an hour on the freeway. It is not legally binding so it essentially has no speed limit. Wow, a place to keep their bicycles secure. I see nobody using it. Everybody seems to prefer the free method nearby. Aachen Cathedral. Built around the year 800 under Charlemagne, the first Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, it is one of the oldest cathedrals in Europe. Charlemagne was buried here in the year 814. From the years 936 to 1531, it saw the coronation of thirty-one German kings and twelve queens. I did not think I would wind up exploring this city. I had planned to just spend the night and then continue to Amsterdam. Concrete Village. The area originated in the 1920s as an affordable housing area. Mostly concrete was used to bring the cost of materials down. Even though it is over 100 years old, the buildings look stylish. Huis te Vraag. It means House to Ask in Dutch. In 1486, an Austrian Emperor on the way to Amsterdam stopped at the inn. The owner of the inn used that as a marketing tool, and put up a sign, House to Ask. People began calling the inn the House to Ask and the name stuck. The inn was already gone for decades when the land was taken over by a private cemetery in 1891. The cemetery still carried the same name, House to Ask. Thirty years after the last burial in 1962, the private cemetery was abandoned in compliance with the law. As you can see, it was closed today. That sucks. Museum Tot Zover. The name translates to "So Far" in English. It is about how the various cultures around the world deal with death, including mourning rituals along with funerary practices. Christians believe bad people go to hell and good people go to heaven. Nearly all the other religions do too. That was how they got people to behave when there was no law and order. Vikings would put their dead on a boat and send it aflame in a lake. Mexicans think about their dead too, especially on Día de Muertos. It is believed that if the people above still remember the dead, they will continue living in the afterlife. I make it a point to remember my grandmother every Día de Muertos. She had a heart of gold. How to Park for €6 a Day. Parking outside on the street in central Amsterdam is €180 a day. That is $200 in American, and a tad out of my price range. To get that down to a mere €6 a day, I use the Park and Ride. There are around ten a little outside of central Amsterdam. To get that rate, I must park after 10:00 in the morning, and use the metro to the center and back, and keep the paper ticket as proof. Doing that reduces the parking rate to €6 a day for the first four days. Spending €24 is a lot better than spending €720. I like the Rokin subway station. It has stuff discovered from inside the ground during the excavation of the new subway line. Plans for tomorrow are as follows: Waterlooplein Market, the oldest Dutch flea market in Amsterdam. Amsterdam Museum about the city’s history. World War II Resistance Museum. Python Bridge in Amsterdam. A’DAM Lookout with an observation deck on top in Amsterdam. Xtracold Icebar Amsterdam. This video is the fourth of my 20-day vacation in Europe. Feel free to subscribe for the daily updates while I travel.

Sunday, June 23, 2024.

I just drove from Germany and am now here in Amsterdam. For the record, the sign for the city is Amsterdam. That is because there are three diagonal crosses on the flag. Diagonal crosses are called Saint Andrew’s crosses.

The places I visited are as follows.

Number 1, Three Country Point.

It is a spot where the borders of three countries meet in one, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Number 2, Aachen Cathedral.

This cathedral in Germany is one of the oldest in Europe.

Number 3, Concrete Village near Amsterdam.

It started as an affordable housing area using cheap materials, mostly concrete.

Number 4, Huis te Vraag Cemetery in Amsterdam.

I like walking in old cemeteries, this one was abandoned in 1992.

Unfortunately, it was closed.

Number 5, Museum Tot Zover in Amsterdam.

It is about how funerals are done around the world.

I also explained how to park cheaply in Amsterdam.

It is expensive to park on the streets, it costs €180 a day.

That is $200 a day.

Luckily, I got that down to €6 a day by using the Park and Ride.

Enjoy the video.

00:12 Summary of Today’s Travel in Video
02:02 Three Country Point, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands
02:54 Wilhelmina Towers, Vaals, Belgium
03:56 Aachen Cathedral, Aachen, Germany
04:44 Concrete Village, Betondorp, Amsterdam, Netherlands
05:14 Huis te Vraag Cemetery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
05:59 Museum Tot Zover (Until Now), Amsterdam, Netherlands
06:58 How to Park Cheap in Amsterdam
07:52 Plans for Tomorrow