Crossing the German Borders

- Me: “Such a pity that the Canadian contemporary dance company Marie Chouinard isn’t coming to Belgium. The closest is Aachen.”
- My boss and good friend Hugo: “Then let’s go to Aachen. I’ll pay everything.”
- Me: “Seriously?! WHOOOOHOOOO!”

That’s more or less how our conversation about Compagnie Marie Chouinard: bODY_rEMIX / gOLDBERG_vARIATIONS went one month ago. Last weekend was the ‘moment suprême’ and the dance performance is definitely in my top 5 of all time.

Of course it would have been stupid not to combine our trip with a discovery of Aachen itself, so here are a few highlights.

Hugo, Carlos (his husband and also a good pal of mine) and I visited the Ludwig Forum, which is a contemporary art space in a former umbrella factory. The current exhibition is called ‘Magicgruppe Kulturobjekt’ and simultaneously has a twin exhibition at Extra City in Antwerp.


We were also indulged with the historical sumptuousness of Charlemagne’s empire, of which Aachen was the capital. The cathedral is covered with gorgeous mosaics and marble.

We actually saw the famous Lothair Cross. As you can see Hugo was quite impressed.

A thing I was also impressed with was the food and especially the desserts. Food is actually cheaper in Aachen than in Belgium and the quantity is bigger.
I had this rich pasta with shrimp at Stairs. The interior of the restaurant/bar/night club was amazing too.

The pies at Nobis were a pure delight a well.

I had to have something German-like, so I went for a warm apfelschtrudel at Café zum Mohren. (It’s actually Austrian, but who cares…)

Aachen is the perfect one-day city trip. Coming from Brussels, you just jump on the Thalys and in only one hour you’re there.

Vincent