Don’t be surprised when you ask some random Indonesians to mention notable cities in Germany and we put Aachen among them.
Aachen is oftentimes linked with the third president of The Republic of Indonesia, President B.J.Habibie. One of Germany’s top-leading technical institutions, RWTH Aachen, is widely recognized by many Indonesian scholars for producing one of their best talents, an aircraft genius, and a brilliant scientist, the late President Habibie. Apart from his sharp thinking style, President Habibie was well-known for his noticeable German accent despite speaking in Indonesian or English. On most occasions, he pronounced the Indonesian ‘r’ in German way as the effect of living in Germany for nearly 20 years. President Habibie also holds many patents in the field of aeronautics, and to date, he remains the only president from the background of science and engineering in Indonesia.
When I was on my way from Brussels to Köln, I intentionally decided to stop in Aachen. I only spent three hours in Aachen before departing to Köln. That time I realized this might be my only chance to visit my childhood dream place, a German university. I never knew when I would be back again because ten years earlier, I dreamed of attending a German university as a student, but I failed because of financial restrictions.
That evening I strolled through RWTH Aachen, where President Habibie studied there until he gained his Dr.Ing-. For vacation, Aachen may not be interesting enough, the town has less than any of its neighboring cities, like Köln or Düsseldorf can offer, yet I still found it beautiful. The town was quiet and calm. Everyone I met on the street seemed intelligent and efficient. I could see they walked two times faster than ordinary people. “100% not tourists”, I thought.
Three hours is too short and I know there is still more to explore. I only stopped by the RWTH Aachen complex, Aachen Cathedral, and the Markt on this trip. After this trip, I realized that sometimes in life when you look for things your heart finds beautiful, it is entirely possible to feel moved, even though it is just a small piece of obsolete dream and seemingly insignificant. Others may not have seen Aachen as anything other than a cold, boring old town but it connected with something deep inside of my past, and to me, these are the things that make travel worthwhile.
