Riemst is a peaceful rural municipality in the south of Belgian Limburg, full of rolling hills, beautiful cycling and hiking routes and a few unique attractions. Surprisingly, the best sights in town are found underground. Trot Op! packed some cycling gear and went exploring for the weekend.
Have any of you ever deliberately been to Riemst? Come on, raise your imaginary hands. I’m guessing there might be a few among you, but it can’t possibly be an insurmountable number. Riemst is simply not the most famous place, and lies somewhat hidden between destinations such as Maastricht and Tongeren. “Unknown is unloved” we say in Belgium, and in this case that’s a shame because there’s plenty to visit and experience here. The landscapes for example, are marvellous. In Riemst you’ll cycle over endless country roads running from hamlet to hamlet over gentle hills and through vineyards and farmland. Avoid the few main roads and you’ll hardly see any cars. Startled birds will fly up from the grass as you pass by, some of them only spottable in a book as a city dweller. It’s a peaceful place that sometimes feels like stepping into a different world. I’ll back that up with a small anecdote. When I wanted to visit Vroenhoven Bridge on my first day in Riemst, I parked my expensive electric rental bike in a small parking lot nearby. Because I’m a massive fool I forgot to lock it before leaving. When I came trudging back hours later, it was still there, allowing me to continue my journey ashamed but unscathed. This would have never been the case back home in Antwerp.
Visit Riemst: the ultimate travel guide for a weekend in Limburg
Hiking and cycling are of course pleasant pastimes, but they won’t fill a whole travel guide by themselves. Fortunately Riemst has a few more unique assets on offer as well. For example: did you know Belgium’s largest and oldest wine estate can be found here? It comes with an impressive castle and you can book a guided tour. Moreover, did you know Belgium got pulled into the Second World War after the Germans invaded Riemst? The whole story can be uncovered in a local museum. For the most remarkable sight in town you’ll have to go underground. There’s a network of over 300 kilometres of dark corridors spread out under the streets and hovels. The Marl Caves of Riemst are a household name, and there are plenty of curious things to discover below ground: from rice pies and wine cellars to an underground wedding chapel, a whole lotta bats and even a real mosasaur. Fortunately it’s been dead for some time now, but it can still be visited. I of course explored the caves as well, and then visited every other hotspot in Riemst right after.
1. The Kanne Caves: mushroom picking in the dark
The Grotten van Kanne are most likely Riemst’s biggest attraction, although technically they’re not caves at all but rather stone quarries. They were chiselled out of the ground by hand for hundreds of years by so-called block breakers. The ceilings of the resulting hallways are meters high, the walls almost dead straight and the whole thing is more reminiscent of an Egyptian tomb or an alien base than your regular speleological marvel. In the past, the soft limestone that was mined here was used in all kinds of buildings, but the stone cutters have been gone for ages now. Nevertheless, the corridors are still used: as cellars for those living above (a number of old houses have their own entrance); as a depot for bakers and winegrowers and as a shelter during the war. Cave mushrooms have been grown in here for quite some time as well. Once this was a thriving industry, but when one of the largest plantations collapsed in the fifties, nearly all companies decided growing mushrooms above ground had its charm as well. Today Dirk Jackers – who gave me a personal tour – is the only one who still grows authentic cave mushrooms. Together with his faithful helper Jot, he picks several tons of them by hand every year. Because the temperature in the caves is 11C° all year round, the mushrooms grow slower, making the flesh firmer and the taste more pronounced. This makes Dirk’s cave mushrooms a sought-after delicacy. They’re sold all over the country and some local restaurants (see list below) put them in their dishes.
PS: The mushroom plantation can only be visited while on one of VZW De Grotten van Kanne’s guided tours. You’ll be part of a bigger group and you’ll see all the things I mentioned in the intro. Because I already went with Dirk, I didn’t book this tour myself.
2. The Zichen Marl Caves: hieroglyphics, cave art and sleepy bats
Kanne is not the only place in Riemst where you can venture underground. There’s a whole network of marl quarries under the houses in Zichen as well. This one looks completely different by the way, because everything here was excavated on a much smaller scale by the residents themselves. The atmosphere is even more reminiscent of the pyramids: the floor is sandy and the first thing you see when you come down the stairs is an Egyptian-looking sculpture and some undisclosed hieroglyphics (no coincidence by the way, because Belgian pop sensation K3 filmed its postmodern magnum opus “The Dance of the Pharaoh” here). I was shown around by Nicolas Kayeux. This is the grandson of the man who first opened the caves to the public and decorated them with his own wall art for decades after. Other local artists left their mark here as well, often with works picturing fragments of local history. Somewhere in this underground maze there’s even a clandestine altar. During the French occupation, this was used by a priest in hiding to secretly hold masses underground. Nature too seeks refuge here. If you look carefully, you can see a few dozed off – and due to the sudden light also probably pissed off – bats hiding in the cavities in the ceiling. Very pleasant tour, but you’ll have to make an appointment in advance.
3. Wijndomein Vlijtingen and Wijnkasteel Genoels-Elderen
The marl in the ground is not only pleasant for tunnel digging, it’s also the ideal soil for wines like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Wine Castle Genoels-Elderen is not only one of the most romantic settings in Riemst, it’s also the oldest and largest wine estate in Belgium.* From May to August they open their wine terrace, allowing you to enjoy a glass and a snack in the sun. Guided walks through the vineyards, the beautiful gardens and the cellars can also be booked. If you want a wine tasting on a smaller and more personal scale, you should go to Wijndomein Vlijtingen instead. This is a younger domain of four hectares, run by Herman Meers (who also does the guided tours). Eleven years ago, he started growing wine on the old family farm. Just like his colleagues from Genoels-Elderen, he produces dry white and sparkling wines of high quality. His bottles are maturing in the Kanne Caves by the way. You’ll see them on the tour.
*Wine Castle Genoels-Elderen only started producing wine in 1990. Belgian viticulture is still very young. Hooray for global warming (this once)!
4. Dairy goat farm Noelmans: milking goats as a vocation
Some people suddenly get blasted by the world of God, drop everything in their miserable earthly life and join the church as a pastor. For José Noelmans from the small town of Membruggen, it went the other way around. He was a parish priest, but after six years of holding masses, he decided to throw is chasuble over the hedge to take over the family farm. Twenty years later he’s happily married with four kids and a successful dairy goat farm. You can pass by the little shop and buy some artisanal goat cheese (made with his milk but not on the premises) or a scoop of goat’s milk ice cream (very tasty). Not in a rush? Go for a tour of the premises. You’ll see the milking installations and the stables, where about 500 goats hang out – including a whole bunch of tiny youngsters. José is an amiable guy and a great story teller, and he hasn’t abandoned his faith either. When he’s not farming, he teaches religion at the agricultural school.
5. The best nature walks in Riemst
As already eloquently put in my intro, there are plenty of pleasant walks to do in Riemst. These are all nicely indicated by coloured symbols on poles at every fork in the road, so you’ll have to be pretty dumb to actually find yourself lost. I walked the purple route (about eight kilometres) starting on the car park under the bridge spanning the canal in Kanne. It leads over the Caestert Plateau: a beautiful nature reserve partly in the Netherlands – you’ll occasionally hike across international borders. After just one kilometre you’ll leave civilisation behind to follow winding paths through a varied landscape of dense forests and swaying fields. There are remnants of the marl quarries here as well, including the somewhat sinister looking version of Hobbiton from Lord of the Rings on the main picture above. I personally didn’t meet any, but chances are you’ll cross paths with a heard of Mergelland sheep. These are tough animals, specifically released here to keep the grass in check without having to look after them too much. I had some rough luck with the weather during the day, so I only started my hike after dinner. This turned out to be quite nice. The setting sun made for some glorious light you simply won’t experience at noon.
6. Varied cycling tours in Riemst
Want to cover a bit more distance? Go for one of the many cycling routes instead. These were all mapped out using the well known “fietsknooppunten” (numbered poles, easy to follow) and vary greatly in terms of distance and theme. I took the “Agricultural Route”. It’s about 25 kilometres long and passes most of the municipality’s villages while you ride from point to point through the beautiful countryside. You’ll pass grain and barley fields, vineyards and fruit orchards, and can stop at leisure in a cute hovel every few miles to enjoy the landscape on some strategically placed benches. This route takes you past both the aforementioned goat farm and the Genoels-Elderen Wine Castle. If you’re looking for a bigger lunch, stop at the Waterburcht instead. This is a historic building surrounded by a moat and a temporary sheep pasture. There’s a great brasserie inside where you can try some cave mushroom dishes.
7. Learn about the war at Vroenhoven Bridge
In this part of Limburg, the King Albert Canal runs parallel to the Meuse and the Dutch border. In 1940, this then newly completed canal was the main barrier the Germans had to overcome if they wanted to invade Belgium. To do this, they had to take control of the bridges, which the Belgian army had filled with explosives and reinforced with anti-tank bunkers as a precaution. Vroenhoven Bridge had a bunker as well, and on 10 May a dozen Belgian soldiers were manning it, frustrated by countless false alarms, only to be attacked from behind anyway. Just before dawn, the Germans had dropped soldiers behind enemy lines using silent glider planes. The defenders were quickly overwhelmed and the bridges were taken before the could be blown up. Riemst suffered many casualties and villages such as Kanne and Vroenhoven emptied almost completely. Just over two weeks later, Hitler had taken the entire country. Today the bunker is still guarding the bridge, and you can visit a two-tiered* museum to discover the story of the German invasion, the battle for Riemst and daily life during the war. This is often quite poignant, especially looking at the wall full of names and pictures of the fallen – every tragedy becomes more personal when you put a face on it. None of the soldiers were older than me or even close to my age: barely any of them had reached thirty. It’s always the young fighting old people’s wars.
*The other part of the museum teaches you about inland shipping and the Albert Canal. Among other things, you can help guide a virtual ship through a lock.
8. Sleeping in Riemst: B&B Time-Out in Zussen
For my weekend in Riemst, I stayed in the beautiful B&B Time-Out in the cosy village of Zussen. The B&B is located right next to the town’s church and is run by Sisi and Marc. They are very hospitable people who’ll welcome you personally, making you feel like you’re staying at a friend’s house. A fresh rice pie from Patisserie Smets was waiting for me when I arrived (ripened in the caves as well), and in the morning there was a bag of bread rolls hanging from the door handle. B&B Time-Out has five “rooms” that are actually full apartments, able to accommodate an entire family. I slept in 5 o’ clock, which had two bedrooms (plus an extra bed), a pleasant dining and sitting area and a fully equipped kitchen. Nice extra touch was the oldskool arcade cabinet in the living room. On it you can play no less than 5,000 games, including just about all the classics you used to find in your average 90s arcade. Had plenty of fun with it the first evening, and unlike in the old days, I didn’t have to lose half my allowance to keep playing.
Extra information on Riemst
This article was created with the help of Visit Riemst. For all practical and tourist information about the destination, go to: www.visitriemst.be.
These restaurants have authentic cave mushrooms on the menu:
–De Waterburcht in Millen (see above).
–K-Kanne: hip place for lunch (no dinner).
–Opcanner Anker: nice restaurant in the Kanne Marina.
–Hild’Ice: ice cream parlour in Kanne offering great food as well.
Fancy a different Limburg trip? Read my stories on Hasselt and Genk, or discover the main nature reserves. Want to go somewhere else in Belgium? Read my posts on Koksijde, Gaume and Viroinval.
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