Trier

On our first weekend in Germany, our friends Erin and Adam picked us up to take a 45 minute road trip to Trier, located in the Mosel valley where the river widens. It is one of the oldest cities in Germany, dating back to 16 BCE.

Trier is specifically well known for its Christmas markets, which are little stands in the city center filled with German food, various assortments of handcrafted items, and lots of gluhwein (hot, spiced wine).

We parked in a garage nearby and walked to the city center, where we beheld the ancient Porta Nigra (Black Gate), one of the most famous ruins in Germany and standing at one hundred feet tall. This famous gate dates back to the second century when it was a portion of four miles of walls during the Roman Empire. Trier was a major city in the late Roman Empire, where it was named a regional capital under various emperors.

We walked around the markets and explored all the different stands. We had our first European crepe with nutella (they LOVE nutella here), bratwurst (which was actually delish), and lots of gluhwein (they serve it in different mugs in all the German cities that you get to keep!).  Trier is the only place that we’ve been able to find Riesling Gluhwein, which was absolutely ahhh-mazing – everywhere else that we’ve been to only has various red gluhweins. Here’s an example of one of the stands selling lots and lots of chocolate.

After exploring the markets, we went to Saint Peter’s Cathedral Church, which is the oldest bishop’s church in Germany. 

 

Trier Round 2:

When my brother Ben came to visit this past spring, I took him on a mini day trip through Trier. We also checked out the Porta Nigra, as of course we had to being the most ancient piece of architecture in Germany. 

In the center square, a levitating man caught our eye, but after staring at him for quite some time, we were able to figure out his tricks. ;) There are some interesting characters wandering the streets in these towns.

While trying to figure out our next stop in Trier, we researched the major attractions. One of the top attractions just so happened to be Karl Marx’s house, which has been reconstructed into a museum. Being the conservative Grove City graduates that we are, we had to of course check this out. To our despair, the museum had just closed as we arrived, however, seeing his house was quite exilerating. Not…

We walked around the city more and found the cutest street lined with shops. I was beyond excited, because it was the first time I discovered TK Maxx (similar to TJ Maxx). For all of those who share my love for TJ Maxx, you could see why I was so hyper with excitement to find this. 

We just so happened to walk through the loveliest park and stumbled upon what appeared to be some sort of palace. We still aren’t sure to this day what exactly it is, but it was worth snapping a picture.