Today we slept in, awaking to the sound of rain. The air was clear and cold. A perfect Sunday morning. Our host left us a basket of food for breakfast. We are really pleased with this Airbnb.

We wanted to attend church but the nearest congregation of our faith is in Aachen. Unfortunately the bus service doesn’t run there on Sunday, so we were left to come up with a different plan for our worship. We planned to attend Mass at the nearby church, but found that had been temporarily cancelled. We went to the cathedral and sat peacefully for about and hour. It was a good opportunity to meditate. In the afternoon we went to an Evangelical musical sing along. Most of the music wasn’t religious, but a few at the end were more so. We missed our normal Sunday experience and hope to attend church in Paris next Sunday.

In the evening we ate dinner at a simple Asian restaurant, and then strolled around the town. This place is amazingly beautiful. We can only imagine how magical it must feel during Christmas.

Tomorrow to celebrate Natalie’s birthday she gets to ride about 70 miles with the same elevation gain as Saturday – with the first 30 - 40 minutes spent pushing our bike up and out of this beautiful town. For her birthday present I’ll let her rest her feet on my back while I pedal for a while. We hope to start early and beat the rain in the forecast, as wet cobblestone could be treacherous.