C & C globetrotting around the world…

Our flight was from Budapest to Koeln/Bonn. In Cologne we met up with Lena, whom we met in Thailand, for a beer and a chat comparing our impressions of Asia. It was nice to see her before continuing on to Trier. There, we met up with Katrin and had a pleasant dinner together. We were in Trier for 2 weeks, more than ever before. It was nice to see friends again and see a bit more of the area, but we also spent days on end working on the computer. There were many things that we needed to take care of, so now was the time to do it. But we also had nice walks around Waldrach, where Christoph’s parents live. Waldrach is a village close to Trier located in the Ruwer valley overlooking nice forests and many vineyards. Walking around there is so peaceful and the fresh air is so nice. On sunny days we always went out, either walking in the vineyards, the fields or through the village. We also had great “Kaffee und Kuchen” (coffee and cake) as well as delicious food and amazing wine from the region. It was nice to see Christoph’s parents for a longer time, as we’re usually in a hurry. We also spent some evening playing games (“Romme”) and chatting, so it was a wonderful family time.

Cecilia’s old colleague Alain Patrick from CIBC (who moved to Bonn) visited for 2 days with his family. We showed them the surroundings of Waldrach and walked up to a point from where you can see 9 surrounding villages. The next day, we showed them Trier, the oldest city of Germany. Trier, called Treves in French, is wonderfully located on the banks of the Moselle River, in a valley between low vine-covered hills producing the famous wines of the Mosel regions. Due to its proximity to Luxembourg (20km to the border), Christoph feels great affection to the small neighbouring country and its Grand Duke Henri.

There was a Germanic tribe (Treveri) living in the area, but the Roman Empire subdued the Treveri in the 1st century BC and established Augusta Treverorum (Lit: August (Regal, noble) [City] of the Treveri) in 16 BC. The name is likely to be taken from the title Augustus held by the Princeps or head of state at the time, Augustus Caesar. The city later became the capital of the Roman province of Gallia Belgica and may have had as many as 70,000 inhabitants within its city walls. Due to its history as a Roman city, Trier still has many landmarks also found in Rome. The Porta Nigra is the most famous one and the symbol of Trier. The city is also the oldest seat of a Christian bishop North of the Alps. The bishop of Trier is still an important figure in the city, owning much land and vineyards in the area.

We first drove up Petrisberg, a nice look-out point over the city. There are also maps showing Trier during various periods of its history from the Roman times through the Middle Ages and up to modern times. We then drove past the Roman Amphitheatre, which can hold around 20,000 people, and parked the cars. We walked in the down-town pedestrian area and visited the “Roman Thermal Baths” discovered underground near the Viehmarkt (“cattle market”). During the Middle Ages, the Roman buildings got covered up by dirt and the city was rebuilt on a higher level. The “Viehmarkt” is where cattle was being traded during the Middle Ages and is a now a nice plaza surrounded by cafes. We then continued to the “Kaiserthermen” (The Emperor’s baths), which are a lot bigger and open-air. These baths are the largest Roman baths North of the Alps. Across from them is the “Palastgarten”, a nice garden in front the Rococo “Kurfuerstliche Palais” that used to be the seat of the prince-elector of Trier. Later it was used as an administrative building during the French occupation under Napoleon. Next to it is the impressive Constantine Basilica, a basilica in the original Roman sense. It was the 67m long throne hall of Roman Emperor Constantine. It was built so big to intimidate anyone coming to ask for favours. Today it’s used as a Protestant church.

We went inside the “Liebfrauenkirche” (“Church of Our Lady”), where we had been for Easter mass. This church is really beautiful (more detailed explanations in the “Easter” post). Next to it is the “Dom”, the Cathedral of Trier which dates back to Roman times. We could not visit it because the “Holy Tunic” is currently on display and the line-ups are big. We then went to the “Hauptmarkt”, the main plaza, a nice place surrounded by beautiful buildings and thriving with life. After lunch we continued to the “Porta Nigra”, the best preserved Roman city gate North of the Alps. Luckily the building was used as a monastery during the Middle Ages and therefore was spared from plundering. Many other buildings have been destroyed because their stones were used in the construction of other ones. On the way back to the car, we passed by the house where Karl Marx was born in 1818. We then drove past the “Roemerbruecke”, the 2nd century AD Roman bridge across the Moselle and the oldest bridge North of the Alps still crossed by traffic. We stopped at the “St. Paulinkirche” (Saint Paulin Church), one of the most important Baroque churches in Rhineland-Palatinate Bundesland (province). We finished off the afternoon with a coffee on the terrace of Nell’s Park Hotel, nicely located next to the beautiful and peaceful Nell’s Park.

One day Christoph went to see the “Heilige Rock” (The Holy Tunic), a garment with a recorded history back to the 12th century. In the Catholic tradition it’s said to be the robe Jesus was wearing when he died and it’s exposed in the Trier Dom only 3 times per century. The first time was 500 years ago in 1512. We also saw some friends such as Stephan Thomm with whom we went to Astarix. This place is an institution in Trier and a classic for the guys and we had a good time. It’s funny how we only see Stephan once in a blue moon, but there’s lots to talk about and fun. We also went in the surrounding area to Mehring, from where there is a nice view of the Moselle river and its vineyards. Afterwards it was time to get ready for Christoph’s brother’s wedding.