We had a leisurely breakfast with Ingrid and Ralph and then had a fairly standard Aachen program: We went to the Lindt chocolate factory outlet to buy chocolate (Kati and Kai more than we did), and then went downtown to go see the sights: the now fully restored Elisenbrunnen, the downtown area, and the cathedral, which continues to strike me as truly different because of the octagonal center piece (built during Charlemagne’s reign), decorated with an elaborate, freshly renovated mosaic that seems very Byzantian and at times Persian, with lots of abstract pattern decorations.
We had a good time, apart from a somewhat whiny Kai, and then went home via the incredible ice cream place (Delpzich?), and had ice cream and some mediterranean antipasti for a late lunch. We left by train at around 4 pm, and were home around 7:30. Kai was able to find an outlet on the train and was perfectly content, but Kati was an impossible diva for some reason, and not really fun to be with. We came home around 8 on the bus, and Imke and Hermann had waited for us and had potato salad and Vienna sausages ready for us — very nice!