October 16 - Trier

This morning we are going to the ancient Roman town of Trier. When we woke the temperature was -2C and very foggy.  It did warm up and fog did burn off by mid-morning.   We took the bus from the dock and travelled along the Moselle river valley in the same direction as we took yesterday to go to Luxembourg. We stopped at wine store at one of  the local vineyards and saw their wine cellars and bought a bottle of their semi-dry Reselling that we had onboard last night.

We then got an autobahn, where there are no posted speed limits.  I must admit that I did not see anyone going an excessive speed, although Rocky and Joan were just about killed, on a small country road, by a speeding car while on a bike tour.  The vineyards go up and down the hills in very straight lines and leave the visual impression that the hills are covered in green corduroy.

During the height of the Roman Empire, Trier was one of the most important cities in northern Europe.  It was a major trading centre and supply post for the troops.  They have uncovered the city walls, baths coliseum and other large buildings.  The main gate in the city wall is a huge structure about 3 to 4 stories high.  It has been used over the centuries as part of a church and the city hall. The coliseum the gladiators fought animals and each other before crowds of 20,000 people.  It is still used for musical concerts today.  It is even bigger than the city’s current soccer stadium.    In one of the massive buildings that was used later as a church, they had installed a floor heating system with the use of running hot water.

During the medieval times they built a cathedral which still is in use today.  We were surprised to hear that in this area of Germany the population is 95% Catholic not Protestant. 

On our way back, we went through the small village of Neumegan.  This was also discovered to be a Roman supply depot on the Moselle river and has been inhabited for 2000+ years.

This afternoon we started back uo the Moselle  to return to the Rhine river.  During the evening Marg won some money betting on pretend horse races put on by the cruise.  It was lots of fun.

Pictures of Trier