Well, I drafted the post, captioned the pictures and published it only to have it all disappear into the ether. I will try this again.
We went over to the information center (right next to the roman gate) to buy tickets for the walking tour (in English) and find out where we might find an internet café and Laundromat . We washed out a few things in Brussels but really need to do laundry. Ltmgamer bought a wooden dagger and Det55 got a little purse.
We walked down to the Laundromat to scope it out. It is just past the house where Karl Marx was born. The house where he grew up is close to our apartment.
This weekend was “Trier Fashion Weekend”. Workers spent a lot of time setting up a long red carpet in the pedestrian area. There was live music playing and lots of people strolling around. Turns out we missed the fashion show as it happened while Paul and I were off doing the laundry.
We went over to the information center (right next to the roman gate) to buy tickets for the walking tour (in English) and find out where we might find an internet café and Laundromat . We washed out a few things in Brussels but really need to do laundry. Ltmgamer bought a wooden dagger and Det55 got a little purse.
We walked down to the Laundromat to scope it out. It is just past the house where Karl Marx was born. The house where he grew up is close to our apartment.
This weekend was “Trier Fashion Weekend”. Workers spent a lot of time setting up a long red carpet in the pedestrian area. There was live music playing and lots of people strolling around. Turns out we missed the fashion show as it happened while Paul and I were off doing the laundry.
The laundry was kind of an adventure. Luckily there was a sign with instructions in German and English. It still wasn’t completely clear what we were supposed to do. A nice German man helped us (in German) and a young woman finally came over and told us in English what we were supposed to do. Both the old man and the young woman seemed to feel we didn’t want to wash clothes in cold and it would be better to use the “normal” setting (that’s what is called on the machine). They also felt fabric softener would not be necessary. It all turned out well. The clothes got clean and dry and nothing shrunk. It took a couple of hours. We sat outside the laundromat and listened to music from some sort of Karl Marx street festival.
There were lots of families out and about and people strolling around. People were generally more dressed up for walking around than is typical for the Midwest anyway. We’ve seen several little kids on bikes without pedals. It is supposed to be a good way to learn to ride a bike since you learn to balance very well first.
The walking tour was very interesting. Lots of history occurred in this area. Because of it’s location near the Mosel river it became an important trading post. The town was taken over many times by different groups- the Vikings, French, Prussians. It was at one time it was the “end of the road” for both the West and the East. The Romans built the gate and a wall around the city. Emperor Constintine the Great ruled from here. His throne room is the largest remaining single room Roman building. It is now a church. Christianity was legalized by Constantine and began to spread from here. The first two bishops for the huge, lovely cathedral were appointed by Peter the Apostle.
The tour guide was an interesting man. He’s lived in Trier since the late 60’s. For many years he would swim in the river looking for roman coins (now that is no longer legal). It was the tradition to toss a coin or a trinket into the river to ensure a safe crossing. He also sifts through construction sites for coins and has amassed over 10,000 of them. One of which was a very rare coin with the image of Constintine. As Rome went into decline, the coins got smaller and thinner. I bought one from about 370 ad. There's a photo of me looking at roman coins but I can't find it.
The next day we explored Trier some more. We walked down to the river to see the original Roman pillars that make up the present day bridge (the dark stones below the red brick). Those Romans knew how to build things that last! We figured out how to navigate the 30 min of free internet. Caught up on emails and prepared to go on to Lille, France.