Trier Germany  August 31, 2008

Today we visited Trier Germany! Trier is about an hour from where we live and is the oldest city is Germany with many Roman ruins. As you will see in the pictures, we visited Porta Nigra, The Jewish Quarter, St. Peter's Cathedral, The Basilika, The Emperial Baths and the Hauptmarkt.

Porta Nigra is the largest surviving Roman city gate worldwide. The Jewish Quarter was where four Jewish families had four houses built with a common escape tunnel. This was also a gate to the Main Market dated back to the year 1235. St. Peter's Cathedral had to be one of the best places we visited. It was absolutely gorgeous. The architecture was so grand! The cathedral dates back to the year 336. The Basilika (also known as the electoral palace) was Constantine's throne room. Today is the seat of the District Government. The Emperial Baths were built in the first quarter of the 4th century. They are the second largest bath in Trier and the fifth largest in the Roman Empire. We also walked past the Jesuit Church and Seminary where Karl Marx attended school. We only got to visit half of the city today and plan to go back soon to explore the remainder of town.

Funny moments from our trip included Nick getting out of the Jeep in the parking garage (that had a serious echo) singing "I like big butts and I cannot lie...Of course, his voice magnified a thousand times over. Then in the cathedral Nick decided that at the crypt of the bishops he would let "gas" slip out and it echoed in the church. Then once again in the cathedral (where you are supposed to be deathly quiet) Ryan decided he didn't want Nick's arm around him in the picture so he started fussing and Nick started fussing and of course people were praying right beside them. And John and I can't yell at them because....we are supposed to be quiet. Go figure! And while we were eating at Ke Pasta, a crazy Austrian man decided that he wanted to talk to us constantly. John told the man he had no idea what he was saying...but the crazy guy went on and on and on.

However, we did have a very special moment in the cathedral when Nick came up with the idea to light a candle for Nana. So we each got the boys a candle and they lit them and we said a prayer for Nana. Of course, I cried and John took the pictures. My boys are really angels and they miss home so much!

Without these little moments on family trips, what would there be to talk about? We all had a great time and can't wait until our next adventure!