A Roman We Will Go

Up early  catch the train to Trier, the oldest city in Germany.  It was established by Augustus in 16 B.C. at an ancient Celt site.   It was the largest city in Germany for a time and is now noted for having some of the best preserved Roman ruins north of Italy. It was so popular that Emperor Constantine used it as his Capital.  Our old friend Diocletian (remember him from the palace in Split fame) thought the empire was getting too large so he split it into four and made Trier the Capitol of the northern quarter.  The best known Roman ruin is the Porta Nigra, the only remaining of the four major gates of the old walled Roman city.   

An amazing point of its construction was that no mortar was used, only iron pins.  It was saved from the dark ages stone and metal scavengers because part of it was turned into a church.  It was built of gray sandstone but has turned black over the ages. 

Passing through the Porta Nigra we strolled down the Market Square looking for a place to get a drink as it is the second consecutive 30 degree day we have encountered.   While we enjoyed our drinks we noticed a young couple had a very cute Toller.   We found out her name was Senna.  We could have brought her home, she was lovely.  

We headed through the square to St Peter's Cathedral. 

St Peter's Cathedral is the oldest church in Germany, founded by Emperor Augustine in 312 A.D.  Considering its age this is a remarkable structure, although what remains is only one quarter the size of the original.   

As it was near unbearably hot we decided to skip the other two major Roman artifacts, the Imperial Baths and the Ampitheatre, and head for lunch in Luxembourg.   

When planning our trip, as soon as Kelly and Judy noticed how close we were going to be to Luxembourg we simply had to go there.   Luxembourg is an interesting city/country.  The city is built on hills and connected by a number of bridges.  As you would expect from a country whose main industry is hiding other people's money, it is quite affluent.   A big bonus was it gave Kelly the opportunity to exercise her French.   Researching the city of Luxembourg it quickly became apparent that the only place we were going to eat was a small cafe called The Chocolate House.  

The plan was to have a light meal so we could follow up with one of their amazing desserts.   Unfortunately when the salads Kelly and Judy ordered arrived they were enormous.  Undeterred they split a piece of chocolate cake and washed it down with choco spoons.  We wandered the city toward the train station and headed home.