Our group gathered for an early Sunday morning breakfast before heading off for a full day of touring. We have an interesting mix of people in our group - several couples, three families, each with two to four kids, and some single travelers. Everyone seems very nice and easy to be around - or travel with.
One of the many things we like about Rick Steves' tours is that as long as you are active and can keep up with the tour guide and group, anyone who joins the tour - single, married, dating, families, etc. - is welcome and feels comfortable. We've passed that sentiment on to several friends who enjoy traveling but don't have a spouse or friend to share travels with, and suggest that they try a Rick Steves tour.
We had a local guide today for a very informative tour of Trier's historic area and the huge cathedral or Dom, the oldest Christian (Catholic) church in Germany. At one time, the Trier Cathedral was larger than the Vatican! It is called St. Peter’s, too, and was built by Constantine at the same time St. Peter’s in Rome was built, beginning in A.D. 326. Trier's Catholic church is attached to the right side of the cathedral.
The cathedral’s most important relic is the Holy Robe of Christ worn by Jesus when he was crucified. St. Helen, Constantine’s mother, found it in Jerusalem and brought it here. The reliquary is in a special area behind the altar and below a gold cross and only brought out for viewing on special occasions. (One of those occasions was in August 2011, after we departed Trier.) I wish we could have seen this relic.
The Archbishops who presided over this cathedral and geographical area hundreds of years ago were very rich and powerful and they designed and built their own ostentatious altars in the church to memorialize themselves.
As in all cathedrals and large churches, the Trier Dom has a massive organ. This one (below) seems to suspend from the ceiling and is very ornate.
Our guide pointed out one sobering sight to us...these tiles embedded in the cobblestones, which mark the former homes of Jews who were dragged from their homes during WWII and taken to concentration camps. The tiles record their names, the camp they were sent to, and their fate. We had walked by and over these tiles numerous times without noticing them, but once she showed them to us and explained their meaning, we found ourselves looking for and finding them all over town. We also spotted some in Salzburg and Vienna.
When we were in Turkey, we became accustomed to the five-times-daily Call to Prayer. Here, we hear church bells all day long, some often ringing for 15 minutes at a time. It reminds of us of all the bells ringing after Prince William's and Kate's wedding in London – such a beautiful sound.
After our tour we boarded our bus and headed north along the Mosel River. We had lunch in the charming town of Beilstein (BILE-shtine).
Enjoying our lunch on Beilstein's riverfront at the Lippmann Restaurant (above and below).
Beilstein is full of charming restaurants and shops like this one (below).
The guy standing on the left drove up in this crazy car and parked across from our restaurant and was an instant attraction - I think the vehicle was a motorcycle surrounded by an airplane-like body.
All along the Mosel River we saw many campgrounds like this one where Germans set up their tents and campers in the spring and use them as their summer vacation home.
After lunch we toured Burg Eltz, a very large castle sitting in a forested valley that is filled with many of the original furnishings from the 1500s.
Burg (Castle) Eltz has an interesting history and has been in the wealthy Eltz family for 850 years. They still live in part of the castle at various times during the year. Burg Eltz Unfortunately, the exterior was undergoing renovations so we couldn't appreciate the castle's true beauty but from what we could see inside during our tour and outside, we could tell that it is quite spectacular when not draped with cloths and cranes.
We used our free evening for another Trier walkabout, seeking out sights we hadn't explored yet, such as the remnants of the Roman Baths (below).
Tomorrow we are off to Baden Baden and the Black Forest. YOLO!!