We woke up in the oldest city in Germany and one of the most important cities in the Roman Empire. Trier's most famous sight is the "Porta Nigra," built by the Romans in 180 AD. It is the last of the original four city gates. Trier is a city with a population of approximately 100,000 inhabitants, located near the spot where the Saar and Rewer river flow into the Mosel. The city sits in a rather large flat plain, making it ideal for settlement. Though it was the Celts to first populate the area, the Romans soon followed and for a long time, Trier remained one of the most important cities in the entire Roman Empire. Due to the age of the city's founding, Trier claims to be the oldest city in all of Germany. Throughout the city, there are an incredible number or remains dating back to the Roman era, such as the Roman amphitheatre, the Roman Baths, and the famous Porta Nigra gate. The Porta Nigra is now the only remaining city gate that still survives since Roman times, since the other three were dismantled and used as a quarry. The Porta Nigra gate is the symbol of the city and dates back to the year 180 AD. It is said that the Porta Nigra is the best preserved Roman city gate in the entire world! Nowadays, the gate marks the beginning of the pedestrian zone, which leads to the main square, the "Hauptmarkt." Today, Trier is a thriving small city with the same population it had during the Roman era. A great number of today's inhabitants are students and nowadays Trier has become known for its lively university. Shopping is a popular pastime in Trier as well, since it is the largest city in this area of Germany.
Then, cruise the Moselle to the region's most picturesque village, Bernkastel-Kues with quaint streets surrounded by half timbered houses dating all the way back to the 16th century. Bernkastel is dominated by the ruins of its castle and the vine-clad slopes. Bernkastel-Kues actually comprieses of two small villages which have been united. The amin part o fthe village is called Bernkastel, on one side of the river, and this is where the ship docks. On the other side of the river you find the part of town called "Kues," the birthplace of Nikolaus Cusanus. Above the town you find the ruins of Landshut Castle, where you'll find a restaurant open in the warmer summer months, with a beautiful view over the valley. Bernkastel is said to have one of the prettiest market squares of any village along the Moselle. The square and its surrounding streets are filled with amazing concentration of so-called half-timber houses. Such houses, as pretty as they are today, are representative of the working and lower classes of medieval times. Some of the houses are 2-3 stories high and the lowest floor, at street level, is much smaller than the upper floors. This is because inhabitants had to pay taxes in former times on the amount of ground space there house or business covered. A clever way for them to reduce their taxes was to simply build the lowest floor so that it would take up the least amount of ground space. This is where a famous wine if made that is called the "Bernkasteler Doktor," because of an archbishop who believed that the wine had cured his illness. Today, the veneyard is owned by two families, Dr. Hugo Thanisch and Wegeleer of Deinhard fame. There's only a small quantity of this wine produced annually (approximately 10,000 bottles) and it's famous worldwide.
Breakfast
We had breakfast with a cute, older couple from England.
Trier Tour
We were supposed to board a bus to take us to the town of Trier for our tour at 8:00 a.m., but the buses got lost. The tour guide gave us information in the cocktail lounge while we waited. He is very knowledgeable, but he talked in a rhythm that would put you to sleep! We finally made it to Trier, which I loved! What a great town. Many people who work in Luxembourg live in Trier because it's less expensive. For an older town, they sure our advanced. The hospital has a new helicopter landing pad that goes down an elevator and directly to the operating room to save time. In Trier, the main site is the Port of Nigra. Then, we walked around the square and shopped. The Christmas market was beginning to open, but they mostly had flowers. Unfortunately, our time was cut short, so the buses drove us to another area where our ship moved to.
Return to Ship
We watched the beautiful scenery from our room and rested up for another tour at 4:00 p.m.
Bernkastel
We walked across the bridge with our guide over the Mosel river. This is where the Christmas market was in full bloom. It was just like you would imagine it to be with the gingerbread houses, and hot wine, cobblestone streets. The one thing that was not as I imagined it to be was the Bavarian pretzel. It was hard and cold, like eating a Snyder's pretzel....very disappointing. After we were finished, mom and I walked back to the ship to get ready for dinner.
Dinner
Tonight a couple of ladies named Penny and Gin Ann sat with us for dinner. They went to college together. We had good conversation and good food. I had a pork and pumpkin dish. We have also been enjoying the German Riesling wines.
Entertainment
After dinner, there was a band that played older songs and everyone was dancing and enjoying the music.
After the Entertainment
I went to work out, but only got about 20 minutes in. The equipment is very limited...a bicycle, tread mill, and weights. Then, I went to blog, but Cathleen was on the PC, trying to find a mass to go to, so I helped her. Then other people kept coming along and talking. One couple I met were from Dallas. She was trying to figure out how to get her photos onto her wand. They thought I was the youngest person on the ship! Gotta love them because right before I came, I told my friend that I'm "old, fat, and tired!" I finally got my remaining photos uploaded and returned to the room to blog, but again, no signal. Uggh! It has been very difficult to blog this trip, but I'm glad I didn't waste my time bringing my laptop.
No comments:
Post a Comment