Aachen, Germany - Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Thursday 28th October 1999

We awoke from our forested rest-place and headed towards Aachen, Charlemagne's capital in 794. After some driving around we found a spot to park not far from the city centre and headed in.

First stop was Aachen cathedral, built by Charlemagne in 805 and the coronation site of thirty Holy Roman Emperors. The outside of the church was an interesting mix of enlargements and alterations but the first impression upon entering was one of complete unity. The octagonal centre was reminiscent of the Middle-East with Byzantine elements dominating. We spent some time absorbing the chamber with its striped pillars, arched balcony, and high ceiling. A huge brass chandelier, installed by Emperor Barbarossa in 1165 dominated the centre and felt like it could fall and crush us at any time.

After Charlemagne's death in 814 the cathedral became something of a pilgrimage site and a large Gothic choir was added in 1414 to accommodate the masses. It now hosts Charlemagne's elaborate gilded shrine, commissioned by Barbarossa but completed by his grandson Emperor Friedrich II who, on his coronation day in 1215, personally placed Charlemagne's remains in the coffin.

We could only see the shrine from a distance as the choir was off-limits unless you were on the guided tour. We also could catch only a glimpse of Charlemagne's marble throne, positioned high on the balcony surrounding the octagon.

With a last look we headed back outside and to the cathedral museum to see about the guided tours. They were running every hour but were only in German and cost 3DM per person, no discounts. We had 5DM left and were heading over the border later today so I didn't want to get any more. Oh well, perhaps another time.

We went off to find a bookstore because I suddenly needed a German/English dictionary. I had a form from a Swiss employment agency to fill out and it was all in German. Something ironic about buying the dictionary on the day we leave the country.

We found a bookshop and the right book and they took Visa so all was well. Meanwhile I'd been having second thoughts about the guided tour. I thought it might be worth it just to see the throne up close. We decided to take the plunge.

We returned to the cashier and produced our measly 5DM. She took pity on us, perhaps seeing our disintegrating boots, and let us both join the tour that was leaving in a few minutes. About a dozen people were with us, all German speakers. As the guide took us around the outside and inside of the cathedral we listened to his detailed explanations without understanding a word. We soon were allowed into the choir and we had the chance to examine the elaborate coffin from close quarters. Worth the admission price in itself. The guide soon realised we had no idea what he was saying and offered, in near-perfect English, to answer any questions that we had. After a while we all trooped upstairs to see the marble throne. Carved on one side were the markings for a game similar to nine men's morris. He explained to us afterwards that it is believed that they were carved by Roman soldiers stationed in Jerusalem. All the marble was taken from outside a temple in the city and brought to Aachen in the belief that Jesus must have walked on the stones.

With the tour over we began to hurry back to the car. The parking meter would have expired by now. We took a quick look at the outside of the 14th century town hall, still containing one tower from Charlemagne's original palace. We would have liked to go in to have a look at the Empire Hall, where Holy Roman emperors enjoyed their coronation feasts, but we were completely out of time and out of money so back to the car it was.

We left the city very pleased to have visited. The cathedral will certainly be one of the highlights of the trip. Next stop was the Netherlands and a quick trip to Maastricht.

We arrived in the city in the late afternoon and found a place to park not far from the city centre. We quickly walked to the Markt and the imposing town hall, positioned right in the centre of the square. From the there we continued to another of Maastricht's many squares and the dual churches of St Servaaskerk and St Janskerk. Since it was late though both were closed so we continued down some nice narrow streets to a delightful square full of trees and cafe tables and with the Onze Lieve Vrouwe Basiliek, dating from around about 1000AD, on one side. This church was open and it had a wonderfully gloomy feeling inside. Very dark and intriguing. After soaking up the atmosphere we wandered along some more narrow streets before reaching the old town walls.

Our time was running out so we headed back to the car. We'd arranged to stay with my distant cousin, Hugh, who was living in Eindhoven, a short distance to the north. We were soon at his house and enjoying a home-cooked meal and some lively conversation. After such a long time travelling it was nice to be somewhere that felt a little like home.