Day 1
If you read our home page you know by now that our adventure begins in the tiny town of Trier, best known for its immense Roman history and architecture. We started our explorations in the Hauptmarkt on our first evening in Trier. The Hauptmarkt is the city's center, filled with shops and restaurants leading to The Dom (St. Peter's Cathedral) and Liebfrauenkirche (The Church of Our Lady). We had our first dinner at a wonderful restaurant called Zum Domstien, pictured below. Ironically we had our first group dinner at the same restaurant with our tour mates the next night; however, we had the fortune of dining in the cellar of the restaurant where we were able to view Roman artifacts that were unearthed while the restaurant was undergoing renovations.
After a rough night overcoming our jet lag, including an inability to fall back asleep from 12am-2am, we started our first morning in Trier with a walk along the Mosel River, eventually wandering into the town center.
As we wandered back into the city center we passed through the Porta Nigra (the black gate), the only gate of originally four city gates still standing. This structure survived because of its conversion to a church years ago. The gate no longer serves a church, but as a landmark for the city located next door to the City Museum.
Back in the city center we stopped for lunch at Weinstube Kesselstatt, a wonderful little restaurant with excellent food and extraordinary views. From our patio table we enjoyed views of the Gothic style architecture of The Church of Our Lady, listening to the cathedral bells of The Dom ringing in the background, dining on sausage soup, pork knuckle with dumplings and German beer of course.
With our bellies full of good German food we headed to the Konstantinbasilika (The Constantine Basilica) and the Palace Garden, stopping into the Rheinisches Landesmuseum to explore the exhibitions of Roman artifacts from the region and get a glimpse of the remains of the ancient imperial Roman baths.
That afternoon we headed back to our hotel to meet our tour guide and fellow travelers for the first time. We enjoyed a guided walk through the city, followed by a wonderful group dinner at Zum Domstein. That night we feel asleep excited to start our next day in Trier with our group.
Copyright 2016 Karly Eller