Thursday, October 03, 2013

TRIER, Germany: Part 2


So, to carry on from my last post, here's what we saw the rest of our day in Germany's oldest city, Trier.

Besides the Porta Nigra and the Kaiserthermen Roman baths, it was the Dom, Trier's Church of Our Lady cathedral, where we spent our most time.  It is Germany's oldest cathedral, from the early 4th century, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986.

Before we saw it up close and personal, we saw it from afar all day long.

 Later, when we stood in front of it, we couldn't get it all in one frame!  It's HUGE.

And as you'd guess, there's a lot going on all around it, no matter where you are.

Like a wedding, for example, when we passed by in the trolley car!

Inside, of course, is something else.
The nave, towards the altar, shows the Baroque chapel above,
supposedly holding the Seamless Robe of Jesus, from shortly before his crucifixion.
See all the people waiting in line to peek in!

Like all the other tourists, we climbed up behind the altar to the chapel but weren't allowed to go in.
We used the opportunity to look back to the opposite end of the nave, to the west-end choir.

Back down on the main floor, we were able to view the choir's Baroque 1196 stucco-work in the vault.

How many times have I told you that the museums we go to in Europe are these cathedrals!
What more could you possibly need?

It's true!  We're always short of eyes.

We briefly went outside the main nave to the cloisters, to get a different vantage point.

But it was this boy with his mom inside the nave who stole my heart that day!
I thought of grandson Nicholas, now 13, lighting a candle for someone...maybe for me?

 The rest of the day we wandered around and saw more churches, of course...
St. Paulus Church (left), St. Irminen Monastery (top-right), the New Synagogue from 1957 (bottom-center), and the former Clarisse convent of St. Mary Magdalene (bottom-right).
Just glimpses.

And since I'm on the subject, niches everywhere in Roman Catholic country....

...sacred and secular.

And gable stones...

...and other fun stuff.

Impressions.  Impressions.  Impressions.

...even if I do show an image more than once in 2 different collages.  HA!
It's true:  I often don't know if I'm coming or going.  :)

By now it was time to go back to the car, but first, we wanted to see the Moselle river
with its Römerbrücke Roman bridge from the 2nd century AD--Germany's oldest bridge.
The bridge itself, of course, is much newer but the pillars beneath are O.L.D.
Nearby, a railing along the river bank sported a few love padlocks...something I now "collect."

 And then walking a bit further down the river, we found one of 2 old treadwheel cranes
for loading and unloading river cargo, this one from 1413.
Doesn't it remind you of a windmill, kinda sorta?



And as we say in Dutch, Dat was het.  That was it.  Trier.

We got in our car and drove into Luxembourg for the rest of our trip...

Good-bye, Trier.  Hello Luxembourg!

And now the Luxembourg Trip is done!  In case you missed the other posts (in order of posting but not in order of when we saw them on our trip), nine posts altogether from our 4 days, including this one :

Eschfeld, Germany: the St. Luzia Parish Church
Clervaux, Luxembourg: the Church and the Castle
BELGIUM: Bastogne and La Roche-en-ardenne
The Luxembourg-Trip Picnics
LUXEMBOURG: Echternach
Germany and Luxembourg Border Skirmish
Luxembourg City
TRIER, Germany: Part 1


♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

As an FYI, Astrid and I fly to America on Saturday for our annual trip to see family and friends.  (Now you know why I wanted to finish this Luxembourg trip!)  We'll be gone for almost 3 weeks, back on October 23rd.  And if I'm lucky,  I may even post something before we return, but if not...you'll know why!

24 comments:

  1. What a journey you all ways take us on! And now to know I'll be a little part of your journey in America! Yeah!

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    1. It's so fun, Robin, isn't it. Just like you taking us through all the neighborhoods of NYC! I can hardly wait!

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  2. A spectacular tour, but no tower to climb? As I said previousyl, I know nothing of Trier, but this cathedral is a gem. When Melissa was about to begin grade 11 and take my English Literature class, we took both kids on a tour of England. As it turned out our driving days were often Sundays, and we made a point of routing ourselves throuh every cathedral town we could find. What a tour! At each stop either the choir was singing or or the organ was playing. Almost as good as in Oxford where we entered a chapel to find a baroque instrument group rehearsing a Brandenburg Cto. I eagerly await Luxemburg.

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    1. No towers to climb this day, Ted. But we've had our share, trust me. Funny thing is, I had never heard of Trier till this year, even after all my trips to Germany in the past years. It's like it was their best-kept secret from me. But it was definitely worth every minute. I'll never forget it.

      I love hearing how you took your children to England. I bet they are eternally grateful to you and Jane! Good for you.

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  3. Impressions, impressions. Trier is an amazing city and a wonderful place. The unique things we saw, the unique moments we shared. A town not easy to forget. So many photo-ops, so much short of eyes. The Dom was one of the many highlights. Beautiful architecture. You did a great job on the collages, like always (I like to add) IHVJ

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    1. You're my #1 fan, of course, and my photo-hunt partner in crime. How much fun we have had with these trips! Thank you. Thank you! May we have many more to come....

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  4. As a child, I often went to Trier with my parents and brother. It is a fascinating place, and we were always impressed how old it is. In Europe we are used to old, but this is really OLD.
    I always like the cloisters best in a cathedral - when I was traveling alone, I often sat there and read or just daydreamed. Lighting a candle is such a nice tradition in the Catholic church, and I usually do it, although I am not catholic.
    I also read your other post on Trier - is that Karl Marx on the poster near the Porta Nigra? (would make sense since he was born there).

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    1. What a memory to have, Carola. If we ever go back, I want to spend more time at the cloisters. And yes, I am becoming quite drawn to the candle-lighting in these cathedrals. There seems to be something very holy in the tradition, even though I'm not Catholic either.

      And yes, that's Karl Marx near the Porta Nigra. Most interesting!

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  5. Another wonderful plethora of pictures Ginnie. As always it seems that your day has more than 24 hours in it :)

    Hope you both have a lovely time with your family

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    1. Our days are definitely full when we're out-n-about, Anne, but there's always a time when we say to each other "I've had enough!" HA! We do have our limits. But we go full-blast while we're going. :)

      Many thanks for your good wishes. We're really looking forward to it all.

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  6. what a fun city this is. i really love the street shots. i love those narrow alleys and cobblestone streets. you are right cathedrals are museums themselves. would love to see a small european like this (if i can't make it here).

    safe travels and i'm sure you'll have a ball visiting with family. hey, the braves are in the post-season. hurry back so you can see them play some more.

    btw are you staying for thanksgiving?

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    1. I'm glad I can share these European cities with you, Maria. Aren't they wonderful! Thanks for your travel wishes. We all but fully packed, leaving early-early tomorrow morning.

      No, we are NOT staying for Thanksgiving. We'll be back by October 23rd!

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  7. Whew!! I spent some time trying to catch up and boy! all I can say is I am short of eyes now! So many great images from so many trips ~

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    1. If WE are short of eyes, I can totally imagine how you are, too, Susan. I can´t believe you tried to catch up, after all you´ve been through. BLESS YOU, Woman. Take care of yourself.

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  8. "The Dom" is amazing ... and I love relics - I know they may not be authentic, but I adore the stories behind them. My favorite is the story of the tilma... The seamless garment fascinates me too. The cathedral here is quite amazing - big enough so it doesn't appear cluttered like many of the churches you show are (IMO). It also appears to not be quite so dark.

    I'm quite taken with the "Electoral Palace " and the "Roman Bridge" in the video... I watched the entire video. I just told John we need to move to the Neterlands... and travel. I think I scared him as each time I have said we should move, we have ;)

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    1. Well, Margaret, just do it. HAHAHA! Come on over and use this country as your stepping stone to all of Europe. We will stay here as long as possible...just to see as much as we possibly can!

      Thank you for all the detailed responses you leave me. You quite amaze me, to be honest!

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    2. It seems I'm the only one excited about it (my daughter in college said I must wait for her :) John just shook his head. I told him to look at the photos!!! but well, I'll be lucky to get back to Michigan next year for a vacation :)

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    3. (sigh) Wait for your daughter and make it a mother-daughter graduation gift. HA!

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  9. So many wonderful details, Ginnie, as always. There is not much to say, rather scroll up and down and up and down and... ;)

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  10. Boots, I love how you take in all the details, never missing the people, your favorite details, I think. :)

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    1. Interesting observation, Ruth! Maybe people are becoming my most important "details," as I get older? I do notice that it doesn't bother me any more when they're in my pics. I'm learning to welcome them as though they are integral to the whole. Hmmmmm.

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  11. I think you and I take our vacations at the same time in October. We left on September 30th and just returned home a couple of days ago. I had written some posts that were pre-programmed till last Sunday. I’ll try to have posts on our trip, but I usually get side-tracked or go on another trip before I can finish writing on the last one – as I never finished my posts on our trip to San Francisco. I read all your posts and marveled at the Old Library and Trinity College. It would have been hard for me to stay in that library less than a full day. I hope you had nice weather while you were here – we found ourselves in New Orleans when tropical storm Karin was acting up, but it did not even rain that day in New Orleans.

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    1. We had great weather, too, Vagabonde. It was a bit rainy and blustery while we walked the Brooklyn Bridge, but other than that, we had nothing to complain about. It's my favorite time of the year, you know. Now that we're back (as of this past Wednesday), I am ready to go at it again with new posts. Thank you for back-tracking and catching up! You're a real trooper, as Astrid would say. :)

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