Today we went to Liege, 40K from Aachen, about the same distance away amd along the banks of the same Meuse River as Maastricht, Holland. Liege is the third most populous province in Belgium after Brussels and Antwerp. When you enter the city, there are lovely old buildings, a palace, a cathedral, lots of shopping streets and other attractions, but the overall atmosphere is gray and dingy.
The main Teatro
The Palais de Justice
A reserved parking space along the perimeter of the Palais courtyard for a Deputy who obviously drives an electric car. But we know it's not aTesla, because you couldn't drive that car in such tiny narrow streets and garages.
The beautiful Cathedral.
Street scenes...
One of the longest continuous staircases, 400 steps, leading to the Citadel at the top which gives an amazing view of the city.
There is great ethnic diversity in Liege...
We came across a group of charming young student chefs out on a break, and they invited us in to see their Hotel School and possibly eat in their restaurant.
They try to keep up with fashion. Here is their version of Victoria's Secret, but it somehow doesn't measure up! Note the name!
And here's a window display of a faux fur jacket worn over a khaki shorts outfit...oh we'll, another good try!
And our last sight was the main railway station in Liege, one of the largest in the country. It was built in 2009, made of steel, glass, and white cement, really an amazing structure, and such a contrast to the rest of the city.
Remnants of history are alive and well all around Europe. On the way home we passed the old border control buildings between the two countries, now defunct and repurposed.
Here's the Belgian Customs Control...
And a few hundred yards along the road is the German one, behind the truck...
In the late afternoon, after a fun and relaxing sightseeing day in Liege, we returned to Aachen Heidi dropped us off in town so we could walk around on our own. Here are some more street scenes...we are getting to know and love this town, and feel very comfortable there.
It's a chocolate-crazy town.
They do have a sense of humor...
The day still wasn't over yet. We got home to another one of Heidi's beautiful, creative, and delicious dinners, this time shrimp with roasted veggies and a green cilantro-garlic sauce over rice...yummy!
The Harlings had invited another couple over after dinner to have some wine and conversation. This time it was Jo and Jeff, from Texas and the Bay Area in California. He's a long-time pilot for FedEx, she's a retired fitness and spin coach, and they are both avid long-distance bikers, and groupies of the 70's band Rush. They were charming and interesting with lots of different, entertaining and funny stories to share.
It was a very fun day, all around!
No comments:
Post a Comment