Aachen was so much better this time around.
For whatever reason, visiting Aachen this year for the Christmas markets, in sharp contrast to last year’s Yuletide madness, was relaxing, measured, and turned out to be a real pleasure. We’d been to Monschau just the day before where, when compared with last year, we encountered even more head-scratching problems with finding parking and the simple act of paying for it, that the thought of going to even more popular Aachen filled me yesterday morning with slight dread. As sheer luck would have it my fears were for naught – the drive from Maastricht was trouble-free, parking by the Dom was a snap, and walking around the several markets was care-free as it should be.

My trusty Kathe Wohlfahrt pop-up store was there again this year where I snapped up this year’s tree decorations and a musical Christmas snow globe, while happily my friends, Jose and Brad were able to check off some German-made gift items for their family and friends back home. Wandering from one market to the next was seamless and we even had enough time to stop by the Dom itself for a peak inside. There are still a couple of good weekends left before we go off for Christmas, and if our luck were to last I’d be over the moon if Aachen were the start of a trend. I think I’ve been good enough this year after all.