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 CastleBELGIUM: 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!

GRONINGEN, Netherlands

Just when I think I couldn't possibly surprise myself further....!  Remember last week when I started backtracking and found files basically untouched in my archives?

Almost exactly THREE years ago, before Astrid and I bought our Granny Towanda (Daihatsu Cuore car), we took 2 trains in February 2010 to Groningen, some 120 miles to the NE of us.  It was an all-day affair for us and our biggest trip after my arrival to the Netherlands the previous December.

Not only did I make no post of that trip whatsoever here on this blog, I didn't even have a tag word for Groningen.  Today I will make up for that lost cause!

The 1866 Groningen train station, for starters, is called the cathedral of the winged wheel.

 The statue of the horse and its owner (“Uncle Loeks’ horse) has been there since 1959.

First impressions are always important, of course.

Straightaway from the train station you walk across the city canal to city center.

You can see how cold it was...in February.

You know me and spires.  This was the first one we saw.

It belongs to the Aa Church from 1247!

Sadly, it wasn't open that day.

Whenever we walk to any city's center, we always get impressions.

That was the first day I ever saw snowdrops with my own eyes!

Within minutes...another spire.

This one is from the University of Groningen, founded in 1614.

It's one of the oldest and largest universities in the Netherlands and was voted its best in April, 2012.

The mother of all spires in Groningen, however, is the Martinitoren (Martini Tower) of the Martini Church.

Right there on the market square, it dominates everything.

You should know by now that I also love clock towers and sundials.

B I N G O.

Before doing anything else, we bought tickets and climbed the 1469 tower.

That's where I got my classic views of all the landmark spires...as well as the market square.

And, oh, I even got the windmill there in the background, far, far away (top center above)!

Lucky for us, the Martinikerk was open!  It's Groningen's oldest church, from 1225.

Much of the wall and ceiling paintwork has been preserved.

The choir dome of the church is 25 meters tall, surrounded by mural stations of the cross.

I could have spent LOTS of time there and would love to go back one day.

Another fabulous spire is from the 1602 Provinciehuis, seat of the provincial government.
It's a stone's-throw away from the Martinikerk, in the same neighborhood
  as the beautiful churchyard houses (Martinikerkhof), top above.

And lastly, at the end of our day, another spire is from the Jozefkerk, 1885.

 Officially, this is the Cathedral Church of Saints Martin and Joseph...

...which is why the St. Martin statue (middle left above) is in this church.

 The legend of Martin of Tours, b. 316-397, is well worth a read:  While a Roman soldier, he cut his cloak in half to share it with a beggar...and later dreamed the beggar was Jesus.
Those random acts of kindness...really do count!

On that inspirational note, it was time to head back home,
with impetus to get back to the Winter Olympics from Vancouver, February 12-28, 2010.
We visited Groningen on February 20, 2010!