Another day in Aachen
*Sigh* It's been another busy day. This morning, I went through two guided tours--one of the city and one of the cathedral. Both were very interesting. To start the city tour, we learned about the thermal springs of Aachen and their healing powers for rheumatism and other things. Then we got to sample some of the water. Ryan R filled an empty coke bottle he had with the 50 degree Celsius water so 112 degrees Fahrenheit. It smelled like sulfur. The taste kind of reminded me of eggs. Gross.
That's another thing Aachen has a lot of besides bakeries and ice cream places: fountains. I guess there are many rivers running below the city. The name Aachen actually comes from a word meaning "water" in some language.
After our tours, the guys and I made our way over to the Hauptbanhof (main train station) to buy tickets to Berlin a couple weekends from now. I guess I should explain. I'm here with 4 other MSU students: Hani, Ryan W, Ryan R, and Matt. Ryan R and I live in the same dorm. The other three live in a different dorm half an hour or so outside the city. Ryan R and I also will be working in the same institute. They're all pretty fun people, I'd say. So, we were trying to find the train station. We hopped on a bus, and 20 minutes later found ourselves on the outskirts of Aachen headed the completely wrong way. We switched buses and made it back into the city. Then a random old lady led us to the Hauptbanhof. It was crazy; she ended up giving us her phone number and telling us to come over sometime and stuff. It was hard to truly understand since she spoke mainly in German; we just smiled and nodded a lot. Finally, after what should have been a 10 minute walk and ended up being an hour-long adventure, we made it to the train station. After we had our five tickets to Berlin, which were qui
te expensive (P.S. Parents--I need money!) we got back onto the same bus route we were on earlier and went to Vaals. It's a city in the Netherlands right near the border. Actually, three countries (Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium) come together at a point near there called Dreilandenpunt. We took a 45 minute walk, uphill most of the way, and found it. It was tough to tell where the actual point where the countries met was. We got fooled a few times, but I think we and the other tourists agreed that the one pictured here was the real one. Check it out! I'm in three countries at once! Then we had a long walk and busride back, and it was raining the whole time, of course. Now I'm in my dorm room ready to collapse.
After our tours, the guys and I made our way over to the Hauptbanhof (main train station) to buy tickets to Berlin a couple weekends from now. I guess I should explain. I'm here with 4 other MSU students: Hani, Ryan W, Ryan R, and Matt. Ryan R and I live in the same dorm. The other three live in a different dorm half an hour or so outside the city. Ryan R and I also will be working in the same institute. They're all pretty fun people, I'd say. So, we were trying to find the train station. We hopped on a bus, and 20 minutes later found ourselves on the outskirts of Aachen headed the completely wrong way. We switched buses and made it back into the city. Then a random old lady led us to the Hauptbanhof. It was crazy; she ended up giving us her phone number and telling us to come over sometime and stuff. It was hard to truly understand since she spoke mainly in German; we just smiled and nodded a lot. Finally, after what should have been a 10 minute walk and ended up being an hour-long adventure, we made it to the train station. After we had our five tickets to Berlin, which were qui
te expensive (P.S. Parents--I need money!) we got back onto the same bus route we were on earlier and went to Vaals. It's a city in the Netherlands right near the border. Actually, three countries (Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium) come together at a point near there called Dreilandenpunt. We took a 45 minute walk, uphill most of the way, and found it. It was tough to tell where the actual point where the countries met was. We got fooled a few times, but I think we and the other tourists agreed that the one pictured here was the real one. Check it out! I'm in three countries at once! Then we had a long walk and busride back, and it was raining the whole time, of course. Now I'm in my dorm room ready to collapse.
Comments
I just love your blog. You are an awesome writer. I hope you are careful what you rate. I don't want Ryan R. to hate you. I hope you are having the best of times. I love the picture of you standing in all three countries. Your travels sound so exciting thus far. I am just so happy for you. I also love all of the pictures you are taking. You need to make a huge scrapbook of your great adventure. I love and miss you!