Bravely, my Vauxhall pulls us over the hills of southern Limburg. Just one and a half hours from my hometown of Breda, I find myself in another world just like that. Vast vineyards on rolling hills, picturesque landscapes and lovely villages where time seems to stand still. Sometimes I forget how close the feeling of being abroad in the Netherlands actually is.
Together with a friend, I am staying this weekend at bed & breakfast Hei 15 in Sint Geertruid, the tip of South Limburg. We turn into the car park behind an imposing farmhouse. Miles of pasture stretch out before us. Further on, a number of cows graze peacefully. The sun is shining brightly. I sniff the fresh air; the stress of everyday life seems miles away here. What a place this is.
Special stays in Limburg - From pigsty to bed & breakfast
Until a few years ago, Hei 15 was still a stable of the neighbouring farm. Owners Stefan and Julie were determined to share this rural spot on the Mescherhei with more people and they decided to convert part of the farm into a small-scale bed & breakfast. With Stefan's background as a farmer and Julie as an interior designer, Hei 15 has become a place where design and the outdoors come together flawlessly.
Nature as a source of inspiration - Conscious luxury
We spend the night here in 'conscious luxury'; sustainability is paramount. Fascinated, Stefan and Julie tell us how they have been implementing sustainability in the bed & breakfast from the very beginning.
When the former pigsty was converted to make space for Hei 15, all materials were reused as much as possible. The walls were then insulated with flax, a natural insulation material. All walls consist of several layers with deliberately more space left between them. This creates a natural ecosystem that keeps the temperature in the building pleasant at all times. To make the most of this ecosystem and not suffocate it, the walls were finished with natural plaster without glue residues and a layer of air-permeable paint. Super efficient!
The bed & breakfast runs partly on solar panels and partly on the energy of an ingenious woodchip stove where local farmers can also dispose of their waste wood. This makes the bed & breakfast completely energy-neutral. Finally, a tree is planted for every guest who comes to stay here. Hei 15 is the ultimate example of how sustainability and luxury can go hand in hand.
A small tour of Hei 15 - Meadows, Limburg flan and a greenhouse
Curious, we explore the garden. We pass a jeu de boule field, on the left we see the farm in full swing and on the terrace of Hei 15 there is a brazier for beautiful summer evenings. A selection of e-bikes and mountain bikes are available for hire, and if you feel like it, you can relax in the hot tub in the middle of the meadow. The greenhouse a little further on immediately catches our attention. Here you can sit covered in the meadow with views of the hills behind and the tip of Sint Pietersberg. One thing I know for sure: tonight I will drink my beer here.
Before we are taken to our room, we make a tour of the common area, consisting of a cosy living room. In the kitchen, you can grab coffee and tea all day, and self-service also applies to the Limburg flan I spot on the kitchen counter.
Hei 15 consists of seven unique rooms, some of which can also be booked as flats. Our room is cosy and a lot of attention has clearly been paid to the design. The use of colour is completely in sync with the nature that really feels close to everything at Hei 15. The brick wall opposite the bed hints at the time when this room was part of the stable. I plop down on the comfortable box spring and stare out of the huge window towards the meadow where the cows are still grazing contentedly. Relaxation has begun.
Coming home to the countryside - Hei 15: a surprising place
After a day of exploring the area around Maastricht, we settle down with a beer and a piece of flan in the greenhouse. The sun is slowly setting and the sky above the hills turns an exuberant pink and orange.
After having slept like a baby, Sunday morning at 9 o'clock there is a knock on the door for breakfast. Because of corona, breakfast is brought to the room, which actually feels quite luxurious. The extensive slow-food breakfast includes homemade jam and fruit juice, fresh rolls and more local produce. A particularly good start to the day.
When we later talk about the future of Hei 15, Stefan and Julie tell us they want to start a food forest around the bed & breakfast at the end of this year. The aim of this is to restore the soil so that healthy produce can grow and to close the gap between consumers and producers. Seeing and experiencing where your food comes from makes you feel more connected to it. Therefore, the food forest will become a kind of experience garden where guests can also harvest their own food.
Eventually - in about 7 years' time - there will be some 300 types of crops on the land around the bed & breakfast, a veritable treasure trove of products. Hei 15 continues to surprise us again and again this weekend.
5x seeing & doing just outside Maastricht - On the road around Hei 15
Stefan and Julie have a whole laundry list of tips for activities and sights in the area. We notice right away; a weekend is far too short! Fortunately, distances are not great and a bit of sightseeing in the South Limburg countryside is no punishment either. I can recommend these places in any case:
1. Hiking in the Savelsbos
From Hei 15 you look out over the Savelsbos, a special piece of nature in which a lot of history lies hidden. This is really a place you want to put on your walking shoes. We choose the 13-kilometre route that tells the history of the Savelsbos. The starting point is in the village of Gronsveld near Sint Geertruid.
The route starts off well with vast meadows at the foot of the forest through which our trail winds. Soon we come to some steeper slopes: the difference between the highest and lowest point in the Savels forest is as much as 75 metres. It takes some climbing, but it is well worth it as we are regularly treated to impressive views over the vast Meuse valley.
The route takes us past all kinds of entrances to the enormous corridor system that winds under the Savelsbos. At these prehistoric flint mines, gravel, marl and flint were once extracted from the ground. It feels rather mysterious, such an ivy-covered entrance to an unknown world under the forest. We shine our torch inside, but it is pitch-black. It is hard to realise how much history we are dealing with here.
These entrances in themselves are an exciting part of the walk, yet I remain curious. If there are excursions to the corridor system again, when coronagraphs relax, I will gladly join. A good excuse to come back in a while.
A little further on in the walk, we pass the Schone Grub. This is an elongated valley next to high moraines, once created by the erosion of meltwater. We stare open-mouthed at the natural beauty in the valley below. The slope is lined with a sea of the white flowers of badger garlic. The sun forms sun harps through the many trees that canopy the valley. It is a fairytale scene. With a full SD card, we continue our exploration of southern Limburg.
2. American War Cemetery Margraten
A little further on, at Margraten, we are again surprised by a special phenomenon. Here you will find the only American cemetery in the Netherlands where more than 8,000 soldiers are buried. All died during the liberation of the south-eastern Netherlands in World War II. The territory is therefore actually owned by America, a special tribute.
The park is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and if you are in the area, I would definitely recommend a visit. The sight of the countless white crosses sprawled across the area is nothing short of incredibly impressive.
3. Hiking at the Sint Pietersberg
For now, we keep our walking shoes on and drive to the Sint Pietersberg near Maastricht. Another place you can look out on from Hei 15, which makes us curious.
We start our walk at the bottom of Fort Sint Pieter, once a defensive work for the city of Maastricht. From the car park, we walk up a bit and before we know it, we are on the Plateau from where you have a remarkable view over Maastricht and its surroundings.
We choose the green route of over 4 kilometres that leads us all the way across the Plateau. Soon the ENCI quarry comes into view and we take a few minutes to take in this extraordinary area. At the bottom of the precipice we are standing on, an immense marl quarry stretches out before us. Until 2018, plenty of marl was mined here but today the ENCI quarry is a unique nature reserve. With the industry gone, nature can fully recover and all kinds of animals and plants that originally occurred here are returning.
The green route is wonderfully versatile and takes us not only around the ENCI quarry but also past limestone hills, the eagle owl valley and monuments such as Hoeve Lichtenburg. We spot an old defence tower in the courtyard of the farmstead, renamed a watchtower. From the top, you look out over the ENCI quarry on one side and over the valley by the Meuse river on the other. No shortage of fine views this weekend.
The last part of the route we walk over rolling hills with stately country houses. What a gem, this area!
4. Regional products shop Eyserhalte
Besides many a slice of Limburg flan, we also like to try some other local products. Regional produce shop Eyserhalte near Eys seems to be the place to be for this.
As soon as we enter the shop, the smell of various local cheeses is already wafting towards us. We marvel at fresh jams, sauces and other delicacies. In the wine department, we find a wide range of local wine, sourced from the vineyards around the corner. In the vegetable department, the harvest of several local farmers is displayed. A walhalla for the local produce lover, like myself.
After strolling around the shop for half an hour, we get back into the car with a full flavour pack of South Limburg.
5. Gulpener Brouwlokaal
Have you really been to Limburg if you haven't visited a single beer brewery? If you ask me, no. A good reason to drive towards Gulpen and visit the Gulpener Brouwlokaal.
This is the only brewery in the Netherlands that grows its own hops. In doing so, Gulpener decided to be the first in the industry to use only environmentally friendly grown raw materials and to set up a local partnership with farmers from the region. The brewery has two of its own water wells with which they generate energy in a sustainable way. Water left over after production is not flushed away but cleaned and reused. Finally, Gulpener creates workplaces in the company for people with a distance to the labour market. This place is all about positivity.
Normally, you can join various excursions in the brewery itself, but unfortunately this is not possible now due to the corona measures. We do, however, take a look around the shop, which is fortunately open. Here you will find all kinds of merchandise products and of course the tastiest Gulpener beers. So I can't resist taking a few bottles with me.
The weekend flies by. With photos, beers and cheeses as tangible memories and a collection of new experiences, we drive home again on Sunday evening. Amid the rolling hills of the South Limburg countryside, we felt like we were abroad this weekend. If you want to take a few days off to unwind and find some space, you don't have to go far away. Limburg and Hei 15 are perfect for leaving everyday life behind.
Have fun!
Love,
Laura
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