Aachen: A city that was surprised we were here

“Touring Europe?”

“Here for the day?”

Just two of the questions on the lips of Aacheners in December 2025. The guy in the sports goods store near the old market said so. So did Kai, who lived on Pontstrasse near one of the old city gates. The receptionist at the Quellenhof hotel seemed bemused as well that we were there five days.

Aachen, the city in west Germany, has much to recommend it. And yet it seemed surprised to see us. Especially for the best part of a week.

It was baffling to see such self-deprecation. After all, Aachen has a long and storied history, a beautiful cathedral dating to the ninth century, a thriving Christmas market, a connection to Anne Frank (through her mother and grandmother), the world’s only international newspaper museum and it’s the venue of the world equestrian championships every four years and the annual international Charlemagne prize for services to Europe.

It has the weight that comes from having been the capital of Charlemagne, Holy Roman Emperor. It was significant during World War I as a key military location for the German forces. The cathedral is a Unesco World Heritage site. Aachen was the first major German city to fall to the Allied forces during World War II.

It was an important spa town in the 1700s and then, once again, in the 1970s.

It has bratwurst. It has signature foods – printen or gingerbread with anise and streuselbrötchen or a streusel-topped roll. Its sauerbraten is fantastic because the gravy is flavoured with printen!

It has a famous technical and engineering college that draws students from all around the world. Indeed, this city of roughly 190,000 has a further population of some 60,000 students, something that “keeps Aachen young”, as our wonderful International Greeter Association volunteer guide Ingo Norget told us.

One of the university’s more charming traditions is for new PhDs in metallic engineering to be trundled up Pontstrasse in a sedan chair sort of contraption, surrounded by friends and family. We learnt about the special arrangements for metallic engineering doctorates from Dr Balza Morales, a Venezuelan who had just defended her thesis in geophysics. She was wearing strange headgear, which she said was part of the convention of requiring fellow students to make some representation of the PhD candidate, their work and proclivities.

It’s within touching distance of two other European countries – Belgium and The Netherlands. Drielandpunt, the point at which borders of three countries meet, is a short bus ride plus a 40-minute walk away.

Aachen’s glory is to be 100 per cent European, with all the possibilities and the perils of ever closer union.

It really shouldn’t be surprised we were here.

Below, two photos that show the breadth and depth of life in Aachen.

A decade or so ago, Aachen introduced a convention of a green number in a circle to mark the years an establishment has been in the city. At 204 years, this coffee seller is one of the oldest, existing shops in Aachen.

The point the city calls ‘pea soup bowl’. Translated into German, that’s how Aacheners schedule meetings at this spot. That’s because the bowl is similar to one they use for pea soup. Charlemagne’s statue atop is a replica of the one we saw in the Centre Charlemagne.

More resources are here: For the cathedral, which is a Unesco World Heritage site, the Anne Frank connection, the international newspaper museum, world equestrian championships, annual international Charlemagne prize and the International Greeter Association.