Yummy!

Yummy!
Apfelstrudel at zum Wildschutz Restaurant, Garmisch

Thursday, April 25, 2013

I saw Bigfoot in Trier!

Roman Ruins, Trier, Germany

Trier
 
Don't know what happened.  This was supposed to be posted on Thursday.  Mea culpa.

I stayed in Trier in early October 2012.  I had been there twenty years ago but only for a couple days.  I didn’t stray much from the walkplatz near the Porta Nigra back then.  Turns out I missed a lot.  The Porta Nigra is a big ol’ Roman gate of stone put together with no mortar or things we use today to keep it together.  I suspect that if I was an engineer I would be even more impressed.  It’s very popular with tourists and you get a nice view from the top level.  I didn’t have any hotel reservations when I arrived and looked at a traveler brochure at the train station.  I decided on Hotel Kessler given price and that it was in the walk zone.  I had difficulty finding this hotel but it was worth the effort. It is a budget hotel near to just about all the tourist sites. Good prices for the budget-minded. The free breakfast had variety and the coffee was good. The free wifi doesn't reach all the rooms all the time but you can go to the lobby or breakfast area to get online. The customer service was great--Philipp is probably the best hotel clerk/concierge in Trier. For those coming in from the main train station and wish to do the thirty minute walk, just go to the Porta Nigra (a main attraction) and follow the signs for the Karl Marx house. Hotel Kessler is just a few doors from the Karl Marx house.  For those budget-minded folks who want to buy some groceries for lunches, etc., there is a small neighborhood food store at the end of the block.

That evening, I walked to the main tourist area about fifteen minutes away and got a donar-kebab meal in the square across from the Ratskeller Café.  Trier has changed a lot since I was last there.  It’s more touristy and there is more graffiti although the graffiti doesn’t seem to be gang inspired.  There was a Turkish kabob place directly across from the train station a couple decades ago that I bought donar kabobs at—they tasted fantastic.  I recall the owner and I got along well and he brought his wife in to belly dance for customers.  I initially went over to the door of the restaurant right after I got off the train but the place looked too modern i.e. just like all the other kabob places I’d seen in Germany so I didn’t go in.  I should go there next time though—perhaps I was too judgmental or simply too tired after my train trip. 

Went to the Roman amphitheater complete with underground work area under the open area where the contests, etc. occurred the following day and paid three Euros to get in and take a look around.  A bit cool and breezy that day so I had to constantly put on and take off my rain jacket due to the weather around me.  Clothing actually does work as a microclimate in terms of physical comfort—a reminder to pack purposefully.  There is a Roman thermal bath being excavated within five minutes walk of the hotel.  It’s enclosed in a building and you can see the work going on from the outside or pay to go in. 

Near the walkplatz are two great churches (St. Peters Cathedral and Church of our Lady) which are a photographer’s delight.  Very popular.  There is a beggar that has a spot near the door—I bet he gets a decent income.  Twenty years ago, my wife and I went into the church and it just so happened that a choir was practicing in there.  The acoustics there are fantastic and consequently the musical performance (although just practice) was inspiring.  Nearby is a basilica (Konstantin Basilika) with garden and more Roman ruins such as the Kaiserthermen that can be toured providing you pay the entrance fee.  I saw a lot just from the outside and didn’t feel it necessary to go in.  Some folks like to mentally put themselves into the place and earlier time so I think it would be worth the entrance fee to go into these Roman ruins to experience them more than merely “been there, saw that” –just another reason I prefer to walk at my own time and volition instead of seeing stuff as part of a group tour.

Also not far from the hotel is the Moselle River where you can watch all kinds of watercraft travel there.  Some barges are actually the home of the operator and have all the amenities.  I saw one with a kid’s playground on it.  There is a great bicycle/walking path paralleling the river.  The piers part of one of the bridges there were actually built by the Romans and is used as a fundamental part of the bridge to this day.  There are buildings such as two old harbor cranes along the path that were used for trade in yesteryear.

I do plan to go back to Trier with my wife and friends sometime in the future.   Sure wish I was independently wealthy so I could go whenever I feel like it.


Hotel Kessler

Roman ampitheater

Inside church, no way to get it all in one photo--it's huge!

2 comments:

  1. You have certainly been to some fabulous places. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hope to go to more fabulous places to include regionally and here in the US. Europe is fun but I need to win the lottery or something to see it like I would prefer. Just imagine, a three month walking tour.......

    ReplyDelete