A Cold Arrival at the Train Station, Warm Waffles, and Everything In Between

GRIP: Engineering Reserach in Aachen, Germany

Cover image: Architecture in Maastricht

Stranded at the train station for two hours in 40 degree Fahrenheit weather was definitely not the warmest welcome I expected to receive in Aachen. This was unfortunately not the biggest hurdle of my trip so far. Of course, adjusting to a new country is difficult, but it made me thankful for how simple life is in the US by comparison. Between it taking two weeks to get working Wi-Fi in my dorm to the lack of widely available A/C (not just in Germany, but the vast majority of Europe), it took a while to get into the swing of things.

But once I did, I was blown away by the sheer amount of opportunities for travel and entertainment every weekend, especially with my semester ticket, which makes it possible to travel to many cities both in Germany and nearby countries completely free.

And it’s nice because when I first came to Aachen for UROP, I thought the summer would be mostly research. I imagined myself reading papers, meeting with my supervisor, and slowly figuring out how to look normal while ordering food in German. And while that has definitely been a big part of my weekly life here, what I didn’t expect was how much of the summer would happen outside of the internship: on trains, in caves, on boats, at castles, and sometimes in very confusing grocery store aisles.

Aachen is not the kind of city that is impressive at first glance. It’s a small city; I can walk from the east part of the main city to my dorm in under an hour. The city definitely slowly wins you over with the amazing food and neat architecture. The Cathedral here is one of the oldest in Europe and is beautiful, but some of my favorite “gems” here are more simple: getting pastries from bakeries where I still panic-order by pointing, sitting near the Markt after German class, walking through Pontstraße, and the sheer amount of nightlife where people are so excited to just watch soccer, especially since the World Cup is going on right now.

One of the first actual trips that made me realize how unique Aachen is was Dreiländereck (Three-Country Corner). Standing at the point where Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands meet felt unreal both scenically and experience-wise.

Going to Maastricht, a city in the Netherlands, was one of my favorite days. Exploring the underground caves there was a neat experience, especially because of how fast it got cold and how it was impossible to see without a flashlight. At one point, our tour guide turned off his flashlight and challenged us to walk to the end of the tunnel, which ended up going better than I thought. After being underground, visiting Bookstore Dominicanen felt like the complete opposite. It’s a bookstore inside an old church, which sounds like something someone would invent for a Pinterest photo.

Then there was Rursee, which felt like the true “summer camp” portion of UROP. We went to the beach, got on boats, and enjoyed kebabs and pizza at one of the outdoor restaurants nearby. I really liked getting on the boat and going through the water to get to the islands in the park. Sitting in the sun afterwards and just relaxing was great too.

We also went to Cologne, where we climbed that big Cathedral you would recognize from Instagram Reels, and it also taught me that when the email says to “wear comfortable shoes” it’s not a casual suggestion. Bonn and the Haus der Geschichte made German history feel more immediate. Liège (in Belgium) showed me that a completely different city, language, and food culture (the fries and waffles were so good) can be only a short trip away.

There are three weeks left in the program, but there are so many places I know I won’t get to visit because there is simply not enough time and too much to see. The internship and research gave my weeks structure, but the trips gave me the memories and stories I can share with family and friends back home. I came to Aachen expecting to spend it mostly in an academic way, but I did not expect to also learn from caves, boats, bakeries, border points, and castles, though I’m glad I was able to.