The Air Berlin flight was great, although the seats seem to be getting smaller and smaller. Here we are approaching the Dusseldorf Airport, aka "Drizzledorf" for self-explanatory reasons. Our dear friends Heidi and Frank Harling, who live in Aachen, got up at 5am to drive over an hour to meet us there...now that's true friendship!
On the way to their home we made a stop at their favorite bakery to get some croissants and sweets. There's Heidi in front of an enormous chocolate tower. Germans are chocolate crazy and chocolate shops abound.
We arrived at their home and Frank welcomed us into their new kitchen...
...and showed us their amazing terrace, when for much of the year they can enjoy indoor/outdoor living surrounded by Heidi's beautiful garden.
While we were having a mini-brunch that Heidi laid out, the doorbell rang. It was the 'egg lady' who came to make her weekly delivery of farm-fresh eggs. I asked her if she could deliver to Scarsdale!
After breakfast Marty and I were starting to feel a little woozy, and Frank and Heidi insisted that we take a 2-hour power nap before setting out for an afternoon introduction to Aachen....and they were right...now we were refreshed and ready to have our first tour. We drove a few minutes into the center of town and stopped first at the Aachen Carhedral, aka the 'Imperial' or 'Royal' Cathedral, the oldest Cathedral in Northern Europe, built during the Middle Ages and for almost 600 years was the church of coronations for 30 German kings and 12 queens.
This miniature replica of the Cathedral is just outside and is for blind people to feel what the structure looks like.
The main Town Hall Square.
Street scenes...
Preparing for October Fest.
Fancy gourmet chocolate stores everywhere.
Our requisite stop at the local Apple Store to confer on a problem and seek advice.
There are more than 30 thermal springs in the Aachen basin producing mineral-rich water at temperatures of up to 70 degrees centigrade (that's about 150 degrees Fahrenheit)! In all of Europe only the Czech Republic has hotter springs. The Romans knew of the healing power of Aachen's mineral thermal water and came here to recover from their battles. There are still some ruins from those times.
Today there are many healing spas in the area, and in the middle of Aachen there are several spouts of spring water coming from deep in the ground, and the smell of sulphur is overwhelming. When you touch the water it is amazingly warm... big surprise.
The main Teatro stands prominently in the center of town...
This is the charming old signature sign of a restaurant call the Postal Carriage which stands today, although the original restaurant is gone.
Nice first day with Heidi and Frank in Aachen, and we're still awake. Now it's back to their home for a delicious salmon dinner and to bed for the night. We feel SO COMFORTABLE with them...WE ARE FAMILY.
No comments:
Post a Comment