I am a real linguistic genius. Sure, I speak my mother tongue German perfectly. But I also speak fluent Belgian and Dutch. My French is quite passable. I can also speak English, of course, and the more international guests visit me, the more languages I learn. Why is that? It's logical. My location in the very south-west of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the border triangle of Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, makes me a fervent European. Everyone is welcome in Aachen. You'll soon realise it yourself when you come here for a few days. There's always something going on in my beautiful old town and around the Elisenbrunnen fountain, and in my pretty Frankenberg neighbourhood they all sit together in the park when the weather is nice. Families, friends, strangers.
Charlemagne is also partly to blame for the fact that the European idea is really lived in Aachen. The first European emperor liked it here so much that he began building his palatine chapel, today's cathedral, here around the year 798. Of course, we Aacheners are particularly proud of this magnificent building, which we affectionately call the "Glass House" because of its high windows and which was the first German building ever to be included on the Unesco World Heritage List in 1978. And once a year, the International Charlemagne Prize is awarded in my historic town hall, appropriately enough in the Coronation Hall. It doesn't get much more European than that, does it?
Yes, it's even more international. Because I can only call myself an imperial city, but also a city of students, sport and art. More than 45,000 people from all over the world study at the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH) Aachen. And once a year, I host the international equestrian elite. When I invite them to the CHIO, the World Equestrian Festival, they all come. Guaranteed! One or two of them are sure to drop by the Ludwig Forum for International Art. You have to see the building alone. In what was once the largest umbrella factory in Europe, you can now meet big names such as Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and Joseph Beuys. Need I say more?
Yes, I can think of one more speciality. Do you know what Printen are? You're probably thinking of Christmas right now. Not at all. We have these rather hard biscuits, which are baked without fat but with lots of sugar, all year round. Enjoy the flavour!
