I woke up very early and couldn’t go back to sleep for a while, but got a little more sleep and then had a late breakfast before going for a very nice long walk (about 2.5 hours) starting at their house and going along a nearby hiking trail to a small town called Kornelimuenster, which has a very pretty city center–all preserved since the 1600s, since no fire, war, or other catastrophe ever destroyed the houses built there, around a church that was started as a monastery in the 9th century and added onto for centuries. The former monastic building from the 18th century, more a palace than a monastery really, now houses a museum of contemporary art. The modern and often whimsical pieces are a nice contrast with the elaborate painted and stucco’ed ceilings, some restored and some with the cracks taped over. We got back around 2 pm and packed our lunch sandwiches; Nora, who just passed the very demanding German driver’s license exam on Tuesday, took us to the train station, and she did a very nice job (with Ralph as a model dad at her side–very calm and positive and confidence-building). We then had a long and slow journey from Aachen to Hannover by regional trains, with a total of three train changes and a couple of very tight connections, but also with surprising extra time in Cologne that enabled us to get a little dessert to add to our sandwiches. But it did take 5+ hours to get to Hanover main station, and then another half hour by subway and on foot, with Asian fast food in tow, to our friend Dorothee’s apartment. She has a very nice apartment in an art-deco style house built around 1900, and I love her place. She put us up over night, even though she herself just got back from Sicily the day before, and we had a nice chat over our late dinner (9ish) and then went to bed around 11.