After nice breakfast we traveled from Rothenburg to Koblenz, a city on the Rhine and Moselle rivers. For the last hour of the journey train tracks ran parallel to the Rhine and we enjoyed the views of the river and its surroundings. We didn't take any pictures, though, because we planned to cruise this stretch of the river in the next few days.
We checked into our hotel where we'll be staying for the next three nights. The rooms at the hotel didn’t have telephone but they did have free wifi internet access. Given the choice, we would take the internet every time. We could check weather and train schedules from our room and that helped a great deal with planning.
After checking in, we hopped the train to Trier. Trier is the oldest city in Germany, so it seemed deserving of our visit. The city is situated on the Moselle river and we enjoyed the views of the Moselle valley along the way. We noticed a lot of vineyards as both Rhine and Moselle river valley are prime wine-producing regions.
At the Trier train station we found a city map and started walking toward the first site, Porta Nigra, Very impressive Porta Nigra (the Black Gate) is a four-story structure that was once part of the city's walls. It is the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps and has been designated a World Heritage Site. It was built without a mortar and huge sandstone blocks are held together by iron clamps. It still remains in a remarkable condition.
When we passed through the gate, a very large foot caught our attention.
It turned out to be a replica of the foot from the colossal statue of the Emperor Constantine who was a notable Trier resident. In the ancient times Trier was the capital of the Western Roman Empire and home to six Roman emperors. It was known then as "Roma Secunda" or Second Rome.
The Palastaula (Palatinate hall) served as Roman throne room. It is massive to say the least. It is 220 ft long, 90 ft wide and 98 ft high.
The ruins of the Roman Imperial baths were fairly impressive as well.
There is also an amphitheatre seating as many as 20,000 spectators and Old Roman bridge.
The Roman ruins weren't the only sites worth visiting. Hauptmarkt has been a Main Market since 958 and was the center of medieval Trier.
It is surrounded by historic buildings such as Steipe (the city council's banqueting house), early 15th century St. Gangolf church, and ornate Market Fountain. The birth place of Karl Marx is also nearby.
We finished our tour of Trier at the Cathedral. It is the oldest in Germany and goes back to Roman times.
