Expat Bloggers Meetup - side trip to Aachen

Last October, Frau A and I attended a get-together of English-speaking bloggers in Germany.  The core group have held this gathering annually in various cities for years, but it was our first time to join them.  (At the time, Schnitzelbahn was only a little more than a year old - we were the newcomers.)  We were looking forward to meeting the people that, to date, we had only communicated with via email and web comments.

They decided to have the 2011 get-together in Cologne, with a side-trip to Aachen.  It was especially interesting for me, becuase I spent a semester in college studying at the Technical University in Aachen (one of the "German Ivy League" universities, with focus on science and engineering topics).

Frau A and I flew to Cologne, and then headed to the main train station to meet the other bloggers that were also making the side trip to Aachen.  It would be a short (~40 minute), easy train ride away.

When we arrived, we walked from the station into the town center.  On the way, we passed the Aachen Theater, which opened in 1825.  I remembered this right away from my summer there (in 1992)!

   

The idea behind holding the bloggers' get-together in different cities each year is that one of the bloggers "in the know" (who lives there) will organize things to do -- less touristy places for dinner, intereting sights (some typical, some less well known, etc.).  The one blogger who lives in Aachen met us in town and took us to its most famous cafe, Van den Daele, for some coffee and cake!

Just looking in the window gets the mouth watering...

I finally decided on a chocolate mousse-type treat (and had a cappuccino to go with it).

After fueling up, we walked around town a bit together. Our hostess and fellow blogger would explain the history or special attributes of different buildings and places - she really put a lot of effort in for us.

We passed the Puppet Fountain, unique because the figures have hinged (movable) arms, heads, or legs.  The different figures represent different roles and aspects of society:  horseman (representing Roman historical influence), professor (representing education), jester (representing amusement), and a fashionable lady (representing the cloth trade).

Kids like this fountain - the daughter of our blogger friend/guide was having fun moving the figures around.

We then walked past the back side of the Rathaus (town hall).  Again, memories for me came rushing back!

We circled around to the front of the Rathaus, where another fountain and figures waited.

This is the Karlsbrunnen (Karl's fountain), the oldest in Aachen (first in 1334, then rebuilt in 1620).

The daughter of our blogger and "tourguide" was incredibly charming -- I think she's going to be an actress!

We also made a stop at the Aachen Cathedral, but that has so many cool photos that it will be the next post...