Aachen is downright awesome, historically and now. Here is where the coronation of Charlemagne was held on Christmas Day, 800 and 30+ kings after that. The chapel palace, pictured above, is Germany’s first World Heritage Site and is arguably the site where Europe first began to take shape. The present city retains its medieval feel in the old city, with winding cobblestone streets, plazas, and architecture. I thought I wanted to move to Münster before seeing Aachen, which has the additional advantage of being very close to the Belgium border and on a direct rail line to Paris. Plus, it didn’t feel as artificially medieval as Münster. One late afternoon Sara and I whiled away the hours with beer, wine, and people-watching in the shadow of the chapel:

Between cafés we did enter the chapel and saw the alter before which many kings had kneeled to pray:

Having dinner and drinks at this place on a cozy plaza next to the back of the chapel palace as the sun went down at 10PM (!) was among the best moments there:

Yep, I think we should retire to Aachen (once I learn German…)

We are finally back after our 11 days and 10 nights in Germany, so I can blog about it properly although in retrospect — internet access was very spotty there so I only managed the three previous via my iPhone via Flickr. Thus, like Billy Pilgrim, Goyablog has come unstuck in time. It jumps back to Münster, where we arrived on the third day after two days in Hamburg looking at bunkers and church ruins and before we went to Aachen. Our one day in Münster was well spent and could have easily turned into two or three. Our hotel was amid several small churches, one at which we attended Vespers just because we could. The clock pictured above was in the cathedral, pictured here:

The city museum, where we learned of the firebombing of the city

was very well put together — and free, sure sign of the place’s wealth and sense of civic boosterism. The city, which was rebuilt after the war according to the original medieval layout and general look, is très quaint, almost too much so. It treads a fine line between organic historical atmosphere and themed environment, but generally pulls it off successfully: winding cobblestone streets, narrow building facades, period ornamentation.

This contrasts with the high-end boutiques behind those facades (okay, so the souvenir postcard display and the “Woolworth” subverts the high-end boutique look). The result is a bit disconcerting, a kind of medieval chic that exudes money rather than the Black Death. Despite my critique of the place, I’d live there in a heartbeat (as medieval retro yuppie), or so I thought until we arrived at Aachen, the inner city of which — around Charlemagne’s chapel and the town hall — had a much more organic feel (despite its own partial rebuilding) and greater mix of pubs, cafés, restaurants, and shops and just as much winds and cobblestones. Münster, however, had the best sauerkraut I’ve ever tasted, at the pub next to the Rathaus here:

It also had a delightful open market on the Wednesday we were there.

We loaded up on licorice and olives and bread and strawberries for our train ride that day to Aachen.

Cologne cathedral

Today we trained in from Aachen to Koln (Cologne, as in eau de) to visit the Nazi Documentation Center and City Museum there. We found time too for the spectacular cathedral, which survived the Allied bombing intact. We skipped touring bunkers there because we found a great book on them. Gotta go have a well-earned beer now…

Beer in Aachen

We’ve been offline for a couple days now, but finally got a connection here in Aachen. We’re here mainly because things are too expensive in Cologne and here is where Charlemagne and 30 German kings were coronated. We had drinks and dinner literally in the shadow of the cathedral where part of his palace and throne (and part of his castle still exists.)

Hamburg war ruins

Sara and I have spent the last 48 hours touring WWII bunkers and memorial war ruins in Hamburg, collecting material on the July 1943 firebombing of the city. We had a nice time with two guys, Roland and Jurgen, from a local bunker preservation group who gave us a private tour. We then went to the city museum which had a small exhibit that included the above floor cut out of rubble with doll, no doubt staged. Today we saw the ruins of St. Nikolai church, an icon of the skyline and target point for the Allied bombing. It will be interesting to compare it to the A-bomb dome in Hiroshima. Rebuilt, Hamburg is a pleasant camel-laced port city of tree-lined streets and fresh fish. Food and wine have been good so far on our trip. Tomorrowwe leave for Munster. Internet access is spotty and I only have my iPhone, which can’t handle the Wordpress interface directly so I’ll be posting via Flicke when I can. Typing on this virtual keyboard is tedious too….

Goyablog will be spared political rants by Goyaboy as he is leaving for Germany for 12 days. This trip with Sara is part of a course development grant we received to put together a course dealing with the events and postwar representation of civilian aerial bombing during WWII, particularly in Germany and Japan. The Japan trip will come at the end of the summer. Our Germany tour includes Hamburg, Münster, Cologne, Aachen, and Dresden. Or something like that — Sara is in charge of out itinerary for this one. This will be my first time to Germany; glad to be going with someone who speaks the language. I’ll try not to eat too many sausages…. 

Doesn’t Hillary Clinton have a friend so can take her aside and inform her in boldly objective terms how ridiculous she sounds? I have lost any respect I had left for the Clintons (none, which means we’re in negative respect land now). Yesterday in Florida, in a delusional outburst, Hillary Clinton asserted that not to seat the Florida and Michigan delegates according to the results of the illegal primaries they held contrary to DNC rules (rules she agreed to) would be tantamount to voter suppression comparable to that which happened to women, blacks in the Civil Rights movement, Floridians in the 2000 election, people in Zimbabwe. Umm, no, it is nothing like those incidents. This woman is so in the thrall of the five stages of grief (Kos says she’s slipped back from “bargaining” to “anger”). I don’t want her anywhere near the Whitehouse, for God’s sake. Interestingly, the only demographic the she still holds a majority over is white women over 50 years old. How’s that for a narcissistic mirror?

Today my old house sold. Or rather, there was half a closing — I’ll get my cut of the proceeds tomorrow. It took only 400 days on the market, but clearly it was waiting for the opening of the first water lily of the season in my (now my former) pond, which happened today. An opening and a closing in tandem. The house was sold for far less than it is worth, but of course the pond is priceless. I could scarcely care about the house itself — good riddance. But that pond I want to keep. It has my self all over and inside it. I know it and it knows me. Others won’t understand it. But alas, it cannot be transported to our current house. And so it will have to exist in photos and in memory as my one work of art, handmade.