Day two
(second full day in Aachen)- Sleep wise, this day was even stranger for us normal 5 a.m.-ers, we got out of bed at about 10:30 a.m.-ish…another 10 to 12 hours of sleep, wow, not sure I’ve ever done that. We got ready for the day and went downstairs for breakfast…which was perfect. Different types of sausage, eggs, potatoes, etc.
We were interested to see what a Sunday would be like (from a cultural stand point) in Aachen…well, it was dead! And I do not mean that in a bad way, but about 98% of the shops/ stores were all closed…ALL DAY!! I love that!! The slow life, the slower pace…shows me that life and time off is important…or maybe it had to do with religion, who knows, either way it was such a different vibe in all those same places that were bustling on Saturday.
There were far fewer people out and about, which made sense to us that Saturday was so busy…they know everything will be closed on Sunday!
Saturday was awesome, we loved seeing the life happening, but Sunday had this far calmer, far more relaxed feeling to it. There was a little farmers market near the cathedral which seemed to get a lot of business. After talking to Reiner we found that most people here go to the store everyday or every other day to get fresh vegetables and wine…what they would need for that meal. Annie and I started thinking about what all the locals were doing on Sunday afternoon…were they all gathering for a big family feast? They certainly weren’t getting together to watch Sunday Night Football!
Other than walking around many of the same areas, the only things we did differently on day two were go to a different beer house, this one only served beer, no food…but it was interesting! We also went to this place called Louisiana, a restaurant and bar inspired by, well, Louisiana…but a lot of locals seem to like it for coffee in the morning. Sunday seemed to draw big crowds of males, a bunch of older German men hanging out, laughing and sharing stories. We did not partake in coffee while there, we drank beer…when in Rome (whatever that means).
Day three (Monday) is Annie’s first day going to work with her German customers…so I’m not sure how that is going yet. I am in the hotel bar/ restaurant (not drinking yet, so don’t worry) on my computer and Annie’s…because no one computer we have is able to do everything I need it to right now. The internet connection over here is miserable, and on my computer I can’t access aol.com or facebook.com, but on Annie’s Mac I can…go figure!
So this day ended with me taking multiple walks around the area. For a Monday, I noticed tons of people milling about, sitting in the park area (again, mostly couples all snuggled up, weird), sitting at cafes drinking coffee or wine, and noticed the little beer house we had been to a day earlier, which only had a few people in it, was now overflowing with German folks drinking beer…God I love that!!!
When Annie got home from work we decided to eat dinner at Louisiana over in that mall area. We did a lot of people watching as we sat at a table outside the restaurant, actually in the mall itself. From there we took a bit of a walk back to the hotel where we landed at the hotel bar for a few drinks and a stogie. Rainer was not in but another bartender, that speaks English, was there so we talked with him for some time about the area, life, etc. Another good day on the traveling trail…I must say, it is kind of nice to be traveling and seeing one area for more than just a couple of days.
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- My First Trip Overseas (Part 2) (matthewliberty.com)
- My First Trip Overseas (Part 1) (matthewliberty.com)
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