Trier, Germany

We had a long weekend with Friday being a "Family Day" on base due to the end of school. There are definitely some perks of living overseas! We spent it in Trier, Germany. We had perfect weather all weekend, even if it was a tad warm our first day. One of the top sights in Trier is the Porta Nigra which is a Roman gate right at the entrance to the old town. 

One of the first things we did was grab some food and drinks. The Paulaner biergarten was down the way from our hotel (Holiday Inn Express) and despite having zero tables in the shade, we decided to go ahead and eat there. We were pretty hungry! Even though it was a bit sweltering in the sun, we thoroughly enjoyed our food. Paulaner is a Bavarian brewery, so the food wasn't unique to the area of Germany that Trier is in, but the food was tasty nonetheless. Charles had this dish that was some kind of cheese ball served with a salad, pretzel and bread. It was tasty. I had weisswurst (white sausage) served with a pretzel and sweet mustard. 

Trier has numerous old buildings to explore and one was the Dom and the adjacent church. Like many churches throughout Europe it was filled with amazing pieces of art and craftsmanship. 

A volunteer told Charles (in German) that if you stand on this star in the church that you will be able to see all twelve apostles painted on the columns. He told us a few other details about the church, but sadly I was not able to understand due to my VERY limited knowledge of German. But his passion for the building was very palpable despite the language barrier. I love how some things are just universally understood.

The area of Germany that Trier is in is known for Riesling wine. Being that it is my favorite type of wine, I was pretty excited to try some while in the area. We chose Weinstube Kasselstatt for a late lunch and wine. We could not beat the view of the Dom and church from our table! Plus the wine and quiche were delicious! One blog I read during my research phase said that if you don't drink Riesling in Trier, did you even visit??? 

Another Roman building found in Trier is the amphitheater. It was neat to walk around and imagine all the people who have walked inside throughout history. When we first arrived there were some gladiator reenactors practicing in the arena. It reminded me, somehow, of watching vintage baseball in Connecticut and Ohio, even though it was a completely different sport and period of history. 

Both days in Trier were eis (ice cream) kind of days! On our first day, we got cones from a walkup gelato stand and on our second day we sat at an outdoor café for sundaes and a view of the Porta Nigra. I had a frozen yogurt sundae which was a bit different from frozen yogurt in America; it was a bit more sour tasting. But it still hit the spot after walking around all day! 

 Charles thought Trier was a bit grungier than he was expecting and we saw a good amount of graffiti around town. I thought this face was fun, though!