Trier

This post  is for last week (the week of 4/5)

I have been looking forward to Easter weekend since the beginning of the trip.  I had originally planned to go to Munich since I have been wanting to go since I heard about the trip and I figured that the 4 day weekend would be a nice time to go.  It never occurred to me that Easter was the favorite time to travel in Germany.  This meant that all of the prices for trains and hostels were super high and unreasonable.  Note to any future travelers: if you want to travel anywhere over Easter weekend book it as far in advance as possible.

Eventually Austin, Joanna, and I decided to move Munich to the end of the trip before Berlin and to visit Trier for a couple of days.  I was a bit sad that I wouldn’t be able to spend four days in Munich but I decide to make the most of it.  The three of us managed to have a lot of fun in Trier visiting all of the Roman ruins and just exploring the city.  While the amphitheater in Trier paled in comparison to the size of the one in Rome, I actually enjoyed visiting this one more than the one in Rome.  This amphitheater was built down into a hill and we were actually able to explore the various rooms and passages, including under the arena floor.  It felt a bit like a scene from an Indiana Jones movie, walking through a dark and wet cavernous area, but without the part about being chased by bad guys.

We also visited the Black Gate and the baths.  While the gate was cool, I enjoyed the baths even more.  Since Trier is home to one of the best preserved Roman ruins, we were able to not just see the bath ruins, but walk down and around through the passageways.  Unfortunately my knee was still hurting from the run the last weekend (I think I pulled something) so it made climbing around a bit difficult, but it was still a lot of fun.

We did visit the local Dom, which featured the relic of Jesus's cloak that he wore when he was crucified.  The square was all outfitted for Easter, and it made visiting the Cathedral that much more exciting.

On Saturday before leaving to go back to Bonn we stopped by the Wiengut Schleimer for a tour of the vineyards and a wine tasting.  The tour was completely in German.  I think Austin and Joanna were able to pick up more of what was being said than I was, but I still managed to catch a few phrases here and there.  The wine was delicious of course.  We got to try mostly white wines and some Riesling, which is a German wine produced in the area.

While I still wish I could have gone to Munich, I really enjoyed the trip and am glad we got the chance to go.