Trip to Aachen

The day after my Hilden-Gruiten hike, tired but still just about standing, I hopped on the Regionalexpress to the nearby (70km or 1h20ish by slow train) town of Aachen, to visit an old university friend who was serendipitously in town. Aachen is a town with a long and important history, the site of famous hot springs and baths since Roman times, and perhaps more significantly, the site of the court and last resting place of Emperor Charlemagne (Charles the Great).

It was a gorgeous spring day as we first took a stroll around the city centre. After looking at (and smelling the sulphur of) the baths, and getting some sausages (important german tourism), we visited the cathedral. The interior is very beautiful, and having partly been built before the medieval period, rather different from the gothic architecture of a lot of european cathedrals. The chapel is a round, tower-like building with columns of romanesque, round-topped windows and arches and faced in luxurious marble. Far back behind a cordon you could see the coffin of the emperor himself!

We then made a bus trip out of town to the nearby point where Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium meet. This triple point is situated on top of a 300m-ish high hill, making it the highest point in all of the Netherlands. There are a series of lookout towers and other entertainment facilities (like chips and icecream!), and some nice green grass to lie on and enjoy the weather. I was still flagging from my hike, so took the opportunity to lie around on the cool grass, checking out the 3 countries monument and the tower only after a good rest.

We returned to town as the day cooled off and the sun began to go down, the perfect weather to explore the other squares and vistas of the old town. I was somewhat taken aback at how *old* some of the buildings were. I was impressed by a shopfront of wonky stone from the 14th century, only to turn around and see the town hall, featuring a tower that was already built in the 8th century... After a little more time chilling in the quiet square in front of the town hall, it was time to go home for a good rest! Hope you enjoy my small selection of pictures from the former imperial capital!

Bis bald,

Der Tom