FAWCO FAWCO Region 5 Regional Meeting: Nov 6-8, 2009 FUN in Aachen
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by Tracy M

Well, there is much to be said for the Fun in FAWCO. Those who have attended an event know this to be true. For first-timers, and not-so-first timers, each FAWCO conference is unique and Aachen was no exception. Frauke and Kate did a fantastic job of balancing the work and fun aspects of the weekend.

We all arrived on Friday and had a lovely dinner at the Aquis Grana hotel located only a few minutes’ walk from both the city hall and the Imperial Cathedral. Socializing was the main program as we hadn’t seen each other as a group since the annual FAWCO conference in Vilnius in March. Catching up is always a highlight as we reconnect with old friends and meet new ones. On day two, the fun stuff didn’t start until after lunch. We met in the city hall and were treated to the history of Aachen and the reign of Charlemagne by guides who were basically living history books and we learned more from these two enthusiastic, experienced people than we ever did in school. We then had two hours to explore the city on our own and most of us made our way to the Printen shops. Printen are gingerbread-type cookies that are a speciality in Aachen, and we helped support the local economy by purchasing quite a lot of it! We finished off the evening with a lot of socializing at dinner. A small group then broke off and tested the night life, but I headed to bed, exhausted from too much talking and laughing.

After a brunch on Sunday morning, I had to head to the train station to return to Hamburg, but most of the group stayed in the city to take part in a tour of the Cathedral and Cathedral Treasure. After having seen photos taken by another member of the group, I wish I had had the opportunity to stay in the city a bit longer so I could have witnessed them, too. The Cathedral and its treasures are truly magnificent. As I rode the train home alone, I realized what a super group of women attend these FAWCO conferences: dynamic and energetic movers and shakers, but also extroverted, kind, compassionate, friendly and most definitely FUNNY!!

originally published in Currents Jan/Feb 2010