The prettiest church you'll see this week

Yay! My parents are visiting today, so I'll get to see them for the first time since last year's trip to Italy et al. Unfortunately, we only have one long weekend here in Brussels and then next week a long weekend in Madrid, and then that's that again for another year (?) But we'll just have to make the most of things! It will of course be the first time they meet Jules. I think he's a little nervous, but as I keep reminding him, he made me meet his entire family at Easter after we'd been dating less than a month, so it's about time the boot was on the other foot. Anyway, I'm sure everyone will like everyone and it will all go fine.

So anyway, last time I told you about our first day in Aachen, so I'll wrap up day two before I have new parental adventures to share. We definitely didn't pack as much in as the first day, starting off with a long buffet breakfast (all you can eat for 10€, very yummy and it filled us up so much we didn't need lunch) before heading to the Suermondt Ludwig Museum, known for its fine collection of medieval sculptures. What a contrast to the Charlemagne exhibitions from the day before! Most of the time, we were literally the only people in the place, despite discovering when we turned up that it was some sort of special free entry day. If you like that sort of thing, it's definitely worth a look.

Mary had a little book-reading lamb

Jules and me in the mirror room

A quite hideous Lot and his Daughters by Otto Dix

My favourite stained glass window. They seem to have some sort of prize for contemporary stained glass, or at least to house the recipients thereof

Time for a post-museum sundae!

Jules goes for the healthy option

We had tried several times to visit the cathedral, but had never managed because there was some sort of choral festival going on as well that weekend, and there was always either a long line or it was shut for a concert. But we decided to try one last time before going home, and I'm so glad we did! I've never heard anyone mention Aachen cathedral, but it deserves to be up there with St. Mark's in Venice or Sainte-Chapelle as places you absolutely must go in to. It's just sumptuously gorgeous. The original church dates back to before 800, and therefore the time of Charlemagne, who was buried in the chapel. Unfortunately, it seems we missed the Gothic Choir Hall, where Charlemagne's shrine is now located, booo. German kings were also coronated here for 600 years. Most of the chapels surrounding the core building date to the 15th century. Most importantly though, it's simply stunning, and I don't know why it's not more well-known (or maybe it is and I missed it). Less chat, more hat:

If you're wondering why I look particularly tense, there was a woman sitting on the floor next to me who was definitely on meth or an equivalent

That's probably more than enough photos, but seriously, how pretty is that? We had cunningly done no research, so it was a fabulous surprise to walk in and find this treasure. Definitely happy we made the trip!