When my husband K and I got up at 7, it was 50°, but felt like 47°. At 7:30, we went with our daughter J to breakfast, where I had fruit, marinated Bircher muesli, and Bircher with honey, accompanied by OJ.
After breakfast at 8:10, we stopped at the desk to pick up the tickets for our tour. It was now 55°, but felt like 51°. We went to our cabins to gather what we needed for the excursion.
The boat was actually docked in Wasserbillig, Luxembourg, upriver from Trier. So, when we stepped off at 9:05, K and I were in a country we'd never been in before. Unfortunately, there were no tourist shops nearby and we would not be able to get a postcard or anything.
At 9:10, we boarded the bus for the easy version of the "Rome of the North" Tour. They were actually short a bus due to one breaking down. So, we got on the first Pink one along with other colors.
The bus set off at 9:15. The guide, as always, had history to share. She noted that we were in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, but headed for the German city of Trier. Trier is in the Middle Mosel. The Lower Mosel is toward where it meets the Rhein.Trier is the oldest city in Germany. The area was first mentioned by Julius Caesar around 55 BC. He was fighting the Treveri people, whom he called stupid because they were blonde, the guide said, although I cannot confirm this. About 16 BC, the city was founded by Augustus Caesar and it was named Augustus Treverorum (City of Augustus in the Land of the Treveri). Its location was considered to be geostrategic. By 44 AD, it was the most opulent city in Gaul. In the 3rd century, it was the temporary Roman Imperial Residence.
We jumped to the present. Camel cigarettes, which my uncle smoked, are still made in Trier. There is not much industry in the area. Tourism is very big, however. She pointed out the slate roofs, which were everywhere. There are slate mountains in the Rheinland- Pfalz, including the Eifel. It's a Catholic town, but the monasteries were laicized in the French Revolution.
As we drove in town, I saw the thing that made me the most excited to see Trier- the Porta Nigra. A poster of it hung in the back of my German classroom for years. I was looking forward to seeing it in person.
We were off the bus at 9:55 and within minutes, we saw a Stolperstein. Heinrich Wetzstein had been a psychiatric patient, who was transferred in 1939 to a sanatorium in Andernach. With the beginning of WWII, all such places were emptied of their patients to be used for military hospitals. None of the patients could have survived. He was murdered in 1939.
Situated a couple of hundred metres from the Cathedral is one of the most significant works of Roman late Antiquity – the gleaming red Constantine Basilica. Originally it was erected as a palace hall for representational purposes (throne room and show-place for imperial displays of power). The basilica is the largest single room to have been preserved from Antiquity. It measures an impressive 67 metres in length, 27 metres in width and is 33 metres high. In this massive room the organ's echo takes a full 7 seconds!
After the Romans,
the Constantine Basilica has had a very eventful history. It was used
as the seat of the royal county earls during the Merowinger period, then
as residence of the Archbishop and the French used it as a military
hospital and barracks. In the middle of the 19th century the palace hall
was converted into a Church of the Redeemer and thus became the oldest
protestant church in Trier. Since 1986 it has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage.
In the Middle Ages, the prince bishop took the throne hall and integrated it into his palace. It now had a secular use. Built in the 17th century, the attached Residenzschloß/ Kurfürstliches Palais or Electoral Palace is considered one of the most beautiful rococo palaces in the world. It was damaged during an American air raid on the city and rebuilt after the war. It, too, is part of UNESCO.
Then, we got to go into the Konstatin Basilika, which is now the Lutheran Kirche zum Erlöser or Church of the Savior. Truly huge! The floor used to be marble and there had been a throne, which had been the only seat in Roman times, because everyone else stood. After it was damaged in WWII, it was decided to not restore the interior or exterior decoration. It makes for a very stark church. The organ was replaced in 2014 and now has over 6000 pipes. Wow!
Back outside, we could see bits of the plaster that used to cover the bricks. We could also see a now-covered sewer at the building's wall. Getting farther away, we could better see the shape.
I also got lucky and noticed a manhole cover. I do love how European ones are often decorated. Here was the city' shield.
She pointed out the nearby Bishop's Gate, which was rather ornate.
The walk yielded all sorts of interesting details. For instance, when we were on a side street called An der Meerkatz, we saw this neat sandstone relief from 1764–66 of meerkats, a la the name of the street.
Over Liebfrauenstraße (Our Dear Lady Street), there was this ornate bridge. Not far beyond it, we saw how folks announced to their neighbors that they'd had a boy.
Our next destination was the Trierer Dom (Trier Cathedral). Also known as Hohe Domkirche St. Peter zu Trier, it is not only the oldest church in Germany, but also the oldest building still serving its original purpose as a cathedral to the present day. It is one of the oldest churches in the world. I found this in spottinghistory.com:
The edifice is notable for its extremely long life span under multiple different eras each contributing some elements to its design, including the center of the main chapel being made of Roman brick laid under the direction of Saint Helen, resulting in a cathedral added onto gradually rather than rebuilt in different eras. Its dimensions, 112.5 by 41 m, make it the largest church structure in Trier. In 1986 it was listed as part of the Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The structure is raised upon the foundations of Roman buildings of Augusta Treverorum. Following the conversion of the Emperor Constantine the Bishop Maximin of Trier (329-346) coordinated the construction of the grandest ensemble of ecclesiastical structures in the West outside Rome: on a groundplan four times the area of the present cathedral no less than four basilicas, a baptistery and outbuildings were constructed; the four piers of the crossing formed the nucleus of the present structure.
The fourth-century structure was left in ruins by the Franks and rebuilt. Normans destroyed the structure again in 882. Under Archbishop Egbert (d. 993) it was restored once more.
The West front in five symmetrical sections remains typical of Romanesque architecture under the Salian emperors. The West end choir, with its apsidal semi-cylinder expressed on the exterior façade, was completed in 1196. The interior is of three Romanesque naves with Gothic vaulting, and a Baroque chapel for the relic of the Seamless robe of Jesus, recovered from the interior of the high altar in 1512, complete the interior.
The skull of St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, is displayed in the cathedral.
That last one is certainly a fun fact.
At 10:31, we caught site of the Liebfrauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), which, wikipedia points out, is, according to UNESCO, "the earliest church built in French High Gothic style outside France." It is designated as part of the Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier UNESCO World Heritage Site.
visitworldheritage. com says:
The Church of Our Lady is the oldest Gothic church in Germany, built in
the 13th century on the outline of a twelve-petalled rose (rosa mystica)
in the finest French High Gothic filigree architecture.
The double church in Trier was first built in the 4th century under the reign of Constantine, and was the largest church in the Imperium Romanum. However, it was destroyed by invading armies and rebuilt several times. The southern part of the Roman double church was torn down around 1200 and completely replaced by the Early Gothic Church of Our Lady (Liebfrauen). Nothing above the surface is Roman any more, but there are extensive excavations (not open to the public) underneath the church and several of the Gothic pillars stand on top of Roman column foundations.
The medieval church, however, was no longer a long, three-aisled structure, but a church-in-the-round, whose cross-shaped vaulting with four corresponding portals in rounded niches was completed by eight rounded altar niches so that the floor plan resembles a twelve-petaled rose, a symbol of the Virgin Mary, the rosa mystica, and reminiscent of the twelve tribes of Israel and the Twelve Apostles. The apostles and the twelve articles of the Apostle's Creed are painted on twelve supporting columns, completely visible only from one spot marked by a black stone. The intriguing optics are matched by splendid acoustics.
Unfortunately, we did not get to go in. We spent less than ten minutes first looking at the exterior of this church.
Then, we turned our attention to where it attached to the Dom and took a look at the exterior of that. (You thought I forgot to include pictures, admit it.)
Like the Konstantin Basilika, there was a handy metal scale model to look at details of the layout of the two.
We saw a group of people coming out of the cathedral and soon realized that they were a wedding party. Germany requires a civil marriage at city hall, before the religious, in this case Catholic, ceremony. The bride is in the short, white dress.
The next stop was the market square, where we saw some interesting facades around the medieval partly Romanesque market cross. It was interesting to see this here after seeing one in just about every small town we visited in Scotland. The white building with the statues was a former guilds' banquet hall. It's called Die Steipe or Zur Steipe, a word that came from a Trier dialect word meaning (arcade) supports. It dates back to about 1430. It was completely destroyed in World War II, but, starting in 1968, it was faithfully rebuilt.
There was a beautiful fountain, as there is in so many squares in Europe. This was called the Marktbrunnen (Market fountain) or Petrusbrunnen, for St. Peter is the patron of the city and he stands atop the fountain. There are statues of the four cardinal virtues (Prudence, Justice, Fortitude or Courage, Temperance or Restraint) and a hexagonal base. It dates to 1595 and has been restored repeatedly. It is the work of Hans Ruprecht Hoffmann.
McDonald's had a prime location on Simeonstraße, right off of the Hauptmarkt.
Just a few minutes later, the guide lead us into the portal known as the Judengasse or Jewish Alley, which lead to the Jewish Quarter that dated back to medieval times. The building with the Lion's sign is the oldest Jewish-owned house in Trier. Before WW II, there 800 Jews living in Trier. Of these 600 were killed. A dozen or so returned after the war. Today, there are 4-500, many of whom came from the former USSR.
It was 11:07, when we caught our first sight of the Porta Nigra at the end of Simeonstraße. But, I was started to hear Coldplay's "When I Ruled the World" being played on cello. Soon, we saw the young woman playing near Kaufhof department store. She was really quite good.
The guide stopped to point out the Dreikönigenhaus, or House of the 3 Kings or Magi. Built in 1231, its name came from a painting of the Epiphany that had hung inside. In 1680, The Three Kings Inn was run here. Originally, it was one of ten houses in the city that was accessible only through a retractable ladder to an upper story for safety in case of attack. Originally, there were two separate buildings in the front and back, but they are now linked by a staircase. It has been renovated multiple times.
Finally, we were at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Porta Nigra, which is Latin for "black gate". It was not called that until its sandstone blackened by the Middle Ages. Construction began in 170 AD. It was built with no mortar, but iron clamps were used. Those were later pulled out, when people wanted to reuse the iron. It was never finished, but it was used as a town entrance until the end of Roman times, even though there was no gate. The Porta Nigra is the last remaining of originally 4 gates.
The street leading to it from the Altstadt is named for Simeon, who had been a hermit who lived in it from about 1028-1035. After his death, a monastery was built next to it in his honor. To prevent its further destruction, two churches were built over and in the Porta Nigra. The one on the upper floor was for the monks and one with an identical floor plan below was for the laity.
In 1802, Napoleon dissolved the monastery, the churches in the Porta Nigra, and most of the churches in the city. When he visited in 1804, he ordered the Porta Nigra to be returned to its Roman form. The clerestory level and church tower were deconstructed, and the inner courtyard was reinstated. However, the apse was preserved in a truncated form, and the eastern tower was not rebuilt to its original height. The terrace surrounding the ground floor level was removed. Legend has it that locals convinced him to not just destroy it had been a Gaulish hall before it was a church.
Now, Roman columns- or at least part of them- line the street leading to it. You can go up in it on a tour.
My poster had shown it from the other side. It was still pretty impressive to see it this way. She even pointed out a spot where the iron had been removed.
We had about 45 minutes to look around and duck into the museum shop. In the courtyard behind said shop, I found a cool relief map of Trier in Roman times called Augusta Treverorum by Egbert Broerken.
We hurried around to what we thought was the front entrance of the shop. I stumbled on a slanted stair that was sticking out and hit a postcard stand, when trying to keep from falling. To try to stop it from falling on me, I kind of spun it to the other side of me as I landed hard on my butt. K and J were helpless to stop my fall. A guy came rushing over to help right the postcard stand and disappeared without a word. We found the correct door and hurriedly shopped.
I then went to the side of the building away from the Porta Nigra to photograph the huge statue of Marx.
I walked down to walk under and through the gate to get a photo from inside and from the other side. K went to get a Coke Zero in a convenience store that is now on the bottom floor of where Karl Marx was born. On the far side of the gate, on the grass along the Nordallee, I found a small model of it.
The guide led us all across the street to board the bus at 12:13. At 12:25, we were on the road.
There were sights to be seen on the way back to the boat, of course. One was the Mariensäule high on the Pulsberg across the river. This Marian Column was built in the 19th century when there was religious conflict between Catholic Trier and the Prussian-Protestant government. It is the tallest building in the city, although, of course, not right downtown. It was renovated and reconsecrated in this century.
Another was what the locals call Alter Krahnen, which in modern German is Alter Kran, or Old Crane. Back in the day, this was a busy port. By the 14th century, there were many floating cranes loading and unloading cargo along the Mosel. In 1413, the first one was built on land and that became the alternative to cranes on ships. The city got theirs in 1452. So, this is seriously old. They no longer use these, because the Mosel has been banked up and they are no longer near the water.
Less than a minute down the road, we saw a bridge described thusly in wikipedia:
The Roman Bridge (German: Römerbrücke) is an ancient structure in Trier, Germany, over the Moselle It is the oldest standing bridge in the country, and the oldest Roman bridge north of the Alps. The nine bridge pillars date from the 2nd century AD, replacing two older, wooden bridges that date at least as far back as 17 BC. In Roman times, tossing a coin off of the bridge into the Moselle was an offering of good luck. The upper part was renewed twice, in the early 12th and in the early 18th century, after suffering destruction in war. Along with other Roman and Early Gothic sites in Trier, the bridge was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1986 because of its historical importance and architecture.
Aren't those railings pretty?
Just a second later, we saw this quirky little building near the bridge. I thought that it was a guardhouse. Nope. Not until later did I find an online article from WochenSpiegel from June, 2016, that explained it. It is a Pegelhäuschen or Little Level House. Its quirky look is because it was built in 1897 in Neo Gothic style. It's one of the oldest of its kind in the state of Rheinland Pfalz.Haven't figured out what a level house is? Inside is a gauge that measures the level of the river. Above the door, is a thing that looks like a clock at first glance, but actually shows the level of the river to those up here. Evidently, its newest replacement was up in 2012 and just shows the level in big numbers. I like this one.
At 12:47, we were driving through the town of Igel (Hedgehog!) and we saw these nice houses. Note the solar panels. Germans do like their gardens- wherever they can get them.
This strange thing in the town is the Igeler Säule or Igel Column is the largest surviving pillar tomb north of the Alps. It was erected around 250 BC by the Secundinier family, who were cloth merchants, on a street close to the Mosel. That, of course, screamed, "we are wealthy!" to all who passed by. In the Middle Ages, it was saved from being torn down by the mistaken impression that a family scene depicted on it was actually the marriage of St Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine. That mistaken identification of an important Christian saved it. The pillar here is actually a replica, because the original, which is in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum, is in very poor shape. The guide failed to mention that this is a replica, by the way.
She did tell us, that the vineyards face southwest. The slate in the hillside warms during the day and gives off heat at night.
At 12:52, we were in Wasserbillig, Luxembourg again. For a Friday, it was pretty dead.
At 12:55, we were off the bus and I noticed that it was 67°. It was a pleasant stroll along the riverbank to the boat. These nice little flowers are hedgerow cranesbill. This photo of the sign on the stairs is the closest I got to a souvenir of the town.
When we got on board at 1, we hurriedly dumped things and our cabins and went off to lunch, which had begun at 12:30. The appetizer on the table today was buffalo chicken wings, cured ham, beans salad, and Liptauer crème (Liptauer is a spicy cheese spread from Slovakian, Austrian and Hungarian cuisines). All were tasty.
My husband chose a meal that was not something J and I wanted to even taste-Asian marinated catfish fillet, vegetable julienne, lemongrass sauce and sesame rice. J and I each chose local cuisine- Luxembourg goulash, kniddelen (Luxembourgish dumplings), mushroom, tomato, beetroot, and sour cream.
J and I chose to stick with the local theme and have Moselle Wave Cake with cherry ragout and chocolate sauce. K chose fresh sliced fruit.
We didn't get out of lunch until 2:22. K and J decided to go hang out in the lounge. I went to our veranda to watch, since we were about to set sail. My timing was good, because we set sail at 2:35. Since we were sailing back down the Mosel, I was on the sunny, and, therefore, warmer side of the boat. I did needlework, watched the shore, and photographed.
One of the first things I saw was this little ferry with the flags of Germany and Luxembourg perched on the correct ends. The river wasn't wide here, which might be why this was so useful.
The countryside approaching Trier was really quite lovely. Campers seemed to agree.
By 3:44, we were approaching a lock. We hadn't even gotten to the Römerbrücke. It wasn't until we got past the lock, that I could see the reason for its need. see if you spot it.
We reached the Römerbrücke at 4:30. We'd managed to see it from all directions today, it seemed.
Alter Krahnen was visible, too.
Sometimes, the hill I was facing was covered with trees.
Other times, the river twisted enough for a vineyard. One was Pölicher Held, which seems to produce white wine from Weissburgunder. We sailed by this at 6:22.
Not long after that, it was time to get ready for our special dinner. AmaWaterways has a Chef's Table on all of its boats. Tonight was our night to go. We'd gotten special reminders in our cabins that this was the night we'd signed up for.
The Chef's Table was all the way at the end of the deck above us. The three of us were the first ones there at 7 and we were led to the table at the center back of the room, where we could see the wake behind us.
Admittedly, the lowering sun proved to be a bit of a problem and as the dinner went on, they closed curtains to help.
We confirmed that neither J nor I ate fish. I noticed that concunut lemon gras soup was part of the menu and I said I wouldn't be eating that because of the coconut. They asked if I would eat shrimp and when I said I would, they said they would work around that.
The only other folks eating there tonight were a large group from the very big group that was onboard. Their table was closer to the door.
They had recommended wines recommended for the meal. I had the Winzer Krems Grüner Veltliner, that was a white, and K had the red Winzer Krems Blauer Zweigelt. Weirdly, even though we were sailing along a major wine region, these were from Austria. I also tried their nice strawberry sparkling wine, which was nice.
First up was the Chef's Welcome- Beetroot Carpaccio. This was golden beet, chioggia beet, vegetable, tomato, cress, and herbs. Quite tasty and colorful.
J and I had this colorful concoction as our Get the Taste (I failed to write down what it was). Meanwhile, K had Cured & Marinated Salmon with avocado mouse, pickled vegetables, crispy rice noodles, rouille sauce, and wild cress. Again, colorful!
Meanwhile, countryside was slipping by us. It looks like this church is Laurentiuskapelle von Trittenheim or Chapel of St. Lauentius.
K and J enjoyed the Tease the Senses offering of Coconut Lemon Gras Soup with Shitake Marmalade and Shrimp Tartare.
The next course was From the Rivers. For that, J and I had chicken. K had Skin Grilled Walleye Fish with white wine sauce, citrus bulgur, sesame spinach, pumpkine tourne and olive powder.
It was time for the palatte cleanser Sorbet, which was acai berries sorbet with sparkling wine. Refreshing!
The next course was Country Spirit. This was Short Ribs Prime Beef Truffle Jus with rissole potato, parsnip puree, oyster mushrooms, beetroot and green peas. Delicious!
From Heaven was the name applied to the dessert course. It was bitter chocolate tart, citrus tart, fresh berries, mango & kiwi coulis, and mango sorbet. Oh, my!
As we were finishing up, we went through a lock. It was interesting seeing it from here.
We all agreed that it was a very good meal.
After deciding on a meeting time in the morning, we said good night to J and were in our cabin at 9:05.
It was at 9:48 around the village of Andel not far from Bernkastel-Kues, that I got this shot of the moon.
I took a shower and then we decided to watch the Downton Abbey movie. I'd seen bits of the show, so I knew mostly who we were seeing. It wasn't over until after midnight.
The phone said I walked 4,388 steps for 1.6 miles and climbed 1 flight, which was probably up to dinner.
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