Weekend trip crossdressed: Sightseeing

Let’s do some sightseeing in the historic center of Aachen. There are two central buildings in the city center, the “Dom St. Marien zu Aachen” (Cathedral Aachen), built around the year 800 and Aachen City Hall, built around 1350.

Outside the Cathedral on “Münsterplatz” with some local farmers' market stands.

Sitting pretty at “Vinzenzbrunnen” (St. Vincent fountain). I first had to wait for two ladies to vacate the spot and when they did, I asked them to take a photo of me.

“Puppenbrunnen” (puppet fountain), symbolizing the vibrancy of the city at “Krämerstrasse,” which leads from the Cathedral up to city hall.

Somewhat funny encounter, at least for me: You know those “stag parties,” what from German would translate as “bachelor farewell party” with their stupid exercises/challenges.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I was seeing a group of young men already, one of whom was dressed to be recognizes as the future groom. He was sent off by his friends to, apparently, try one of his challenges with me. So, he approached me saying loudly for all to hear (in English) “I am getting married!” and before he could even say what he wanted from me, I answered (in English and equally loud): “Good for you!” and walked straight past him.

On the staircase to city hall. Exercise caution, to whom you hand your camera or cellphone to take a photo of you, when it takes you half a minute to get to that photo spot. I do, and so far nothing bad happened. Besides, I am pretty fast. I'd take off my heels and catch them.

One of my former hangouts in the city center was “Domkeller,” very close to city hall. In most other older cities that I have visited, that name is carried by a somewhat conservative, stuffy restaurant. The one in Aachen was somewhat chilly and relaxed during the day and turned into a hotspot at night, packed to the last square inch with students, and with very loud music. Think of Led Zepplin’s “A whole lot of love” at a volume that makes it impossible to hold a three-way conversation.

Despite the place being very busy that day (mostly tourists, I would say), I was lucky enough to secure a top spot outside, right next to the entrance (and, hence, with direct access to the waiters). I enjoyed the sun, before it disappeared behind another building. I was joined at my table by a lesbian couple from the Netherlands and I made some conversation with them.

I went on towards the University section of Aachen. There is no classical university campus; the buildings and departments of the university are spread out over, say, 20% of the city.

I visited a café that was heavily frequented at that time by those studying at the “Philosophy School,” a department under which all was subsumed from education to arts history. My girlfriend at that time studied there and this is how I learned about this place. I wonder what she, a wannabe-feminist at that time, would have thought about how I looked that day.

And the elevator shot again, on the way to my room and to get ready, i.e., to dress up, for the Saturday evening entertainment program. And there was even more sightseeing on Sunday. Stay tuned!