Germany* Trip – Day 5: Maastricht and Aachen

The title of today’s entry deserves an asterisk, as Maastricht obviously is not in Germany. However, Maastricht lies less than an hour’s train journey away from Aachen, which is itself about an hour’s journey southwest of Cologne. The journey to Maastricht would be much shorter, too, were it not for an awkward semi-circular detour through a series of suburbs.

Notwithstanding this proximity, the architecture of Maastricht is very recognisably Dutch. The austere but quaint brick houses with their sharply inclined roofs are a dead giveaway, as is the pedestrian-friendly cityscape. I have noticed that many German cities are quite unfriendly to pedestrians, and nowhere is this contrast more clearly seen than across the border with the land of bicycles. If I had to wager a guess as to why this is the case, I would blame the lobbying powers of the German automotive industry. The relative absence of cars in Maastricht also means the streets get to be less crowded with parked cars and just breathe a little more.

Another marked contrast between the westernmost parts of Germany and the Netherlands is the quality of food in convenience stores. The state of the shops at the Cologne main train station, for example, is a disaster. The food there is either unhealthy or unappetising, but most frequently both. The station in Maastricht, on the other hand, boasts an Alert Heijn store, which has quaint vegetarian wraps and sandwiches, little juice bottles, and relatively fresh baked goods.

Maastricht is known for several things. Firstly, it is home to several universities and has a sizeable youth population. Secondly, it is where the European Union was officially born with the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. The twelve countries that signed the document are represented by the stars on the EU flag.

Crossing the Saint Servatius Bridge, I arrived in the old town, where I first stopped by the Town Hall and Vrijthof, a large square that borders a basilica and a church. The Basilica of Saint Servatius houses an impressive treasury, its highlights being a massive golden reliquary chest and a bust of the saint himself. I continued to the Basilica of Our Lady, which is somewhat smaller and remarkably darker. What is distinctive about this basilica is its flat and tall front wall, with the roof barely visible behind it. Not far to its south also stands the Helpoort, a medieval gate with two towers.

From Maastricht, I returned to Aachen. Its main attraction, the cathedral, only opened at eleven, but I had spent enough time in Maastricht to forego waiting. I arrived there from Aachen’s West station, walking past the Ponttor – an imposing double-gate – and Aachen’s City Hall. By the time I made it to the City Hall, it began to rain and hail, so I hid under a shop canopy and talked on the phone for a while. Fortunately, the bad weather did not last long.

Aachen Cathedral was stunning. Its centre is an octagon, which feels out of place in Germany where most churches tend to follow the shape of a cross. I learned that the structure, also referred to as the Palatine Chapel, was inspired by Byzantine buildings. This would explain the abundance of mosaics, which follow floral patterns above the arcades but depict apostles, angels, and Jesus on the ceiling of the cupola. Throughout the ages, more buildings like the choir and side-chapels were added to the religious site, warping its symmetry.

The sights of Aachen Cathedral include the reliquary of Charlemagne, who was buried at the site in 814. It was Charlemagne who founded this place of worship as the Palatine Chapel, its consecration being dated to 805. However, the reliquary, which takes the form of a bust containing the top part of the emperor’s skull, actually finds itself in the nearby treasury rather than the main building of the Cathedral. The exhibition contains many other objects, such as a massive golden arm holding another fragment of Charlemagne’s alleged remains.