After
visiting The Three-Countries Point, it is worthwhile to spend some time in
Aachen, situated in Germany. Aachen is rather small and does not offer much to
do but it does host one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sights – the Aachen
Cathedral. It’s mosaic roof is truly impressive and reminded me of the mosaic
dome of the Sacre Coeur in Paris.
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| Some of the beautiful mosaics in the Cathedral |
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| Aachen Cathedral |
Instead
of taking photos inside the cathedral, I opted for buying a few nice postcards
of the interior instead.
Some
medieval architecture can still be found in the city, especially around the
cathedral. There are some interesting buildings along the walk from the central
station to the cathedral. In the vicinity of the cathedral there are some
interesting shops, especially the Aachen Printen shops – which is a shop
selling a famous German Christmas cookie, called “Printen” – with their
delightful window displays. I will definitely be making Printen cookies when I
return to South Africa!
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| Beautiful window displays of Printen Cookies |
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| A street near the cathedral featuring some Medieval Architecture |
Aachen
does, however, have a natural hot spring which was converted into Roman baths
during the medieval ages. But the only sight we saw of this hot spring is the
Elisenbrunnen where a few small fountains lining a white Neo-Classical
building. The water isn’t drinkable anymore and I am not sure if there is still
a private bath available somewhere to enjoy the hot spring waters.
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| Music Hall |
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| Spa/Hot Springs |
Have
you ever been to Aachen? Do you know anything about the hot spring? Or have you
ever had Printen Cookies? I will definitely be posting a recipe for the cookies
in the nearby future.
I'm helping my Dad plan a trip to Germany, and your information and pictures on Aachen was really helpful - I was wondering if the cathedral and spa was worth the travel out that way... Thanks so much for sharing, and will definitely let you know what he thought if he goes there, too!
ReplyDeleteHi Helena,
DeleteI'm very glad you found it useful!
The cathedral is well worth the visit - it is very beautiful and the area around it is very well preserved. And there are a lot of coffee shops and restaurants around the area as well.
As for the spa - the land mark is now covered by the Neo Classical building lined with several fountains. The Tourist information centre is right there - so they would be able to give extra information about the city and the thermal waters.
The city hall on the Markt (City Square) is also very beautiful and it is a short walk from the Cathedral and well worth a visit. (The area between the Cathedral and the Markt is known as the Katschof.)
But a very nice thing about Aachen is that you can take a quick bus drive to Vaals, the Netherlands, and then take a short hike up to the Three Country Point (where Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium come together). I wrote a short post about it here: http://thisistheartof.blogspot.com/2012/10/drielandenpunt-dreilandereck-frontiere.html.
Just keep in mind the bus trip just to go over the border is much more expensive than it is to stop at the last bus stop in Germany and then just walk over the border!
Please let me know what he thought - I will really appreciate it! He should try the delicious Printen cookies which originated from Aachen!