Aachen Shopping

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Our hotel was right off this street which seems to me to be the main shopping one. We shopped at Zara and Galeria Kaufhof, but they have a wide variety of other stores. And by comparison to the shopping area in Cologne which we were yet to encounter, this one is so much calmer!

Vom Fass is speciality store which sells flavored liquors, wines and oils from casks. The variety is amazing and you can sample the products before you buy them. Bryan had been to one while in Switzerland and was really excited to see one in Aachen. We sampled the Fig and Sour Cherry flavors and he got a large bottle of each. I love the Sour Cherry and bought a little bottle of it for myself. They do a great job at sealing these for you which makes you less nervous about packing them in your carry on!

And... I must mention that the clerks at the store were SO nice that it made shopping there truly a pleasure!

You see these stores all around Germany and I know they're a basic department store that everything. I peeked at the Women's department but didn't see anything I cared to explore further so we just hit the food gallery for some provisions like water and snacks for our train ride to Hannover.

This is a large store that has pretty much everything you might need (or just want!) for your infant or toddler.

What to buy: Clothes, furniture, carseats, all sorts of baby and toddler needs. I liked the buggy boards (google it on google images or froogle) I have never seen them here in the US. They are basically a little platform for older children to stand on that attaches to the back of a stroller.

What to pay: Prices are anywhere from average to high.

This struck me as being pretty much like a Super Wal-Mart here in the states.

What to buy: Call me strange, but I'm fascinated by grocery stores in foreign countries. I don't go on vacation to eat, but eat I must, and seeing all the different products available is really interesting.

I was able to pick up a lot of chocolate for family members as well as some frites sauce and curry ketchup which isn't all that easy to find here. I didn't check out the rest of the store, except for the infants dept as I was over visiting my daughter who just had her first child.

I was also able to buy some cheese that's hard to find here in the US, called Prima Donna. I bought that at the deli counter. If you like cheese, give it a try.

Aachen is a great shopping town as there are lots of pedestrian streets both in the old and in the new town and they are all full of fun and/or stylish shops. Then there is the December Christmas market with its traditional things.

Gluehwein is the traditional warm alcoholic beverage drunk at Christmas markets all over Germany on chilly winter days. Similar to mulled wine, there are stalls selling it by the glass thoughout the market for a couple of Euro and some stalls selling bottles to be taken home.

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It was a real treat just to wander around and experience the atmosphere here - it really feels Christmassy, despite the lack of snow! With twinkling lights, amazing aromas from all the lovely food and traditional German Christmas music they really know how to entice the shoppers! Stall holders were friendly and chatty and helpful and really benefitted from the huge amount of coach parties from England and other parts of Germany!

What to buy: The Christmas Market is full of stalls selling all kinds of Christmas things - wooden toys, handmade decorations, soap, perfume, woolen accessories, food, chocolate, Printen, Gluehwein, cards, ornaments, etc etc etc.

What to pay: Various