Trier, Germany

What did I say in a previous blip?  That I might sneak out on a day trip if the stars were all aligned, which today they were!  No regrets, Trier has one of the most beautiful city centres I have ever seen.  That will most likely be contested by many other people, but I don't mind as I'm only speaking for my own tastes and respect those who don't agree.  It would be exhausting to convince everyone to see things as I do.  In short, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Trier is a good 380 km. away driving through West Germany and you'd think I left early, but no, first I did some ironing, then cleared the dishwasher, after which it was time to make AW's coffee and enough tea for me to take along (something I always do because I like my own tea the most), plus some breakfast to keep me full on the road.  I'd already filled up the tank the day before.  Left home at 11.10 and arrived at the parking garage in Trier at exactly 15.10 -- a full four hours with only a short toilet stop upon entering Trier.  In the car, it was Paul McCartney non-stop ... I really tired him out!

A total of 210 shots taken, plus a handful that I've since deleted, so a good harvest at the day's end.  First stop was two cathedrals on the UN World UNESCO list, and this is one of them -- Trier Cathedral, dedicated to St. Peter.  Looks more like a fortress, if you ask me -- imposing, dominant, impregnable.  Well, that was the Church centuries ago and that's what it still wants to be.  Money and illicit sex ruined everything, but I shall not get started on that.  The various cathedrals I've seen everywhere are testimonies not to the greatness of God but to the grandeur of money ... haha!  Can't get any more human than that, hmm?

After the cathedrals, I visited the Porta Nigra, or 'Black Gate', built by the Romans millenia ago.  Indeed, Trier Cathedral was begun in 330 BC and Trier itself was founded by the Romans, so I learned something new again today.  There's an extra.  In the Porta Nigra, which once housed not one but two churches, an entertaining play for tourists is staged.  The actors are clad as Roman centurions.  As it was held in German, I didn't really pay attention but simply took several shots of the actors.  While walking around the area of the Porta Nigra, I discovered the original house where Karl Marx was born, so yet another thing I learned today, a lot easier to memorize than if I had to learn it from a textbook.  As I am a Marx fan (but not necessarily a Marxist), I considered it a fab extra for the day, like an extra dollop of cream on the cake.

After that, it was time for a short call to AW and dinner.  AW stringently advised me to take the Luxemburg route on the way back home so that I could fill up my tank again (it was barely half empty) as everything is cheaper in Luxemburg, as well as buy him a bottle of Glenfiddich.  I said I'd consider as I've never driven through Luxemburg and didn't want to get lost after nightfall.  A yummy dinner of steak and potatoes, then I bought a pot of blue orchids, then off to visit more sights before sunset.  Went to the Roman baths but they're under repair, walked through the palace gardens (I've seen better and larger), took shots of a few more interesting buildings, then off to the parking garage.

Very curious now, I decided to take the Luxemburg route.  It turns out that Luxemburg is a mere 12 km. away and when I crossed the river, I also crossed the border.  About 2 km. further, I encountered tank station after tank station where the diesel price was as much as 15 eurocents cheaper than at our place, so AW was right about that.  Every tank station has its own duty-free shop, so I got AW not one but two bottles of whiskey.  Then the long drive home, non-stop.  It took merely an hour to drive through Luxemburg.  The Wallonian province in Belgium took two hours, and then, to my relief, the Dutch border.  Maastricht was a mere 18 km. from the border and it took 1.5 hours before I entered our street again.  The Luxemburg route is a mere 35 km. longer than the German route, but took a full half hour longer.

What a fab day!  Long weekends do have their plus points.