Aachen is South of Essen, and has a long history from its humble beginnings as a Roman outpost. The Roman legions created a small outpost/city due to the natural springs. Overtime, the natural springs became the main draw of the city due to the springs "healing" waters.
The natural spring baths of Aachen. These are the rebuilt baths, smells very strongly of sulfur, which is probably what gives the natural spring baths their "healing" ability.
These are some of the famous people that visited the Aachen baths. They range from Casanova to Charlemagne.
The Aachen baths also serve as a prominent entrance into the center of Aachen, which consists of Charlemagne's Church and the remains of Charlemagne's Palace which was replaced by the city government building.
The inside of Charlemagne's Church. The altar the sculpture in the background are made of almost solid gold! In addition Charlemagne is supposedly buried somewhere toward the back of this picture.
This octagonal room with the striped arches is very reminiscent of a mosque.
The view of Charlemagne's Church from the outside.
The city government building, which used to be the site of Charlemagne's Palace before the war.
Charlemagne Statue Fountain, Charlemagne is an easily recognized statue because he is usually clad in some sort of armor and carries in his left hand an orb with a cross on the top.
Just West of the Aachen is the small Netherlands town of Vaal. It is from this city that you can walk to the Three Countries Point. The borders in this area are very interesting because they don't have any customs or passport checks. Entering the Netherlands is similar in fashion to entering another state. You pass and sign and then you are in the country.
I really enjoyed my walk from the town of Vaal to the Three Countries Point. Not only were the streets lined with a quaint little houses, the landscape was amazing: rolling hills dotted with clusters of forests and wide open meadows.
Picture of the German border sign. I am really used to crossing into different countries with a slew of passport and customs checks, so when I realized there wasn't one I had to jump back and forth across the border a couple of times!
A beautiful summer day, this was just a picture of a local church.
Rolling meadows and copse of trees, I think I might see Bambi in the background!
Being in three countries at once! Check!
A fairly large house I passed while I was walking on the border of the Netherlands and Germany. I wonder, if your property spans the border between the Netherlands and Germany, which country to you pay taxes in?
Anyway this is probably one of the last adventures that I will take while in Germany. It has been a great time, and hopefully I will be able to visit again! The beer was great, the weather was beautiful, the public transit was exceptional (a little late sometimes, but who isn't?), and the history was rich!
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