March 31, Sunday
Deutschland! The Frankfurt airport was a combination of modern art and techno-style. You immediately felt like you were in Europe. We had no problems getting our luggage and passing through customs. Airport was not busy. Security was light in these post cold-war and post 9/11 days, and the German soldier who stamped our passports found my pronunciation of "Trier" amusing so he corrected me. We then walked through the labyrinth underbelly of the Frankfurt airport until we finally emerged into the train station. It was a huge glass and steel dome next to a shopping center/convention center. We spent our first euros on pastries and coffee and then settled down for a nap to wait for our train. The German trains were sleek, fast and on time which was good because we had to switch trains in Koblenz and we had only a 13 minute layover. No problem. Really enjoyed the train ride through the German countryside. We saw numerous quaint German villages alongside the Mosel river. Lots of barges but very few roads and cars or even people were out on Easter Sunday. After arriving at Trier train station, Chris got his first taste of European civic life when he had to pay 50 cents to use the bathroom. :) We walked the quarter mile or so to Hotel Pieper. I love the streets of Trier: row upon row of different colored Baroque (I think) style houses and businesses. After checking in to our room we went out to eat at a German restaurant: Ratskeller in the town square. Dad and I had schnitzel, Chris had a steak. We hurried back to the hotel afterwards. It was chilly and we weren't dressed for Trier weather yet. Tired but eager to see the city tomorrow.