Trier and Roman Ruins

We went to Trier yesterday to see the Roman ruins. It was amazing! Probably my second-favorite city, just behind Mannheim. I really liked the vibe I got from the people and the places and, of course, the sheer volume of cool Roman things still present.

We parked by the Porte Nigro--or the Black Gate--and then ate some lunch and went on a bus tour of the place. It was a short one--just an hour, with a guide who spoke English, hallelujah! We drove all through the city and saw the Roman baths, the Roman ampitheatre, and some more of the Porte Nigro.

Porte Nigro--Black Gate, not because it was in a fire like it appears, but because the sandstone has turned black over time. It is the only gate still standing from the Roman Empire in Trier. Very cool! I think the black is actually from lichen on the stone.

The Roman baths--this was the ruins of the Empireal Baths, which means the public were not allowed.

After that we walked to the Roman baths and walked all over in there. You could go downstairs in where the water was, where the servants would go to make sure everything was working correctly, I assume. It was like the Labyrinth down there! It smelled incredibly old. I really liked the baths. I wish someone would build a real working replica that you could go into and see what it was like inside. It was probably amazingly ornate.

Me on the medieval wall that was put up around the baths--it was pretty cool, because the Roman bath ruins are ancient and then there are old medieval walls everywhere, too. Anyway, I climbed a sketchy flight of stairs to get up here.

Then we walked to the ampitheatre, and that was even more amazing! Granted, I don't think I would have liked to watch the Roman games--maybe the Gladiator games--but like Kat pointed out, we now have a whole new outlet for our blood-thirst: Grand Theft Auto! Very true, but playing it on a video game is so different from actually tossing poor souls into an arena to be eaten by tigers.

The Ampitheater! A view from the very top. See the holes in the floor that go down? All the seats were removed to build stuff in later years, but they uncovered this much that was still standing.

We went underneath the floor, where they kept the poor unfortunates who were going to be thrown to the beasts, and the animal pen in the back. It was filled with water and very drippy down there. Then we hiked to the top and looked down at everything. It was amazing!

I really like Roman ruins.

Then we decided that since we were so close we would drive to Luxembourg. Kat and I said it would be an adventure, and Kurt said we were crazy, but we went anyway. And then promptly got stuck in a traffic jam as soon as we tried to cross back into Germany. Which took us off the highway we wanted and sent us an hour in the wrong direction. We finally pulled off somewhere in East Deliverance, Germany, and asked for directions. We discovered that we then drove right past Kat's grandparents, where we are going in the morning!

We ended up pulling in a little after 10, which was way later than we had originally intended, but it was fun. At least the kids slept in the back.

I don't know what we are doing today. Everyone is still sleeping from all the excitement of yesterday.