Welcome to Rome.....I mean Trier

Porta Nigra

Trier was not a place we knew much about when we were researching places we wanted to visit in Germany.  The Mosel Valley and Burg Eltz were first on our list, but we were wide open after that. After learning about Trier, it's a wonder why we didn't know a lot more about it and have this as the number one spot on our list as it's steeped in history.

Porta Nigra and remains of Old Roman Road

Trier was an important city in the Holy Roman Empire and is the oldest city in Germany.  In some ways, it might be the most Roman city of any outside of Rome.  There are 7 UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites in Trier, all of them dating back to the Holy Roman Empire.  We spent most of our day touring these sites and it was quite the juxtaposition seeing 2000 year-old Roman structures amidst typical half-timbered German architecture that's over 1000 years younger.

Imperial Throne Room

We started our day touring the Porta Nigra or "Black Gate."  It's the largest surviving Roman city gate  in the world from about 180 A.D.  While its Roman name is unknown, it's been referred to as the Porta Nigra since at least the Middle Ages.  This gate has survived millennia even though it was built without the use of mortar.  Its massive sandstone blocks are held together with iron clamps embedded in lead.   In later years, the gate was converted into a church and it became a gate again in the early 1800s.  We toured the various floors of the Porta Nigra and were astounded at the carvings and craftsmanship still evident.  It provided great views of Trier and you could see the remains of the old Roman Road that people would have traveled when the gate was first constructed. 

Interior of Imperial Throne Room

After the Porta Nigra, we toured the Roman Imperial Throne Room of Constantine the Great which dates to the 4th century.  This is the largest surviving single room from Antiquity -- 220 feet by 90 feet by 110 feet.  A significant portion of the walls are almost completely original to its construction in 310 A.D. The acoustics are such that echoes of 7 to 10 seconds during choral performances are not uncommon.

Portion of Walls of Imperial Baths

After touring the Imperial Baths, the Porta Nigra and Imperial Throne Room seem to be in almost pristine condition by comparison.  These ruins are still being excavated and restored today.  As with the Imperial Throne Room, we saw the Roman bricks which are a very distinctive size -- wider and skinnier than bricks you see today. The construction was exactly like what we saw in Rome at the Colosseum and other historic sites.

Roman Bridge

The city still uses the Roman bridge over the Mosel River. The first bridge to be built over the Mosel, the original bridge was built of wood in 18 B.C., which was the oldest datable Roman structure in Germany.  The basalt piers of the current bridge date back to 144 B.C.

Can you tell we like history? Trier is not all Roman history. The city is also the birthplace of Karl Marx whose home has been turned into a museum.  We didn't get the opportunity to tour, but we at

least made it to get a picture. 

Karl Marx House

We have had the best time here.  The historic center of the city where we're staying is full of great architecture, shops, and dining.  It's also very compact which makes it very walkable to all of the sites.  And the final bonus -- it's still part of the Mosel Valley which means lots of great wine.

Scenes from Luxembourg

Grand Ducal Palace

After visiting the Luxembourg American Cemetery, we drove into the capital Luxembourg City for a whirlwind tour. Because of the rainy weather and the lateness of the day, we did our own self-guided walking tour of the major sites around the old town.  Luxembourg is a wealthy nation and serves as one of the headquarters of the European Union.  While there is some old town charm in the center of Luxembourg City, it's really more of a modern city with lots of new construction taking place.  We would have liked better weather and a little more time, but all in all, we got a good flair for Luxembourg.

Bock Promontory & Casements -- original fortifications

Cercle Cite -- Administrative Building

Adolphe Bridge -- 1903

Remembrance

On our way to Trier, we took a quick side trip to Luxembourg.  Although they didn't actually stamp our passport, we can add another country to the list of places we've been.  Luxembourg is nestled in between Germany, France, and Belgium and was the site of the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.

This was Hitler's last major counteroffensive and the American victory was critical in hastening the end of the war on the Western Front.  British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill stated "This is undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war and will, I believe, be regarded as an ever-famous American victory."

We paid our respects at the Luxembourg American Cemetery where 5,075 service members are buried.  It was fitting that we visited on a rainy, dreary afternoon considering the hardships our soldiers endured fighting to protect our freedoms and save the world from tyranny.  General George S. Patton, Jr., is buried here, his grave marked by the same simple white cross as all of the others.

Also buried here:

• Twenty-two pairs of brothers, buried side by side

• Two Medal of Honor recipients, Private William McGee of Indiana and Staff Sergeant Day Turner of Pennsylvania.

• Second Lieutenant Nancy Leo, an Army Nurse from Maryland, the only woman buried in this cemetery.

• The remains of 100 unknown soldiers.

• Five soldiers of the "Band of Brothers" -- Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment

Rest in peace dear ones.  We are eternally grateful for your service and your sacrifice.

Wine Country

Our first wine tasting in Alken

The Mosel Valley is one of Germany's wine regions.  Here riesling is king and the number of vineyards and small family wineries is astounding.  I'll admit up front that I've never been a wine drinker, mostly because I just don't care for the taste.  Red. white, blush -- it doesn't matter.  While not necessarily a connoisseur of wine, Mona knows what she likes which is usually white wine that tends to be on the sweeter side.  Moscato is her favorite.

We knew coming over that German rieslings would be drier and not as sweet as what we tend to have at home.  What we didn't expect is the sheer number and varieties of riesling.  Most of the wine produced here is hyper-local, meaning it's not exported and you may only find it in the town where the vineyard is located.  As we stopped in various towns and villages along our Mosel drive, we found a weinstube (wine room) where you can have tastings -- sometimes free if you plan to buy a bottle or two.

Calmont vineyard -- steepest in Europe

They say that the soil type and environment have as much effect on wine as the actual grape itself.  The Mosel cuts through the hills of western Germany and the terrain is very steep.  So steep, that many of the vineyards are terraced with stone walls.  And the soil?  It's actually a very rocky shale and not necessarily a rich, fertile soil.  One of the vineyards we stopped at was Calmont in the village of Bremm, which is the steepest vineyard in Europe at close to 60% grade.

Mona on the "wine train" used to traverse the steep slopes

The verdict?  Both of us have thoroughly enjoyed the wines here.  For me, that's saying a lot as I've never been a wine drinker.  For the first time, Mona and I can share a bottle over a meal which has never happened before.  We've both tended to enjoy a riesling feinherb, or "off dry."  Has it converted me to become a wine drinker?  Doubtful.  Given the choice, I'll still probably order something else, but for the remainder of the trip, I'll probably be sharing a bottle. 

Dinner at Weinstube Kesselstatt in Trier

Koblenz and the Deutsches Eck

Because of our flight delays getting here, we weren't able to do any sightseeing on the day we arrived.  That meant we ditched visiting Mainz Cathedral and the Gutenberg Museum as well as Koblenz because we were planning to visit on the way to Cochem and our first hotel stay.  We still wanted to see the Deutsches Eck -- "German Corner" - where the Mosel and Rhine rivers join together at Koblenz so we made a quick detour after our Burg Eltz visit.  A large statue of Kaiser Wilhelm was erected here in 1897 as a memorial to honor him for unification of Germany after several years of war.  The statue was destroyed

by bombing in World War II and a reconstruction of the memorial was completed in 1993.  After a quick stop to see St. Castor's Basilica, it was back to the car and continuing our drive exploring the Mosel valley.

Burg Eltz Castle

Our first full day was spent driving along the Mosel River and exploring the towns along the way. The main objective for the day was to visit Burg Eltz, likely the best preserved medieval castle in Germany.  Our plan was to arrive as soon as they opened at 9:30am in order to beat the crowds and take pictures.  We were not disappointed.

Our hike through the Eltz Forest

Burg Eltz is still privately owned, and has been in a branch of the same family since the 12th century -- 33 generations and counting -- and is one of the few castles to have never been destroyed.  Once you leave the car park, it's about a 15 minute walk down the footpath through the Eltz forest.  We were about the fourth or fifth car in the lot and had a lovely walk through the forest, listening to birds and the sounds of nature and bubbling water of the Elzbach River, a tributary of the Mosel that flows around the castle.  You can't see the castle at all until you round the final bend in the trail and then -- BAM! -- you see the castle in all its glory.

The castle complex is a combination of interlinked homes of the three branches of the Eltz family.  Unfortunately, we could not take photos in the interior of the castle, but our guide Michelle gave a wonderfully insightful tour about the castle and the family.  As much as I enjoyed Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria (see and read about it here), I believe I enjoyed Burg Eltz more.  The tour and what you're able to see inside was certainly better, it's equally as picturesque, and it's more adventurous to get there.

And We're Off..........Germany & France, Here We Come!

Thanks to today's unstable weather in Texas, one of our flights was canceled.  Fortunately, they canceled early enough so I could get us rerouted.  Instead of the direct USA to Frankfurt itinerary, we are now flying to Heathrow and switching over to British Airways for the flight to Frankfurt.  Echoes of having to do the same thing when we went to Paris a few years ago -- an unexpected stopover in London.  Back then, we landed on the day of Kate and Will's royal wedding and everyone was glued to their tv's watching the ceremony.  This time, we stop over with an impending royal birth for Meghan and Harry.  I wonder if we'll find souvenirs celebrating the occasion........?

Question answered.