I’ve just finished taking a stroll in the City of Aachen. I visited some of the stores, ate Printen (the gingerbread type cookie that Aachen is famous for), and bought speck (these soft wonderful colored marshmallows). I also took some pictures of fountains and then headed over to Carolus Thermen, one of the famous spas that this city is known for. You see, I’m in Aachen Germany now learning about the City that is working hand in hand with the group of people who are organizing the World Equestrian Games.

I’d heard about this spa from Werner Schlösser, who oversees it, earlier in the week and decided I had to go through the experience. Schlösser had explained that “the water has a lot of sulphur in it and a lot of minerals. It is very old – about 10,000 years old and there is about 30,000 liters an hour coming from the springs. It is often used for medical purposes, for instance, if you have rheumatism or problems with bones or muscles or with your skin.” Carolus Thermen has ten different pools and 14 saunas and steam baths and more than 1000 guests go there each day and even more around the holidays. Their peak time is between Christmas and New Years. I went there late because the spa was open until 11:00 p.m. The soothing warm pools and the bubbling waters made you feel as if you were having a massage. By the time I left, my lower back (which had been bothering me earlier in the day) was feeling quite good.

But the spas aren’t the only thing that Aachen is known for. Its history has as its roots the well known king, Charlemagne or Karl der Grosse. He suffered from rheumatism and the springs were something he believed in and frequented. After his coronation in Aachen the city soon became known as the city of the coronations of the German Kings because so many other Kings followed in his footsteps.

Charlemagne’s imprint is so strong in Aachen that even the World Equestrian Games took something from him. They named the mascot for the Games Karli. This cute horselike animal attempts to tie all the sports together by having both its mane and tail in the colors for the various disciplines taking place in Aachen during the World Equestrian Games August 21-September 3.