Field Trip to Aachen

The underclassmen are still testing, so what are the poor Seniors to do? Why spend the day in Aachen, Germany, of course. They couldn't have picked a more perfect day. The sun was shining and Spring was in the air. After soaking up a little culture, it was off to shopping and lunch at Pizza Hut. (It was their choice. They get European food all the time, so Pizza Hut is a real treat.) We arrived back at our pick up spot a little early, so the teens stretched out on the steps in this little park and soaked up the sun. I must admit, I'm kind of enjoying their week of half school almost as much as they are.

Aachen Christmas Market

From November 18 to December 23, Aachen is home to Winter Magic. That's the name of this years Christmas Market, and "magic" is a perfect choice. Aachen, Germany, hosts one of my top 5 European Christmas markets. Wooden stalls start in front of the historic City Hall, wind down narrow streets to the Cathedral, and then lead you back up the other side.

The only sad part of our visit to Aachen was seeing our faithful friend being loaded up and taken away. This statue used to stand just to the left of the Town Hall, but the he's had it pretty rough the last few years. He is showing more than a little wear and tear, so the city passed him over to a company who will repair him and find him another home. I'm sorry to say that it won't be in Aachen. He will be greatly missed.

All of the local stores were all dressed up in their holiday best, and were definitely in the Christmas Spirit. The window of the Printis shop never fails to impress.

We had a fantastic time exploring the city with friends, and making a few new ones along the way as well.

I might have even picked up a Christmas gift or two.

There was so much to see, eat and do that it was almost overwhelming. Almost.

We had a fantastic day in Aachen, and couldn't have chosen a better location to kick off our season of European Christmas marketing. Merry Christmas!

A Fantastic Day In Aachen, Germany

Aachen, Germany, is a quick drive from our home in Belgium, so I like to spend the day there every few months. It's a great place to wander around with a friend, so that's what I did today.

My favorite place to start is in front of the Rathaus (Town Hall). She's a beauty, and she's built on the foundation of the ruined palace of Charlemagne, Emperor of the Romans from 800 to 814. It's also a wonderful meeting place. You'll always find groups of people sitting at nearby cafes, relaxing and sipping coffee with their friends. As an added bonus, this is the site of the annual Aachen Christmas Market. Did I mention that this is one of my favorite spots in all of Aachen?

Charlemagne's statue is in front of the Town Hall. Charlemagne was the founding father of the French and German monarchies. He has been referred to at the "Father of Europe". I hope you'll remember me when you win the big bucks on Jeopardy. I'd like a bright blue Mustang, please. The car, not the horse. This is one of my other favorite places in Aachen. You can't visit without stopping by Starbucks and getting a cup of happiness. Thanks for taking my picture, Deb!

This is one of my new favorites. It's the Tee Gschwendner, a lovely tea shop beside the Town Hall. When you step inside, it's almost like walking into your Grandma's kitchen... full of warmth and wonderful aromas. This awesome lady was so patient and helpful. She gave us lots of tips and let us smell tons of different teas. I picked up a few things, including Aachener Printentee (Aachen's own personal brew), and some brown rock candy sugar crystals to sweeten it up. If you have a little free time, then step upstairs to find a wonderful and cozy tea room that spans several different floors. You can sip away while gazing out the windows at the square. Soon, we continued on our walk around the city.

As always, we stopped by the Oil and Vinegar shop to check out the goodies.

And then stopped by the fountain to play a little bit. All of the characters on the fountain are movable, so you can pose them however you want. It's always fun to watch the children playing with them. OK, maybe I like to play some, too.

A quick peek into the Nobis Printen store to admire (and smell) the gingerbread, and we were off again.

The florists on the street had lots of beautiful Fall goodies for sell today. The wreaths were so pretty.

And I'm always a sucker for fresh flowers. For less than $10, you would be, too!

And check out these crazy pumpkins for 1 euro each! I love it! Fall is such a fun and colorful season, isn't it? More gorgeous architecture to admire...

The Cathedral of Aachen became the first German building to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage list. I can't believe I haven't stepped inside for a tour yet. On my next visit. I promise.

This store was another great find. It's Vom Fass, and they sell everything from oil and vinegar to wine and hard liquor from all over the world. They even have stores in the US, so be sure to check out their site and see if there's one near you. These wooden kegs hold whiskey and other liquors.

This is a selection of their vinegar. Don't you just love these crocks? They have lots of interesting bottles, and you just pick out what you want. The salespeople do the rest. They'll even wrap it up all fancy if it's a gift.

I had to take a picture of these. On the left is Burke's Tequila Gold from Mexican, and it's 40%alcohol. On the right is Absinthe, and it's 70%. I can't imagine who could drink that stuff! You'd breathe flames and pass right out. Or maybe that's just me. I sampled a few wines, and they were terrific. I even came home with a bottle. In all, I had a super day in Aachen with a great friend. It was just what the doctor ordered.

Aachen Adventures...

Have you ever had one of those days? And you pretty much knew it was going to be one of those days, but you just couldn't stop yourself? Today was that day. A little while back, I'd asked Erika if she wanted to go to Aachen, Germany, with me today. At that point, I really hadn't thought about how tired I'd be after spending the previous day in Antwerp, and then heading to The Netherlands last night for a meeting about school sports. I debated it all night, and had pretty much decided not to go. Then morning came, and I changed my mind again. Even though I wasn't feeling it, I decided to keep the date and head over. This morning, before Russ left to go to work, he said "I wish you weren't going to Aachen today. I'm just not feeling it." Hmmm. Kind of eerie, but I didn't mention my earlier feelings and told him it was fine. Then Erika showed up and said she was ready to go, but she'd been having a really bad morning. "Everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong", she said. "It's like something is telling me that I shouldn't go to Aachen today." OK, now I'm starting to get worried. Does this mean something really bad is going to happen if I go to Aachen? Ugh. I'm not really that superstitious, but when it keeps slapping you in the face, you feel like you have to pay attention. There was some serious debate in the drive way, but we decided to risk it and take off. After an uneventful drive, we found ourselves in the city. We did some light shopping, picked up a snack, and decided to hit Starbucks and head home. On my way out of the store, I noticed a little girl and boy playing on the outside of the automatic doors. They kept slapping the doors and giggling. As I approached the doors, the boy slapped both hands on them. This was at the same time the doors slid open, trapping his little hand between the pieces of glass. I looked at him, he looked at me, then he looked at his hand that was now pinned between two pieces of glass and started to howl. Loudly. Then all heck broke loose. His Mom came running from the outside and started yanking on his arm. I started yanking on the door from the inside. The little girl started crying. Everyone was yelling. Or staring. Or both. Total chaos, until finally, his little hand popped free. The Mom and boy walked away. He was sniffling, but feeling better now that he wasn't trapped by in a door by a strange foreigner. I walked the other way, relieved that he was OK, feeling a little guilty that he got trapped, but also wondering what kind of mother lets her kid play with an automatic door. Seriously. Whew. Erika and I decided that we'd had enough excitement for the day, and headed on home. As we approached the border between Germany and The Netherlands, things slowed down a lot. Then even more. Eventually, we were traveling at a crawl. There was a police road block ahead, and they were checking papers. As we approach the Politie, I am doing a mental check list. No problem. I have my driver's license, passport, and ...crap. I don't have my International Driver's License. I'm going to be detained at the border. Strip searched. Fined. Locked in a German or Nederland jail for months, and all because I didn't bring the proper paperwork. And that's not the worst part. I'm going to have to listen to Russ tell me that he didn't want me to go to begin with. He didn't have a good feeling about this. I should have listened to my husband. UGH! Soon, we make it to the front of the line. We pull up to the Politie and...they waved us on through. What? That's it? Relief. I pick up speed and head on to the house. Home sweet home. I'm going to spend the rest of the day hiding in bed with a good book. And I will never....never....ever....leave the house again when I'm not feeling it. It's just too nerve racking. I don't think I can handle the strain.

It's Spring...

Well, maybe I'm jumping the gun a little bit on that one, but it's definitely warmer. The snow has melted, the temps have gone back into the 40's, and I'm one happy camper. Ahhhhh. (You have no idea how slippery cobblestones are when they are covered with ice and snow!) Besides, it's so much more tempting to hide indoors, sitting at the computer with a hot cup of coffee, when it's snowing outside. I'm ready for Spring. In the meantime, my friends and I decided to celebrate the warmer temps with a little day trip to Aachen, German. What does one do in Aachen, you ask? Well, go for a sushi lunch, of course. Isn't that what everyone goes to Germany for? Actually, I'm told that the BEST place around here for sushi is in Eindhoven, but they weren't open for lunch, so...off to Aachen. It was a great day, full of lots of laughs. Aachen is one of those cities that you just love to walk around and admire. This is the Cathedral. One of these days, when it's a little warmer, I'm going to take the family here and we are going to check out the inside of this beauty. This is the time of year when I start making out my list of things that I REALLY want to see. I told the family to enjoy these lazy winter weekends, because when Spring arrives, we are on the road again. I can't wait. I've already started marking things down. Let's see...there's Paris, London, Brugges (this time it will be warm enough to really check it out!), Bastogne, Cochem Castle in Germany...the list goes on and on. This is going to be a great Spring and Summer. I can just feel it!

The Aachen Christmas Market

My friends and I headed out to Aachen, Germany, this morning to check out their Christmas Market. It was a little chilly and overcast, so we made a quick pit stop at the local Starbucks. Mmmmmm. Toffee Nut Lattes. It's hard to tell from this picture, but the mugs were HUGE! All warmed up and boosted by caffeine, we headed out to explore the market. It was a blast! They had little wooden stalls all around the city center, and each one contained a different surprise. They sold everything from jewelry and clothing, to candles and Christmas decorations.

There were lots of food booths all over the Market. This one had sausages that were at least 2 feet long! The window of the Nobis Bakery is always bright and cheerful. This is the place that I bought those Hedgehog Gingerbread cookies on my last trip to Aachen. I didn't pick up any on this trip. It will give me an excuse to return soon.

This booth had some beautiful little houses. I can see why lots of people collect these. They were VERY tempting!This is a large pancake, filled with fresh apple slices. It was fantastic! We also had some delicious deep fried potato patties that were served with different sauces. We chose one that tasted a lot like Ranch dip. YUM! Here are the ladies from Team Van! Erika, Melissa and I are totally rocking the red (cranberry) hat look! Denise couldn't make this trip, so that is her honorary hat. This way, she is still included in the fun. Yes, we did get some funny looks as we strolled around the market, styling our new matching hats. I'm good with that.

I think one of the things that made this market so much fun, was the backdrop of beautiful and historic buildings. This is a beautiful city, no matter what time of year you visit. Too soon, it was time to head back to Belgium and greet the kids as they got off their buses.

I did pick up a few fun Christmas items. Here are a couple of things that I got...I couldn't resist the Hoody Santa's. Erika picked up some of these from this market on her last trip, and this was one of the reasons I wanted to visit there. I think he is just too cute. I couldn't resist the owl either. I figured he was great, because he could hang out long after Christmas is gone. I picked up Mr. and Mrs. Clause at a little shop in Belgium on the way home. They were too cute to resist as well. I got a few more items, but they are Christmas surprises, so you'll just have to imagine how cute they are. Another fun day on my European vacation, um...I mean...another day supporting my hard working husband as he fulfills his duties...aw, heck. These are your tax dollars at work, people. Such is life. I do appreciate it.

Aachen, Germany

Well slap me silly and call me an international traveler! Today we decided to check out Aachen, Germany, and that means traveling though three different countries. I know! Three! Of course, that sounds a little more impressive than it actually is. We are situated on the very edge of Belgium, right beside the thinnest part of the Netherlands, so the entire trip took less an hour and a half. Still, it was a fantastic day, and my first trip into Germany.

I don't care how mature you say you are, I know for a fact that you giggled as soon as you read this sign. Ausfahrt is the German word for Exit. (I'm still giggling.)We followed Tom's advice, and he directed us to the center of Aachen. We were in luck, and they were having a big market in the town square today. Even with the rain, it was very popular with locals and tourists. This is Aachen Rathaus, or City Hall. The pictures don't do it justice, because it was absolutely beautiful. The details were amazing. Figures of emperors and kings that were crowned in Aachen are carved into the front of the building. Here is another view of the square, complete with market. The little street that is between the tan building in the center of the picture and the orange building, is the oldest street in Aachen.

I loved these gargoyles. I thought they were fantastic, but the family voted me out. How cool would one of these looked peeking down from the stairway of the house? The tough part would be choosing which one to get.

This is Charlemagne with scepter, orb and crown. He is the founding father of French and German monarchies, and is known as the "Father of Europe." (That's your mini history lesson, now back to fun.)

This fountain was down one of the alleys. It is very cool to look at, but even more fun once you really check it out. It's movable. All of the joints on the characters can be moved, so you can pose them any way you like. I think the adults enjoyed playing with it even more than the kids!

This is the Aachen Cathedral, also known as the Imperial Cathedral. It's the oldest Cathedral in northern Europe. When Charlemagne died in 814, he was buried in the vault of this cathedral. Here is a close up of the walls of the cathedral. Wow!There were so many great little shops along the little alley ways. This one is called Nobis and sold the most delicious gingerbread cookies. I couldn't resist the little hedgehog. I had to stop in and pick up a few things.

I had to back track a little bit to check out the shop called Oil and Vinegar. Bet you can't guess what they sell. OK, maybe you can. They have lots and lots of very interesting oils and vinegar (duh!) from all over Europe. Some are ready to sell, but lots others are in large bottles in the back, and there are samples out for you to try. Pick the ones you want, and they will pour some into smaller bottles for you to purchase. They had other goodies there, too, like pesto. Yum. Sorry, I was so caught up in the moment that I didn't get any pictures in there. This was a beautiful building that we saw on our way out of town. It appears to be part of an old castle.
You know I wouldn't get out of town without buying some goodies, so here they are. I had to have some oil, vinegar, and pesto. I also couldn't resist the mortar. (I've always wanted one of those. Don't ask why, because I just do!) I bought butter cookies for Brandon, and gingerbread cookies for the rest of us. The little bag has small gingerbread cookies covered with white frosting or dark chocolate frosting. Yum! I had to get a hedgehog, too, but I don't know if I can bring myself to eat him. Well, maybe I can. He smells great! Real German gingerbread isn't like what you get in the states, it thick and chewy and tastes soooo good. It's too bad computers aren't scratch and sniff! I'm off to eat some more cookies. If you hurry over, you might get a bite yourself. Maybe not.