14 November 2022
Today I took a trip to Aachen which is an hour by bus from Maastricht. Our tutorial this morning was rescheduled to Wednesday morning and none of my friends could join so I thought why not, I may as well take a day trip to Germany!
The bus ride there was absolutely beautiful and really sunny. (This changed as soon as I stepped off the bus in Germany. It's cold and nippy outside now.) We drove through the Limburg countryside which was green and dotted with cows, sheep and horses. Talk about picturesque. An hour later I was in a new country and walking towards the Markt.
I immediately came across a small stall with people unpacking their Christmas baubles to sell- of course, everyone is preparing for the Christmas markets which are apparently famous in Germany. I instinctively wanted to buy a snow globe of a girl playing in the snow but the stall owners were very strict that there was nothing to sell yet- they were simply packing out their wares for when the Christmas market opens on Friday.
It was simultaneously depressing and festive watching everyone build their stalls for the market- I felt excluded and excited all at once at seeing the preparation and also being unable to participate in the festivities yet. I told my friends from varsity that we definitely have to make the trip to Aachen soon, just to see the fruits of the labour ripen!
I then walked around the town a bit and ended up in the chapel, and what an awe-inspiring sight it was. The gold-decorated ceilings and stained glass windows were really something to behold and I'm really glad I took the trip today. I'm now sitting on the bus back writing this entry and feeling invigorated.
