We start in the historic old town right next to Aachen Cathedral, where the hustle and bustle of the city and traffic are quickly replaced by a quiet suburban idyll. At Europaplatz, surrounded by a highway ramp and an industrial area, we emerge from the hustle and bustle of the city into a green oasis. Far away from housing estates and traffic, we follow the babbling Wurm. On the way, we pass Gut Kalkofen, one of the many manorial estates in the rural urban area whose roots go back to the Middle Ages. After Würselen, the landscape becomes increasingly rural, with the idyllic village of Euchen and its square farmhouses, some of which are up to 300 years old, creating a rural atmosphere. We cycle on towards Jülich through the Börde landscape, characterized by fields and meadows, accompanied by the imposing slag heaps that were created in the course of mining. They bear witness to the mining past of the former Aachen mining district and remind us of the disused collieries that shaped the region for over a century. Today, many of the spoil tips are protected due to their diversity of flora and fauna and serve as a refuge for endangered species.Along the route, we also regularly come across old station buildings and isolated track systems as silent witnesses to glorious railroad days gone by, reminding us that trains once used this route to transport coal, the miners from the colliery sites or, more recently, beets. In Jülich, be sure to visit the Renaissance citadel and the bridgehead park from the Napoleonic era.

Highlights along the route:

• Historic old town of Aachen/Aachen Cathedral
• Kalkofen estate
• Former railroad station buildings (e.g. Mariadorf)
• Jülich bridgehead park
• Jülich Citadel