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Showing posts from September, 2021

Aachen, Germany

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 Hello from Aachen! We arrived into Hamburg on Friday, staying with Carsten's parents, Ulf and Heike, over the weekend.  The four of us made a trip into the city on Saturday, checking out a new subway line into the harbor and the cool new buildings there and enjoying a tasty Portuguese meal in the Portuguese quarter.  On Sunday we caught up with our friends Inga, Kay and Katrin over dinner at the local Italian restaurant. Then on Monday, we set off for Aachen with Ulf and Heike via rail.  We have had a nice couple of days here - Tuesday was sunny and warm (unexpected!) and today was sunny with some clouds and rain here and there.   The Aachen Cathedral is the main attraction here in the city.  The Aachen Cathedral's present appearance has evolved over 1200 years of history. Around 800, the octagon with the cupola - the core building of the Palace Chapel was completed.  In the 14th and 15th centuries, the gothic choir and the north and south chapels were erected. The ceiling mos

Finally...

 Hello again, We have been at home since July 2! I think it is time to go! We have been super nervous about this trip because of the possibility of restrictions that could lay waste to our plans.  Our flight is tomorrow at 4:00pm and we are super excited to finally get to see Carsten's folks as we have not seen them in person since January 2020. We plan to blog our adventures as usual - so get ready for some European adventures!  Our itinerary is as follows: 9/23 - 9/26 Hamburg. Visiting with family/friends, getting over jet-lag. 9/27 - 9/30 Aachen, Germany.  Aachen is the western most city in Germany and borders Belgium and the Netherlands.  Aachen developed from a  Roman  settlement and spa, subsequently becoming the preferred medieval Imperial residence of Emperor Charlemagne  of the Frankish Empire , and, from 936 to 1531, the place where 31 Holy Roman Emperors  were crowned Kings of the Germans .  9/30 - 10/3 Brugge, Belgium. The historic city center is a UNESCO World Heritag