Trier, Germany

Well yesterday we all traveled to Trier, Germany. I woke up to see that my host, Randy, had brought home a black Mercedes E-Class Benz to drive to Trier, Munich, Lake Constance, and Switzerland. He was gracious enough to allow me to drive it home from Trier on the Autobahn which was a lot of fun...even though it was raining a bit and I was reluctant to drive too fast. Sure is a nice car...I hear that they're cheaper to buy over here...I'll have to look into that before we leave.

Now, on to the city...we arrived in Trier and made our way to the Roman baths. Before traveling to Trier I had no idea how old the city was, but when the Holy Roman Empire ruled Germany they had a "base" of sorts in Trier. The Roman baths were built in 2 A.D. Being the geniuses that they were, the Romans were able to construct the baths so that one bathing room was heated (water, floors, and walls) and another bath was with cold water (floors still heated to avoid the shock of a hot water bath and a cold floor). The ruins were remarkable.

Then we walked a short distance from the baths and toured a museum which contained Roman artifacts dating back to 2A.D. Coins, weapons, pottery, mosaics, headstones, statues, and glass wear were all found in and around the Mosul River near Trier. Archaeologists are still uncovering artifacts today. For example, as we were walking through the pedestrian district we came across a large glass structure just around the corner from where Karl Marx was born. Inside the building Sigi tells us that there are more Roman ruins that were uncovered when builders in Trier were constructing a "park house" or parking garage. A quick view inside the glass structure confirms that there was in fact, a huge ancient Roman bath beneath the ground we were walking on. Amazing.

We also toured several cathedrals and a basilica all of which were really old and architecturally amazing. One of the cathedrals we toured in Trier claims to have the robe of Christ kept in the church treasury that it brings out for all to see once every ten years.

After the Cathedrals, we made our way to one of Trier's most famous structures, the Porta Nigra, or Black Gate built before 2 A.D. as the main gate to the wall surrounding the city. There isn't much left of it today and it has been blackened by time and pollution. Still amazing to see, and more difficult to comprehend something that old.

We ate a sandwhich and had some icecream and then made our way to the Roman Amphitheatre where gladiators battled hungry lions, tigers, and bears to the death. Prisoners, christians, and other undesirables (or threats to Ceasar) were also thrown in the ring to battle each other, gladiators, or hungry animals. You can still see the cages where the animals were held prior to being released into the ring. Beneath the Amphitheatre is a dank, dark, musty cellar where the prisoners were prepared to fight and dead bodies were stored.

Wrapping up our tour at the Amphitheatre, we hopped back in the car and headed to the German countryside to visit Siggi's sisters Heidi and Dorothy. It was a great experience to see how Germans live outside of many of the tourist destinations. Dorothy fed us and then we were on our way back home.

It was a long day but we got a TON in and were able to do alot. Today we're going to Burg Eltz (a castle up north near Koblenz) and perhaps wine tasting. It's a German holiday today so our plans may be altered by closures but that is yet to be determined.

From Kaiserslautern:

R & J