20th – 23rd July 2007 Aachen and Dusseldorf

More pics to go with this bit of blog are at:

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/findthebinghams/20th23rdJuly07AachenDusseldorfBlog

Aachen was a nice place to visit, especially as we sat in glorious hot sun, a beer in hand, listening to the great music played by Will (on sax) and his school’s Soul Band on the Kurgarten Terrasse. They’d played in Holland and Luxemburg already. Will is our nephew, and I felt very proud to be his Ant….. (sorry Will!)

Aachen had some other attractions too: the Gothic Rathaus and the Cathedral (a World Heritage Site), which house both the mortal remains of Charlemagne and some other significant relics – hence being a place of pilgrimage. We also found some very hot thermal springs (63 deg C), disappearing into drains – Rick was most upset at the waste of resources and is now re-designing..……

We had a pleasant drive through towns and villages and got side-tracked by a great campervan Stellplatz,15 metres from the Rhine in Dusseldorf, yet more super views of water activity. Sadly, Dusseldorf itself was less impressive – one of Germany’s wealthiest cities, full of banks and incredibly expensive shops, but not very inviting. A rather impersonal place in which traffic dominates, and drivers seem intolerant of others on the road, whether on wheels or feet. Redeeming features were the Altstadt, with its cobbled streets, 200 bars/kellers and the Town Hall (although why the horse? – see pic).

As for the fairground………Wow! This was the most amazing fair we’d ever seen – enormous, vibrant and brash - an auditory and visual experience/assault, with exotic food smells thrown in (Rick was drooling…..!). Some of the rides looked totally lunatic, (and so did some of the people who went on them…). I reckoned the kiddies Magic Bus would suit me, but Rick persuaded me to go on the Ferris Wheel – 200 feet up - ohmigodohmigodohmigod.

Rick, always keen to try out new food, ordered Leberkase and chips…….ha! we’d found the only spam restaurant in Dusseldorf. The sauerkraut made the dish a bit more mysterious!

We’ve found some lovely places to sit and drink coffee/beer while internetting (is it a verb yet?). We finally managed to talk to all 3 offspring on MSN, with the webcam too – this technology is great when it works!

We’re starting a collection of weird & wonderful museums; so far we have: the Senf (mustard) Museum, the Museum of Chess Pieces, and …….The German Occupational Safety and Health museum (just for Cath!). Actually, I gather it’s infinitely more exciting than it sounds.

We keep hearing about torrential rain and flooding – we’ve had a few downpours, but it’s generally warm and sunny. Hope your weather improves soon.