Tuscany in the Mergelland

West - Expanses - Borders
A bike tour to the west means enjoying vast landscapes and encountering various borders. Along the way, we encounter old farmlands with villages and venerable farmsteads, as well as modern urban architectural accents. Challenging mountain stages are rewarded with expansive views and a floating descent into the valley.
After the impressive Super-C university building, whose shape one must mentally continue underground to form the letter C, we are greeted by Westpark with a wild history: The landscape park established in 1885 featured a zoo, a glass palace for 3,000 spectators, and a cycling track. The location of today's pond used to be the elephant house. Further west, the highest point in the Netherlands is to be conquered. The Aachen-Tongeren freight railway line simply takes the direct route and has been burrowing through the Botzelaer Tunnel over 870 meters through the ridge since 1872. At the ascent in a promising position, the Beeck tower watches over near the land trench, the green city wall of Aachen. For over 70 kilometers, an earth embankment with dense beech hedges encircled the city since the Middle Ages, securing the rural areas. The embankment and mature beech hedges can be glimpsed in the forest along the route passing the Three-Country Point.
At the tangle of borders and signs, tourist attractions beckon. Foremost is the Three-Country Border Stone, where Neutral Moresnet from 1816-1920 still constituted a fourth state. A bit further, the highest point in the Netherlands (322.3 m) is also adorned with border stones, and the two observation towers, Baudouin (B) and Wilhelmina (NL) named after their respective monarchs, compete for the best perspectives of the three countries.
After a relaxing descent through the Limburg Mergelland idyll with half-timbered farmhouses, passing by Kasteel Vaalsbroek, the Senserbach river takes on the border function of the land trench. Unperturbed, the mergel heights continue on the German side. At the top of the gently undulating plateau with a dreamy view, it quickly becomes clear that the chalk marl has produced fertile soils. To this day, impressive farms in Orsbach, Horbach, Vetschau, Uersfeld, and Laurensberg testify to their importance for the responsible authorities in Aachen and Jülich. Many buildings date back to the 16th/17th centuries, some even have older roots. The Nierstein farms or Burg Seffent have provided food supplies for Emperor Charlemagne.
In Orsbach at the furthest western tip, Burg Orsbach watches over the green city limits. After another border crossing, the chalk hills remain faithful to us. Beyond the highway, the German-Dutch industrial area of Avantis presents itself as a much-discussed border project. While the border connection with the chalk marl used to be white, as evidenced by many building stones and names like Schneeberg, the local coal deposits now form the black counterpart of similarities. The Wilsberg slag heap, now overgrown with greenery, serves as a relic of the German-Dutch coal history beyond the railway in Kohlscheid. Looking towards the neighbor, the Landgraafer slag heap rises, today transformed into a ski slope. Even the straight Aachen-Maastricht Chaussee once served for coal transport and welcomed passersby in Laurensberg at the customs house from 1775/80, where corresponding tolls were due.
On the way back to the center, the hospital with high-tech architecture from the 1980s and the recent building complexes Campus Melaten and Königshügel sprinkle modern elements like the ITC-Cubes into the rural neighborhood.
Highlights along the route:
Three-Country Point
Baudouin Tower (B), Wilhelmina Tower (NL)
Highest Point in the Netherlands (352.5m)
Seffent, Vetschau historical town centers
Wilsberg slag heap
Historic Old Town Aachen