Art, culture, beer - the Rhine valley has it all

Nov 28 2006 By Nick Foley

NOT many weekend break destinations in off-beat corners of Europe can offer tourists the chance to sleep in NATO bunkers, cycle below sea level and admire Van Gogh paintings in the middle of a forest.

But in the Lower Rhine Valley, which stretches along the west German and southern Dutch border, all these things are possible.

The region, just a short Ryanair hop over the Channel, remains largely unknown to British tourists,but really does have something to offer to everyone - including the chance to explore two countries in one weekend.

Culture vultures,outdoor sports enthusiasts and beer connoisseurs are all well catered for in the Dutch/German borderlands,where the attitude to life is predictably laid-back and you're free to do as much or as little as you like.

The pretty town of Kevelaer,just a few miles from Wezze airport, in Germany,is an ideal place to start exploring the rich history of the area.

Between May and November the narrow cobbled streets of the town are flooded with 800,000 Christian pilgrims,who come from across the world to pray at the shrine for the Virgin Mary,"the comforter of the grieved".

Legend has it that in 1641, merchant Hendrick Busman heard a voice telling him to build a chapel each time he stopped on the road to Kevelaer.

He did as he was told and in doing so created the site of the second biggest pilgrimage in Europe after Lourdes.

Devout Christians still walk for three days and three nights to the town, but others arrive every summer on bicycles or in huge motorbike processions - in a saintly version of the Hell's Angels.

Kevelaer also boasts a fine array of independent shops,restaurants,bars and a fantastic bakery boasting more than 200 different types of bread.

The surrounding landscape is dotted with castles,monasteries and picture postcard windmills - making it difficult to know which side of the border you're actually in.

One of the region's most impressive historical sites is Castle Moyland, a fairytale baroque castle which boasts a moat and a modern art museum, in Bedburg-Hau.

Romantics can treat their lovers like royalty by renting out a bedroom in the beautiful landscaped gardens.

The hideaway, which is little more than a tiny chalet, is the only one in the grounds,so the castle and the gardens become your own private playground - at least for the night.

The cost of such luxury is a pauper-friendly 100 Euros a night, but does get booked up quickly by loved-up romeos.

After all the fresh air and history, the industrial city of Duisberg provides an ideal contrast for anyone looking for an urban refuge of shops, bars and clubs.

The city is in the midst of a huge regeneration project, which has seen former mills and factories turn into a huge stretch of trendy restaurants and watering holes along the Rhine.

But on our breakneck tour there's no time to linger and nurse our hangovers.Before long we're hurtling across to the Dutch side and to the tranquil heaths of the Hoge Veluwe national park.

The 14,000 acres of flat-as-a-pancake terrain make this a cycling heaven and visitors to the park can pick up a distinctive white bike for free and explore the area's wildlife and landscape.

The ever-flexible Dutch allow you to dump your bike whenever you get tired of the saddle,before riding off on someone else's when you're ready again.

And don't worry,you won't be accused of theft by an angry Dutch cyclist - it's part of the park's tradition and the cycle parks are full of bikes anyway.

With nearly half of the country under sea-level, cycling is not only popular but more or less compulsory in hill-free Holland.

Cyclists are treated as motorists' equals here,with thousands of miles of well-maintained cycle routes and dedicated parking facilities outside hotels, bars and restaurants.

The Dutch are proud of their history and land reclamation heritage.As our guide proudly boasts,"God made the world, but the Dutch made the Netherlands".

A further surprise lurks in the dense woodlands of the park in the form of the breathtaking Kroller-Muller Art Museum, something of a mecca for art lovers worldwide.

The glass-fronted building is home to the second largest collection of Van Goghs in the world, with nearly 100 of his paintings and 200 drawings - including The Night Cafe,Bridge At Arles,and The Potato Eaters.

Paintings by Picasso,Seurat, Braque,and Mondrian also wow the visitors,many of whom can't quite believe they are admiring these great artists in such a rural outpost.

Outside the museum lies another unexpected treasure as we stumble across the Beeldenpark, Europe's largest sculpture garden.

Despite the stellar quality of the art on offer,the museum and park are relatively quiet and the park's roads are thankfully not choked up with buses and cars.

It's an inspiring place to come and unwind, fall in love with Van Gogh and with the Dutch way of life.

In our short trip of contrasts, we next head to Overloon, the site of Operation Aintree,one of the forgotten battles of the Second World War.

The scars of war still hang heavy over many Dutch and German towns in the lower Rhine.

The National War Museum, in Overloon, which is located at the scene of the fierce battle,boasts a huge collection of original US military vehicles,equipment and aircraft.

The museum is set in a huge park, where part of the battleground has been preserved and German foxholes and British bunkers can still be seen.

Before flying off from Weeze airport,a former British army base,there's time to see one last curious piece of Cold War history from the region.

People who fancy somewhere a little different to stay can rent out a very nicely converted NATO bunker for the night - without worrying about any early morning drills.

It's been a three-day blur of culture,art, battlefields, wheat beers and warm hospitality.

But for me "zee tour is over", as our German guide says as he waves us off at the airport. They do have a sense of humour after all.

Travel FACTS

* Nick Foley visited the Lower Rhine as a guest of The Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions. He flew Stansted-Wezze by Ryanair. See www.ryanair.com. 

* He stayed in the Parkhotel Kevelaer (00 49 283 295 330); the Ferrotel Duisburg (00 49 203 287 085) and the Hotel De Bilderberg, Oosterbeek. Double rooms on B&B basis currently cost 85 Euros (£58); 86 Euros (£59) and 127.5 Euros (£89) respectively. 

* All trips and hotels (including the NATO bunkers) can be booked through the www.2-land.com website, a joint enterprise between the Dutch and German tourist boards. Call 00 49 216 2817 9333/4.