Into Wine Country with Bob and Marg (Day I)

The day after we (finally) made it home from Berlin, Bob and Marg arrived from their trip, Bob bicycling with Randy in England and Holland, then met by Marg.  After consulting the maps, we decided on the Mosel Valley for a 2-day excursion.  So off we went on Monday which, unbeknownst to us until 2 days before, was a national holiday, namely Reunification Day.  Thus everything was closed and it was a good day for driving.

We arrived around 1 p.m. in Trier, in the heart of the Mosel and a delightful historic town founded in 16 BC by the emperor Augustus.  Aside from the fact that Judith didn't have her camera set properly and overexposed a bunch of pictures, here is a taste of the Trier scenes, including wine tasting in the main square and shops selling lederhosen and dirndls.










What is remarkable about Trier is that it is the oldest 'Roman' town north of the Alps. Porta Nigra, here seen below and so named because it didn't take long for the sandstone to turn black from dirt and soot, was built by Constantine the Great and dates from the 4th century.


Alongside the gate is some modern art: a shiny knife appearing to be stuck into the ground.  Not sure why.



We next walked to a St. Peter's Cathedral which is really two connected together.  We could go into the one on the right which is the newer one.



The next stop was the Konstantinbasilika whose earliest parts date from 315 AD.


We then walked past a royal palace which had a decidedly different mien.



A longer walk over to the Roman amphitheatre. As you can see, Judith finally changed the camera setting.







Trier is the birthplace of Karl Marx, an odd juxtaposition of images and ideas.  This was our last tourist stop for the day.


A filling dinner at an Italian restaurant completed Day 1.