Sights of Aachen
The Aachen Cathedral at dusk around 2045.
It’s one of two very famous landmarks here in Aachen, besides the city hall which is situated directly opposite of it. You wouldn’t miss them if you’re in the right place. It’s that big that it will definitely catch your attention and your camera’s.
And mine certainly did.
Last week, I was lucky enough to join a customized, short guided tour around Aachen. 2 hours of walk and 10 euros didn’t come to a waste. At least now I know a little history of the place that I will be until next year.
The cathedral was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. It was built around 800 AD by Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, and is the oldest cathedral in northern Europe.
The name Charlemagne is pretty much synonymous with Aachen. There are events named after him, his statues etched at important places and he was buried here when he died in 814 AD.
If you have a good look at the structure, there are 3 different types of architecture there. All these 3 are built in different centuries. It started out with the structure in the middle, initially called the Palatine Chapel.
From 936 to 1531, it was the church of coronation of 30 German kings and emperors. Charlemagne’s throne was used for these coronations.
600 years later in 1414, on Charlemagne 600th death anniversary, they expanded the structure by building a 2 part glass chapel on both sides on the Palatine Chapel.
And it has since been called the Aachen Cathedral then.
Wait. Did I not say that the Aachen Cathedral and the Aachen Town Hall used to form what they call Palace of Aachen? It was a collection of residential, political and religious buildings used by Charlemagne as the center of power of his Carolingian Empire.
But today, most of the palace has been destroyed and only the cathedral and town hall are still standing, facing each other. (The photo of the cathedral was taken from the place where the tourists are standing in the photo above)
Luxembourg City!
That’s the Adolphe Bridge in Luxembourg City.
I must say Luxembourg is such a beautiful country, at least it’s city for it’s small size compared to other European countries.
My first reaction when I was there was, Wow! Simply beautiful.
The city center sits on top of a cliff that drops into narrow valleys that has 2 rivers passing through them. The cliffs are about 70-80m in height which makes the whole city landscape such a beautiful sight. There are several bridges built across the valleys for pedestrians, trains and cars and they’re visible from almost all angles.
Put all these great landscapes together with a bright sunny, blue sky, cloud free day, it makes photography even more exciting for this beautiful city.
The 4.5 hours journey from where I am to Luxembourg was very much worth it. Took the earliest bus here at 7am to the Belgian border town of Eupen and then boarded the train straight to Luxembourg. As it was only a day trip, there wasn’t much time left to explore the city, otherwise we won’t get to catch the last train and bus back to Germany.
So, 6 hours wasn’t really that much. It was just enough. But for some people, it’s more than enough. Not for me because I love taking photos.
Here’s more of Luxembourg’s photos.
I just saw that it actually snows in Luxembourg and I’ll definitely be back there when it snows this winter!
Hallo Aachen!
Finally arrived. Destination : Aachen, Germany.
It took me 12 hours to fly into Frankfurt. It was a comfortable flight all the way albeit the long hours. What more could I complain from a economy class seat with wide screen LCD screen, comfortable seats, good foods and Dolby Digital-like sound system (thanks to my own headphones)?
Not forgetting also that I was entertained with 3 movies to pass time; Street Kings, Ah Long Pte Ltd and What Happens In Vegas.
I was 30 minutes ahead of time upon arrival at Frankfurt. So, I managed to catch the earlier train to Aachen. This train would only take around 2 hours and I should arrive at Aachen at about 11pm.
If I had missed this train, the next train would take 3 hours and by the time I reach Aachen, it would already be after 1am. Who knows what time it will be when I finally get to sleep.
Took the earlier train hoping to reach Aachen at around 11pm. And by 11pm, I was nowhere near Aachen. The train stopped for 45 minutes at a small town called Duren, some 40km away from Aachen. Apparently there was an accident at the next station and the train couldn’t proceed any further.
Everyone was asked to get down, or take the same train back to Cologne and wait for tomorrow maybe?
Asked around and found out that someone has jumped onto the tracks and got hit by the train? I wasn’t too sure about it, so I asked the others and the answer was still the same.
Someone jumped onto the tracks and got hit.
Now, this was really getting on my nerves.
It was already past midnight. I didn’t have a proper sleep for 24 hours, just got down from a 12 hours flight, hungry, sleepy, tired and the next thing I knew was..
I’m stucked in this small place until tomorrow!
It was almost 1am and there were no signs of the train moving again until tomorrow. Decided to the last taxi queuing outside the train station to Aachen.
So, Hallo Aachen!
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