Ancient Trier

September 2005

Trier is a cool place. A city of antiquity, it is filled with Roman remains and a sense of history permeates the air. It is amazing to walk the streets and imagine the things that used to go on here. It lies near the Mosel River, and is quite the extensive city. It is nerve-wrecking to walk into the ampitheatre, thinking of all the horrid things that happened here, even more so in the holding pens below the stadium.

The imperial baths are really neat to investigate. Some of the high walls are still standing. The pools have been dug back out, and the tunnels that serviced the facility are open to mole thru.

There is also the Dom Cathedral, and it is filled with graves, statues of the grim reaper and skeletons, a humongous organ that hangs from the ceiling, and shrines decorated with bronze and gold.

Then there is the Porta Nigra, translated to mean, The Black Gate. It is really cool and not to be missed. Of course, you couldn't really miss it, even if you wanted too.

This is where I also had the best German ice cream. There was a little shop along the main strip where they make the waffle cones right in front of you. So, you have this warm, sweetened waffle encircling the creamiest ice cream you've ever had. No American ice cream can compare. Of course, I had fresh strawberries and REAL whipped cream topping it, so how could I have not absolutely loved it?

Trier was so much fun, and a great day trip for travellers. Not very ideal for small children, as there is A LOT of walking and lots of heights that you'd want to climb, but really shouldn't for safety's sake with children. But, I'd love to go back to visit again, but this time in the spring, for I noticed that there were fruit trees everywhere, and so it must be beautiful, blossoming in the spring.