and then

I biked through a small suburban town called Merkenich.  it was really cute and not really suburban in the American sense of the word.  I mean, the houses were really close together but the entire area was surrounded by farmland and grazing animals.  I think little towns like Merkenich have as much to show as the bigger cities because they are where the people really live.  I wish I spoke more (ha ha any) German because I would like to hang out in some of the more remote areas in Germany and talk to people there.  I didn’t stay long in Merkenich; just long enough to bike through.  but I got a really good look at the entire place from above when I was crossing the Reine over to Leverkusen. 

I stayed in Leverkusen for about an hour and a half.  I walked around the city center and went into a really amazing antique store that had all kinds of neat things.  I found a lot of things I wanted to get my parents and sister as gifts from Germany but in the end I left them all there because the prices were a little too expensive.  but I have some pictures inside and they are fun too.  there were a lot of people out and about shopping and having fun.  it was a really colorful area so naturally I enjoyed photographing it.  you can see the whole day’s adventures here.

bike ride

yesterday I biked to Leverkusen.  M had first suggested it as a destination I was capable of biking to after my trips to Bonn.  I had never biked up the Reine so it was a really fun and exciting trip.  when I first left the house I actually had no intention of really going on a long bike ride because the weather looked awfully threatening and I didn’t want a repeat experience of getting poured on like last weekend.  that was poop.  once I had gotten sufficiently far up the Reine I finally decided to make the entire trip to Leverkusen.  luckily the weather stayed looking only ominous and luckily I brought enough water and some brotchens to tide me over on my trip. 

the trip itself was really fun.  the majority of the ride there was a wide beautiful tree lined pathway with lots of runners and fellow bike riders.  it was very beautiful and actually a lot more fun to ride than the very narrow and jungle-like path towards Bonn.  no brush scraping at your legs and buggies zooming into your hair.  plus it wasn’t nearly as crowded as the southern part of the Reine.  it was quite pleasant.  I also stopped under one of the bridges to take some photographs of some really beautiful graffiti.  oh!  and some sheep.

I am really proud of myself for making it all the way to Leverkusen because, like the ride to Bonn, it is not as simple as just staying along the Reine.  there are industrial areas a ways both north and south of Koln that prevent you from riding right along the river and the bike trails lead you on more circuitous routes around the factories.  I got lost trying to follow those routes both times I have biked to Bonn so when I made it to Leverkusen basically incident free I was very proud.

and then

E and I split up for a bit until lunch when we met J.  E went and supported a good friend of hers (who was actually presenting her diploma project, small small world!) and I went into the city center of Aachen to sketch and just be out in the gorgeous day.  I must be really lucky because both of the times I was in Aachen it was sunny and beautiful.  this is apparently rare for Germany but specifically for Aachen because of its geographical and topographical location.

we met up with J at noon where she completely hooked us up with the location of the right bus, the bus times and stops list, maps to both the bus station in Aachen and also an overall map of Maastricht and the wikipedia page on Maastricht so we could familiarize ourselves on the way.  she is darling.  it was so wonderful.

Münster = bike capitol of Germany

D and J are taking us to Münster tomorrow to take down an exhibition they put up before we arrived in May.  after a quick wiki search I have learned two very interesting things.  1, Münster is one of the biggest cities in Germany, in terms of actual land covered.  2, it is also known as the bicycle capitol of Germany.  I don’t think we’ll be doing much biking though!

after we arrive and take down the exhibition, we think there will be time to have some dinner, look around and then go home.  hopefully I’ll get some fun photographs while we are looking around.  driving through the German countryside is always incredible also so I am really looking forward to that too.

Liechtenstein

tomorrow I get to go to Liechtenstein with D and J.  their work on a workshop which is hosting a variety of speakers in January (?) brings them there for a meeting so I get to tag along and explore the capitol city, Vaduz.  I am very excited about this.  I can’t believe how lucky I am to be able to visit all of these places while I am here!  I thought that we wouldn’t have too much free time here in Koln so I am pleasantly surprised to have been able to see so much already.

after our day visit to Liechtenstein, we are traveling to Switzerland to stay over night with MF (the third partner in the firm) and Friday we will be discussing the competition we are working on with him.  I am absolutely thrilled to be meeting MF for the first time in person.  no more brief hellos on D’s webcam for us.

time to read up on Vaduz and get to packing!

Aachen for the day

D and J took me in the car to Aachen (pronounced ah-hen) today.  it was a day full of incredible things!  starting even with the ride over.  there aren’t speed limits in Germany like there are at home.  people zoom past you at about 120 miles per hour!  we were going so fast.  to me at least, I think D and J were perfectly fine.  I guess not driving for months and biking everywhere could have changed my perception of speed.

when they picked me up this morning J had a big surprise for me.  she found one of her students at the university in Aachen (RWTH Aachen University) to give me a tour around the city.  this is completely awesome because usually when I have visited cities in the past few weekends I kind of wander around aimlessly looking for things that intrigue me and just taking my sweet time, asking for directions all the way.  but having someone who knows the area and what is most interesting or famous to see is a blessing! much more efficient sightseeing.

my tour guide (Mor) picked me up from J’s office and we headed out along one of the main rodes that had a lot of food on it.  he picked up some breakfast/lunch and we hiked up this big hill to have a view of all of Aachen before we looked around on the street level.  I was actually a little bit embarrassed because the hike up the hill (it was really much bigger than a hill sounds) put me seriously out of breath.  but, in my defense, there were a ton of stairs.  a ton!  the hike up was worth it though.  he showed me basically everything we were going to see once we went back into the city and also the beautiful countryside all around Aachen.  we even saw giant clouds rolling in from the country with rain pouring out of them and blue sunny sky all at the same time.  it was really cool.

back in the city Mor took me around to see the main market area next to the great city hall which was built like a basilican church with a main rectangular nave area and a rounded apse in the front.  right next to the city hall is the cathedral that Charlemagne ordered to be built in 800 AD.  Charlemagne loved Aachen and frequented it often.  he actually declared it the center of his empire.  this cathedral is very special because it was used for many German king and queen coronations and it supposedly houses the remains of Charlemagne himself!  the cathedral is absolutely gorgeous because it is a combination of many different architectural styles.  the original part (started in 800 AD) has an octagonal floor plan and was the largest dome built at its time.  the additions to the cathedral are mainly Gothic with incredible stained glass windows that span nearly the entire height of the building.  it was even more beautiful on the inside.

I also got to see the Elisenbrunnen, which is a large hall that covers some of the original fountains in Aachen.  the city is very famous for its hot springs and the healing powers of the baths.  J had told me about this previously and how people drink the water for good health.  she also warned me about the high sulfur content.  but not the smell!  I could smell what she had been referring to even before we were near enough to see the water.  since the water is coming from natural hot springs, it comes out quite warm.  I wasn’t so sure about tasting it but Mor took a giant gulp and looked kind of expectantly at me and said that it tasted good so I tried a bit.  oh man!  it tasted so much like eggs.  but I think I will be super healthy now.

I tried some of Aachen’s famous Printen!  I got a small free sample at one of the stores.  it is a delightful treat that most Germans only eat around Christmastime because it is hard bread that is made with cinnamon, aniseed, ginger and some other spices.  J told me that Printen was originally created in Aachen as a response to Napoleon’s ban on sweetening with sugar since it is sweetened using honey.  this was delicious.

I learned a lot about Aachen and really enjoyed the city.  Mor kept telling me about how small it was and how sometimes there wasn’t enough to do but I really enjoyed it and thought it was a great size.  like everywhere, very walkable.  I hope I didn’t embarrass him with my stopping to take the typical tourist-y photographs every ten steps.

more photographs of Aachen here.

off to Aachen I go with D and J!