Wallowing in history

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I arrived in Trier from Aachen (via Köln and Koblenz) around 15:00, found the hotel with no problem, and set out to sightsee. I don't know whether Trier is really more spread out than Salzburg (I have to doubt it) or if everything just felt farther, but in any case, it seemed like more walking than I really wanted to do. I wasn't willing to spend a lot of time deciphering or waiting for city buses, though, so I toughed it out.

I more-or-less followed the city walking tour outlined by Rick. The huge black Roman gate called Porta Nigra was just as impressive as I had hoped, but I was also very glad to learn from Rick's book that there is nothing special inside, only staircases and some city vistas. Not, like, a museum or anything. I skipped that and saved my €2,10.

Next it was on to the Hauptmarkt square, and from there to the Dom (cathedral). There's an outrageously entertaining story in Rick's guidebook about the centuries-long feud between the townspeople of Trier and their bishop for control of the town and trade. The feud plays out even on the very buildings of the city... the town built a spire higher than the Dom's and put a taunting Bible quote on it (in Latin), so the bishop, not to be outdone, raised one spire of the Dom to be higher than the town's, and put a taunting Bible retort on his, in the same gold color, same font and same size (well, I think they're the same today as the originals). There's no information on this feud posted anywhere in the city; I'm sure Rick got it from somewhere, but my point is that's the sort of thing I wouldn't've known without the guidebook. There are a few other stories about other sights in town, and they added a lot of enjoyment to my visit.

The Dom features a ginormous reliquary holding "the holy robe of Christ". Kinda in the same way as nuns and huge cathedrals, relics are another thing America just doesn't really have and I'd venture most Americans don't know much about. Now that communication and travel make it possible to see and/or know about all the churches and all their relics, it seems pretty obviously absurd to think that, say, hundreds of cities throughout Europe all have one of the nails used to fasten Christ to the cross. Maybe it was more plausible when the citizens were more isolated in their own small towns and didn't know about all the rest. Or maybe it's more like tabloid sea monsters and UFOs... some people actually believe that sort of thing, and lots of others are willing to go along with the spectacle because the spectacle, in itself, is entertaining.

After the Dom, I headed down to the Basilica (by an inefficient route, I discovered later), which is the largest intact Roman building outside of Italy, although the definition of "intact" must be somewhat flexible, because it was mostly destroyed during WWII and has been rebuilt since. It's also something like the largest building north of the Alps not supported by beams or columns, which when you think about it is quite impressive. There's a pink rococo palace glommed onto one side of this stark Roman structure, which is weird. I strolled through the Baroque gardens of this palace and down to the Kaisertherme, which is the ruins of Roman baths that were never actually completed. Having been to Bath, the city in England, I didn't find the ruins all that impressive. They're way cool-looking, but barren, and you just pay €2,10 to wander through them without any interpretation or explanation. In Bath, the entire underground complex is a vast detailed museum with everything from scale models to computer animations at every stage showing you what the baths would have looked like in their day.

After that, I had delicious Russian food on the Hauptmarkt square, followed by more delicious German Eisbecher (ice cream sundae) near Porta Nigra. I may have an Eis problem. 😉 When I finished up, I noticed ominous-looking clouds hovering over the Porta Nigra, and heard some thunder, and scampered back to the hotel just in time to avoid a tiny spattering of rain. There was some good thunder, but most of the action was far to our south. In any case, the storms didn't cool things off any at all. I watched a whole bunch of CNN International (the English-speaker's best friend in Europe) and got an excellent night's sleep. More Trier in the morning, then on to Karlsruhe!

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Photos

Porta Nigra
It is not unusual to find really, really old rocks. Most rocks are, in fact, very old. What's unusual is to find rocks in a really, really old man-made configuration, such as this gate, which was built by Romans between 180 and 200 CE.

Trierer Dom
This cathedral is home to the Heilige Rock (Holy Robe) of Christ. Note also the Latin verse in gold on the tower, a taunting message to the citizens of Trier, who were not sufficiently impressed by the authority of their archibishop.

Kaisertherme
There isn't much more to these baths than the picturesque Roman ruin. It wasn't ever even completed, because the Romans couldn't get things working correctly and ended up abandoning the site.

Comments

[Mom]

A Rick trip
That guide book is sure doing you a lot of good! The descriptions of your adventures are entertaining! Got another post card, love'em! No post cards on my quilt shop hop only 42 pttns & fabrics to remember them by. House ok & 1 pkg arrived. Cloudy here & cool.