Well, it should be just over two hours. Apparently the GPS system decided to give us the scenic route. On our way south we encountered rain and snow and nearly ran out of gas. We exited off the highway in pursuit of a gas station. We hadn't seen one in a long time. At first we thought we had spotted one. Indeed we had. The only problem was that it was behind the fence at a very large US Air Force base. For a second, I pondered whether my Illinois drivers license carried any sort of weight. We kept driving until we spotted some locals and asked for directions. They had us turn around and head in the opposite direction. I'm not sure what the German word for "boonies" is, but we were definitely in it.
About fifteen minutes later we spotted a Shell station. We filled up the tank next to a Canadian soldier who was pumping gas into his car. The car sported Canadian plates. I guess that's how it works here with the military. Still, seeing those plates were about as odd as seeing Hawaiian plates on the Mainland. At that point, we were so far off the highway, the GPS routed us through the local roads the rest of the way. We passed towns with names like Dudeldorf. I'm still laughing about that one.
It is amazing how quickly the geography changed during this trip. Cologne is in the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen. It is pretty flat around here due to the Rhine River. From what I've learned, the temperature is also much more mild. Almost as soon as we crossed into Rhineland-Pfalz (the next state south) it became hilly. That's where the rain and snow began. We passed several vineyards. Taking the backroads into Trier from the gas station reminded me a lot of driving through northern Wisconsin or western Oregon. Big rocky sandstone bluffs loomed over us the rest of the way as we zigzagged through the woods.
As you approach the city center, there are electronic signs indicating the number of available parking places at various lots. Cologne has this too. I wish I had taken a photo from the car. This being a Saturday afternoon close to the holidays, the signs read something like this:
Lot A: 0
Lot B: 2
Lot C: 0
Lot D: 1
Lot E: Don't bother.
We didn't. We found a free spot a little out of the way and walked towards the city center. The reason for all the traffic was Trier's Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) and central shopping area. All around, tour busses were unloading tourists by the hundreds. I guess when you grow up in Dudeldorf or Luxembourg (mere kilometers away), what else are you going to do on a Saturday? As we walked through town we heard several different languages spoken.
Trier's history goes back to the first century BC. The population is just over 100,000 and I would guess its economy is now mostly tourist-based. We found it rather easy to walk from one end of town to the other (and back again, much to Her delight). We spent most of the day visiting Roman ruins. There was much more I would have liked to have seen, but we simply ran out of daylight and visiting hours. If you're going there for the first time, plan for a full day or two of sightseeing. We really just had the afternoon.
Here's the obligatory photo break.
Porta Nigra, the city's landmark, is the last of four Roman gates that allowed entrance to the city. This is the northern gate.
Hordes of tourists make their way down Simeonstraße to the Weihnachtsmarkt.
We were a bit disappointed with the Weihnachtsmarkt. Other than all the French tourists, it didn't seem to offer up much more than what we've seen in any of the Cologne markets, or the Chicago one for that matter.
Fortunately there was a lot more to see.
Take the time to walk to the south eastern corner of the city center and you'll find the remains of the Roman Amphitheater. It was large enough to hold 18,000. This view is from the cheap seats.
"Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?
Back towards the city center is the Kaiserthermen, or Imperial Baths
You can almost get lost touring the utility corridors underneath the Thermen.
The Römerbrücke (Roman Bridge) crosses the Moselle River. The bridge was built in the 2nd century AD. It is the oldest bridge north of the Alps still crossed by traffic.
Karl Marx's birthplace. As you walk here from the Bridge (via Karl Marx Straße) you'll pass an awful lot of strip clubs and erotik shops. Red light district, indeed!
The other side of the Porta Nigra
Last year when I visited over the holidays we made a day trip to Aachen. Since then, I've been hoping to get out more to see the rest of the country. Between our different schedules it hasn't been easy. We had a great time exploring Trier however and agreed that we need to do a lot more of this. Hopefully I'll have some more field trips to write about soon.
Tomorrow I return to school. I've been away from lessons for over a month now. I definitely needed the break. But I know I'm more than a little bit rusty on my German right now. I haven't exactly practiced as much as I had planned since returning from Thanksgiving. I'll be stepping into the middle of a class with an exam at the end of this school month. Fortunately, we have a rather extended break for the holidays. I'd like to think I'll use that time to review and get ready for the exam, though I have my doubts.
Finally, we have a score update: Kinder 14 - Me 2. I actually had a somewhat productive afternoon with the kids. A whole lot of students were missing in both classes so that may have had more to do with it than my own abilities, but I'll take my points any way I can get them at this moment.
Yay for field trips!! It sounds like we had similar weekends.:-) And we were almost up near you guys. Trier looks really interesting - it's definitely on my list of things to see now.
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