Trier

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September 5th 2005

Published: September 5th 2005

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globetrekkingmama

Trier

View of the city from Porta Nigra

Today we went to the city of Trier (about one hour from where we live, but I had never been there before). It’s a beautiful city with lots of things to see. It’s situated along the Mosel River, very close to Luxembourg. We didn’t have any trouble finding parking in the center of the city and all of the sights were easily within walking distance. We timed our visit so that we started driving at Katherine’s nap time. We planned it that way because getting her to fall asleep in the car is easier than getting her to fall asleep in her stroller or on a blanket in a park. She only slept for 30 minutes, but it must have been enough, because she wasn’t grumpy during our sightseeing.

We started at the Porta Nigra, a huge city gate built by the Romans during the second century. It was fun to go inside and look around, but it’s probably not the best place for a toddler. (Most of the structure is quite high.)
The views of the city from the top are very nice.

Next we walked past the Dreikonigen Haus to Haptmarkt Square. All the buildings are very

Porta Nigra

Outside the Porta Nigra

colorful and beautiful and there were street performers along the way. In the middle of the square we saw the Market Cross and St. Peter Fountain.

David bought pastries, and I got a pretzel and we sat in the shade in front of Trier Cathedral (Dom) to eat them. Some musicians were performing behind us. Katherine enjoyed watching them and she pretended her water bottle was another accordian. We went inside the Dom, the oldest church in Germany. It was originally built around 326 AD, but it has been destroyed and rebuilt a few times. The slabs of stone we sat on to enjoy our pastries were from the original Roman structure.

Next we went to the Basilica. It’s the largest intact Roman structure outside of Rome. It’s huge. A lot bigger than it appears in our pictures, because there are only two rows of windows, which kind of makes it appear like a two-story building, but really those windows are very tall, and I think the structure is about as tall as a five-story building. When you go inside you can see that the whole structure is one giant room. There is only one story, no other

Porta Nigra 2

Inside the Porta Nigra. Can you see Katherine and me?

floors in this structure.

Last, we walked through the Palace Gardens. The flowers were lovely and the grounds face the impressive Electoral Palace.

We also managed to do a little shopping and eat a little ice cream. When we got back in the car, Katherine was reunited with her baby doll and she summarized the day in four words, “Fun day. Ate ice-cream.”

Additional photos below

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