Bits of Germany

Since the last trip we’ve decided to take before the baby arrives was aimed towards a cooler (as in colder) place, we’ve thought of Germany.

The intricate itinerary we’ve built took us by train in Aachen, the spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia. Luckily we were able to book a room at a 4 star hotel (at half price, thanks to a deal going on in that specific timeframe) and then go by foot to see the surroundings.

As almost all these old cities, the center was dominated by an old cathedral. Aachen Cathedral was erected on the orders of Charlemagne in 786 AD and was on completion the largest cathedral north of the Alps.

But the main thing to do on such a short trip is the spa! We’ve chose Carolus Spa, a large but expensive location where you can be spoiled and treated by thermal waters at the same time. Since pregnancy has its own limitations, we’ve only could enjoy the pools there, but they were enough for 2 hours.

Next day we’ve managed to catch the train (after galloping half the town in the wrong direction) towards Cologne, another gem of the north-western Germany.

Although the booking deal also lead us to a 4 star hotel, its location was more like a 1 ½ star (since we were above the on-going construction for a new subway line and hearing all the adjacent noises).

Still, the purpose of the trip was to visit, so we’ve proceeded. 

The very first thing you notice (well, not notice, because it hits you in the face) is the magnitude of Cologne Cathedral. Especially if you arrive by train and from undergrounds you get out to the surface in front of this “wow” monument.

We’ve booked a tour guide and found out that it is a Gothic church, started in 1248, and completed in 1880. The monument houses the Shrine of the Three Kings that supposedly contains the relics of the Three Magi, shrine that gets open only once a year in January.

The city located on both sides of Rhine offers great architecture, lots of beautiful churches and an impressive abundance of Asian cuisines.

The perfume that originated here and bears the name of the city smells lemony and unless you buy it as a gift, I doubt that there are still many people wearing it.

Three days are barely enough to see everything Cologne has to offer, but it is a good start.

Our trip took us further (by train as well) towards Paderborn, a smaller town, filled with universities.

Here we took advantage of the proximity with Bad Lippspringe, another spa city, a little cheaper than Aachen and offering similar facilities.

It’s worth to be mentioned that all these cities had the best pastries and cakes ever and the currywurst is to be found at every corner. Again I was amazed at the good shape of the people there, as they live amongst such goodies and still they manage to look very fit.

After five tiring days we’ve returned to Brussels, by train as usual, ahving filled only 3 GB with photos but keeping alive the memories.

Brussels by winter and by summer

Last time we’ve been into this city, it was freezing cold outside, our plane barely took off (14 hours later than originally booked) and the tickets were much cheaper.

Now, more than half a year apart, lots of stuff has happened: we’ve bought and renovated an apartment, made a baby (well, the last one is still in the oven but it still counts), even the friends we’re staying at have increased their family.

So, Brussels in winter is clean, white, cold and allows you to drink 17 kinds of beer in 5 days.

The buildings were impressive: Justice Palace, Maison du Roi, all old cathedrals and churches, very well preserved and maintained.

Manneken Pis – a little disappointing, as I was expecting a much bigger statue, or at least not so hidden within the city’s mingled streets.

Mainly in Brugge but not only, the street vendors were everywhere, selling from clothing pieces, overpriced Christmas decorations to hot sausages and mulled wine and beer. Just enough to make you enter the holiday spirit ;)

It wouldn’t be Belgium if chocolate wasn’t present: in every form, shape or flavor that you can imagine. Still, the Brusseleers are pretty thin so maybe the beer and chocolate are just for tourists?

Fortunately we have the chance to compare all these goodies in the summertime.
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Well, Brussels by summer looks more like a city in late fall or early spring. The temperatures barely went to 18 Celsius; it rained a lot and the visitors did not crowd the streets like in the winter.

Maybe it was just bad luck for us but we barely saw sunshine in the three days we've spent there.

However, a very pleasant surprise was the city of Ghent that seemed to me even prettier than Bruges. These two are similar in the way all small streets were converging to the main plaza and all the old buildings beautifully preserved were bearing small shops / restaurants inviting you in at every corner. But Ghent seemed a little more spacious, maybe the streets were a bit larger. Its history is impressive as well, until the 13th century Ghent was the biggest city in Europe after Paris; it was bigger than London, Cologne or Moscow.

All in all the short trip to Brussels was worth it in the summertime but if I have to choose, next time I’ll try spring or fall, who knows, maybe there’s more colour hidden somewhere waiting to be discovered.