Aachen

We had been told that a daytrip to Aachen was not only an easy one, but a trip well worth its weight in gold, speaking from a travel perspective. Not that the city of Aachen is on the top 10 list of German cities to visit, nor on the must-see itinerary of travelers destined to tour Germany. As we learned, however, there are many reasons to visit Aachen, especially if one is a lover of history.

Geographically speaking, Aachen is only about 75 kilometers southwest of Düsseldorf. After grabbing our camera and travel books, we entered an Aachen address into the GPS system of our car, and arrived in this fabled city in a little less than an hour…totally hassle free.

Why travel to Aachen at all? What could be so intriguing as to lure Buddy and I to this place? Sure, Aachen has been known for years as a place to enjoy the warm thermal springs. Even the Romans were aware of this fact as they established the first baths in the city in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Although the name of the city has evolved through the centuries from Aguisgrani, Aken, to even Aix-le-Chapelle, the city name has always had the concept of water as part of its name.

Well, if the tales of the magnificent Charlemagne are not enough to tempt history buffs to this site, then I am not sure what could. History tells us that Charlemagne was crowned the Holy Roman Emperor in 800 AD, and that he chose to establish Aachen as the capital of his empire, the Roman Empire. While the city did not retain that title for long, it was the place that Charlemagne continued to return to again and again, and eventually, where he was buried. Charlemagne’s palace must have been amazing, but alas, only the chapel remains today (see photo below). As if that was not enough history to make the site worth visiting, from the 10th through 14th centuries, all German kings were crowned in the palace chapel as well.



I won’t even try to tell you everything we saw and learned during our trip today, as I will do that over the next few days…in both word and photo. Check back, especially if you feel your knowledge of Charlemagne and this period of history is a bit lacking.