5/29 Housekeeping then Liege Belgium

We spent the morning on housekeeping issues. A laundromat sited across the street was a no brainer. And then shops were open. Down the block a pharmacy had some nice micro pore tape style blister patched and packets of salt for foot soaking. A few blocks further was Intersport- a large retailer which had gear. Tammy hobbled in and strode out wearing some Teva trekking sandals. It would have made a good commercial ! In addition I found a German sock brand called Falke. They had some made for heat, and seamless in the heal where a lot of irritation had occurred. They are marked for the left and right foot. We loaded up.
Suddenly more mobile we whizzed through an audio tour of the Aachen town hall. Many interesting rooms but the huge Coronation room with it's vaulted ceiling and thematic fresco's was notable. Kings of Germany were once crowned here.
Out on the city square we popped into a cafe - Sausalito's - for a quick bite - - tacos and chicken salad . Zipped back to the hotel, we taxied to the train station with 10 minutes to spare before our train to nearby Liege Belgium. A one hour slow journey we saw quite a change in landscape.
Liege.... A storied town perhaps at its peak during the days of coal mining and steel - those now a memory. A massive tower memorial to the fallen of the first war looms above the massive ultra modern train station that dwarfs and contrasts the old buildings across the street. We stayed at the Best Western near the station for convenience. Checked in, we walked to see what we could of the city - hopeless really in the short time we were there. Hosting the nearby start to this years Tour D' France ( in Vise) the town has aspirations. But unlike other cites it is not a tourist town - not easily served up to the visitor. So we blundered towards the central area as thunder rumbled overhead and the temperature dropped. We reached the edge of the center an with glimpses down narrow alleys suggesting a rich nightlife we sat down at cafe Cecil as the drops began to fall. We had a glass of Bordeaux and I ordered the plat du jour- a whitefish in a well done sauce with rice. Tammy opted for a chicken salad. We were done as if on signal the rain stopped an we wandered home. Liege has sculpture everywhere you look. To say the least we didn't do this town justice in the few hours we were there. Coming from a major tourist town, the first impression of Liege is a worn out town of faded glory--which doesn't do it justice either. Indeed our host the next night suggested you need to hire a private guide to really grasp Liege.