Aachen

He came by train. "He came; he saw; he conquered." And so it was in Aachen. Benito got off his tall horse and moved a little to the right. 'Wo ist das Bahnhof?' And so did he find his way. An elderly lady asked him something in German which he could not comprehend. Englisch, she said. The train to Cologne finally came and Benito was quick to get on with his overly large suitcase. So, that was how the Köln cookie crumbled. But say nothing he did not as he loaded himself onto the train and the babies cried out with a leisurely way that was not all together in keeping with the environs, but at least they were in their baby-carriages. So, what do you say to that? Benito got out his notecards and the train filled to full capacity, but Benito had he none. The switch was in Cologne. He followed the path of no return. That was how it went. So, what could he do now that he had had a wiener-schnitzel? So, so, so. What do you say to that? But what he could not figure out was what in the world was that young man trying to say on the train? That young man named Dennis. At first, Benito thought he was trying to bum a ticket off of him, and then he thought he wanted some money, but none could Benito make of it all, until he wrote it down. And then he understood it still not. But what can you do? He looked at Benito's ticket, said 'Ah, so!' and ran away and Benito saw him naught anymore.

Arriving in Aachen HBf, he quickly made his way toward the 'Bücherei', but it was too small, so he continued along. Finding a man finally who showed him the way back to the train station and to a little bookstore where he bought a paper which to-date, he has not read. So, so, so. What do you make of that? But then, coming out of the bookstore, he found Claudia wearing her green, green jumper. They celebrated then for a time and moved on. 'Sprechen-Sie deutsche?' This was a question which Benito got a lot. Well, he spoke a little, ich spreche ein beißhen. So, that was that. Then, after giving a fiver to the homeless dude, they were off.

Coming to the house, they played some pool. Then some more. And later, some more. And even later, they went bowling, all from the garage! What fun Benito was having here in Aachen. Well, they went that evening for some traditional Chinese medicine. And that was good. Unfortunately, the doctor had no time for Benito, but that gave Benito some time to record some all-famous recipes, like for mint coffee for example. That is good. Well, after a long time or a short time, it came time to be leaving. They had played many a game on Quint's I-touch phone and now they were ready to be heading out. They had all experienced Zen, to be sure. So what now? Well, the cell phone store downstairs was closed, so they then made their way back to the parking lot, where Quint and Benito chilled until the others came a'knocking. And then the chimes started to ring out so that noone could hardly get any sleep, but then Benito met Thorsten.

An amiable man was Thorsten, who was fair: strict but fair. 'What have you to do in Aachen?' asked Thorsten of Benito. 'Why, I've come to see the sights!' said Benito, and so he had. Well, that is good. And they all ate chestnuts together and celebrated most whole-heartedly. That is good. And drank beer and sat by the fire. It was Thanksgiving after all, and turkeys were supposedly nearby. But what could Benito do but eat nuts and drink beer. Yeah! Oh, well...

The next day Benito went to the lab with Thorsten. ABIOLAB it was called. Benito then went into town for to see what he could see. What sights to see! Among them, the Aix-la-´Chappelle in all its glory. But Benito did not go there right away. Instead, he went walking along past the magic fountain with a man reaching out as if to catch something in his hand, like spare change. Then to the bookstore where Benito bought a lot of stuff, including a book by Robert Jordan, which he promptly lost, but that came later. Together with his bag, he had an Irish coffee and departed the premises for to find something to chew on. Finding then the Gluhwein. Oh, the magical Gluhwein. He would have much more later on! But for now, he was content. He had turned around and found the museum, the Clouvein, for which he had been searching and that was good. Then, he went to the phone shop, and while he was there, an older man came aknockin' singing, "Oh, Hohoho!" What could Benito do but help the old drink. He wanted to make a call, so Benito bought him a beer and held the phone up to his ear. "Oh, hohoho!" said the man to the lady on the other end. And thus was he able to secure a coat for the night, and thus was Benito able to secure a good deed and the man sang out, "Benito!!! This is my friend named Benito." With a hug and a kiss, he was off, as people looked down on him and held up their noses.

Then Benito left his stuff at the counter and carried on into the crowd, in search of more Gluhwein. Klasse! That is good. He saw many pretty girls, but with none could he speak, until he found a man smoking some Greek cigarettes. That, Benito could understand. Or at least, read outright. He struck up a conversation, finding out that he was a student at the University named Alexei. And he also had a Greek girlfriend. That is good. He was from Thessaloniki and recommended a destination in Rhodes quite highly, saying that it was very beautiful. Mykonos is good, he said, but only for make party. Otherwise, it is not so nice. So, they parted on good terms. Then, Benito took a seat, drank more Gluhwein, as the other party-goers saw him for the English-man that he was. Oh, well. The bells! But anyhow, Benito payed them little heed, for they were mean little Germans! But then, Benito went away from the crowd and found himself some new friends, whose names he can not now recall, but which were very nice. And so that was good. One thought Benito looked familiar, and another was a student of psychology. Benito suggested that she might psychoanalyze him! But that was all for naught. She showed promise, but with a German, Benito just could not get, using all his devices. Perhaps tomorrow? All Benito needed was a little more time, and then he was sure he could work his magic! Haha. Well, maybe in Paris?? That would be nice. When Benito came back to the place where his jacket had been, he found nothing. He asked, but to no avail. So, that was not so good. "You lost my jacket?!" Thorsten said at the breakfast table the next day. And so he had. But, what were the consequences. Could Benito yet again buy his way out of trouble? Out look not so good. So, what could he do. He bought another jacket. And after having found an apology waiting for him and a pardon, much like Obama's turkey, it was too late. The jacket could not be returned. So, Benito found himself in a pickle. What would you do? Now, he must steal the money back, or face his doom!

For now, however, Benito was content to wonder and wonder he did, what the meaning of life would entail. But together they went the next day back into Aachen for to do some shopping. It was a pretty laid back weekend. That was good. The model trains were there in town, but pay them attention, Benito did not and went shopping instead and back into the Aix-la-Chappelle, after spending around €0.30 to use the facility. That was good. Now in the chapel, he asked about the services and was pleased to find that indeed there was organ playing, just on Sunday. Benito did not unfortunately attend. That was not so good. But, he did have an eventful Sunday nonetheless, and another Weinachts Markt!

This time they went hiking in a swamp. This was good. Then it was windy. This was nicht sehr gutt. But, they survived, even if Quint had not so much fun after running barefoot in the snow, and Eric didn't feel like speaking English. But no matter Benito would try and sober him up. That was good. Thorsten was being an amiable God-father (oooohhh, the 'God-father') and helped Benito to button his coat. So, Benito played the part. Also, taking off his shoes. 'If somebody jumped off a bridge, would you?' Apparently, yes. Then they all went out into the small town in Belgium for some Belgian waffles. Shmechte-gutt! That was good. Then down the stream, ever following Vicki and company into the glass-blowing shop. Then for a little more way until they came to the town with the little houses. Go in the shops they did not, but buy more Gluhwein and some deep-fried potatoes, so they did. That was good. Benito's stomach was strong and therefore did not suffer the consequences. That was also good. At the end, there was a big Christmas tree and people playing a mysterious music. Thorsten bought a Christmas hat with long braids for his daughter and off they went into the night. Ah yes, and they also stopped buy the bridge near the kirche to take some pictures of the beautiful scene. That was good. Then, they were back on track and, Gluhwein in hand, made their way back. It had been a good time overall.

Oh yes, and Saturday night had been a house-warming party. That was also good, but there were a lot of older people, only one Benito's age, but that was Ok, for he agreed to show Benito around next week at the University and that was good. Then the Seiß family watched 'Ice Age 3' and all rejoiced, and large quantities of wine were consumed. Holla! Well, at least it's not whisky, which the Seiß's have a lot of, supposedly, so we shall see. Now, it is time for another sip of wine. Cheusse!