Blogs from Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, Europe - page 4

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Europe » Germany » North Rhine-Westphalia » Aachen May 1st 2006

Too many people ask me what the heck has been going on...where am I, what am I up to, where am I gonna go next....anyway, I decided it might help a little to upload a few pic's of my current ....urghhh...I find it hard to call it home....so what am I gonna call it? That place where I spend most days and nights right now...(that is since May 06 till end of June 07)... It's not the worst looking place on earth. In fact it is quite picturesque. Just the weather....a bit more sun would be like easter and christmas at the same time! No snow this year yet so that's the good news. Last year I spent a few months here and for about 50% of my stay I was busy clearing snow. I'd be ... read more
And this is lovely little Rurberg
That view again
The terrace

Europe » Germany » North Rhine-Westphalia » Aachen December 4th 2005

Aachen isn't what you'd call a major Christmas market. It's certainly not "up there" with the likes of Cologne, Nuremberg, Stuttgart etc. Its main selling point (and the reason why we included it in our trip) is that it's on the Thalys/ICE route from Brussels to Cologne. As this was the fourth day of our six-day tour, we needed to start moving towards London, or we'd be faced with a jumbo return journey, and neither Jasmin nor I fancied that. This is how we found ourselves on the Thalys for the short hop (just 35 minutes!) from Cologne to Aachen, in the general direction of Brussels. Aachen has a typical German Weihnachtsmarkt that somewhat lacks the charm of Cologne's Christmas markets, but still seems to attract the crowds, particularly locals and visitors from Belgium and the ... read more
Four men-a-singing
Nobis cafe
Christmas ornaments in shop windows

Europe » Germany » North Rhine-Westphalia » Aachen October 31st 2005

I met my friend from KU, Chase Richards, in Aachen, Germany to explore this small city. Chase had informed me before that it was mainly a city of "historical interest", so I knew we were in for a good time. Aachen borders France and Germany, and like most border cities, both France and Germany have claimed possession of this city throughout most of history. The French name for it is Aix-la-Chappelle. Charlemagne is buried here, which is the attraction for most tourists. Besides that, however, it is just a beautiful little German city. I was happy to be in Germany (especially with my new tiny amount of language proficiency), and I was happy to be out of the big city for awhile. Especially on the train ride over - the leaves are changing colors in Belgium, ... read more
Side of the Charlemagne monument.
Charlemagne's tomb.
Another picture of the monument.

Europe » Germany » North Rhine-Westphalia » Aachen October 2nd 2005

Since we had hired a car for the weekend, we thought it would be great to swing by the historic city of Aachen, which was a principle city of Charlemagne. It is also one of the possible second semester cities for our program. We stopped by the city hall, Charlemagne’s cathedral, and the town center. After which, we all unanimously voted to spend our second semester elsewhere and were in the car within three hours of arriving! ... read more
Inside the Cathedral
City Hall

Europe » Germany » North Rhine-Westphalia » Aachen June 27th 2005

(Another day, another Mass....) Heilige Messe at Aachener Dom was fantastic. As a weekday morning Mass, it was small, sparsely attended (mostly by nuns, and at least one monk) and music-free. However, it was a great opportunity not only to see, but to experience the inside of this ancient church. I believe it's the oldest in Germany and one of the oldest in northern Europe. Out of respect, I did not take any photographs inside, not even after the service. It was very dark anyway and they wouldn't've turned out too well. There are a lot of nuns in Germany and Austria, by the way. Mostly older women (the vocation, like Masonry and Eastern Star and practically everything else, is in decline), but I've seen at least one young nun and at least one African nun. ... read more




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