Fall Break Day 8: Aachen, Germany

I finally found a Christmas Market that started today . . . the day we leave so I was determined to get to at least one before we left the area.  So off to Aachen, Germany we go . . . there is also a beautiful cathedral in the town so made a mad dash to buy tickets for the only English tour of the day and we bought the last tickets.  Second time this week we bought the last tickets for the English tour.  Today was the first day of the Weihnachts Markt Aachen so it was very crowded.  How could you not be excited when you see this guy greeting you?

But first it was a quick walk to the Aachener Dom to meet the tour guide . . .

It is amazing and beautiful inside.  You can enter the main level for free but if you want to go upstairs you must book a tour.  Upstairs is the Throne of Charlemagne . . .

. . . I was expecting something grand and gold but got cold and marble . . . but what history!  This was used as a coronation throne between 936 to 1531 and has had 30 kings and 12 queens crowned.  We continued to take in the amazing beauty.

The cathedral has had a difficult history of fires and war and restorations which makes it all the more amazing.  The Barbarossa Chandelier was amazing too . . .

The final stop of the tour was behind the alter to see the Shrine of Charlemagne where we learned that only half of his bones are inside . . .

The tour only lasted for 45 minutes and was well worth it even though it was super crowded.  It was outside to the Christmas Market and I was so excited!

We ate and walked and drank and then started over again . . . I only manged to take a photo of my kartoffelpuffer mit apfelmus (potato pancake with apple sauce) . . .

. . . melt in your mouth good . . . I promise you we ate a little of everything . . . then there was bratwurst and gluhwein!  I won't even tell you all the sugar Colin ate because it was a lot!  Oh my it was a simple reminder of just how amazing Germany is at this time of year!  Of course with anything in life all good things must come to an end which meant we had to head to the train station to catch a train to the Frankfurt Airport for our flight home . . .