We picked Aachen in Germany as our destination as we were all keen to travel by train, via the Eurostar, rather than fly. Train travel means no hassle with baggage allowances, no 2 hour check-ins and we get to start off our journey in style with some of this!
Eurostar journeys from St Pancras always start off with a glass or two in the Champagne Bar :)
Having decided upon the destination purely and simply on the travelling time and number of market stalls, we had no idea that Aachen was such a lovely and interesting city,
So, as well as admiring giant versions of the gingerbread that Aachen is famous for,
and purchasing some of the same at the Market stalls
along with the odd glass of Gluhwein! (I can heartily recommend the Gluhwein with Amaretto, it is delicious!)
We were amazed by the glory of Aachen Cathedral,
coronation church of more than 30 German Kings and the burial site of Charlemagne, so you can understand why it is such an impressive building.
Just across the square was the just as impressive Town Hall, home to the coronation banquets between 936 and 1531.
They certainly don't build them like this anymore, do they?
As you can probably tell, we had a wonderful weekend in Aachen and would definitely recommend a visit if you ever get the chance, especially at Christmas time. Well, Gingerbread, Gluhwein and Glorious Architecture, not to mention German efficiency :) What more could you ask for in a weekend trip?
Paula and I have decided that we liked being organised for Christmas so much in 2014 that we are going to host our year-round Christmas Link Party again in 2015. We have a couple of slots free for guest hosts, so if you would like to take part just let us know, and we can give you all the details.
