April 1, Monday
Slept well and woke up late. Since we missed the breakfast time at the hotel we went and ate breakfast at a cute cafe in the square. Had a croissant with cheese and ham. Very tasty. Washed it down with milchkaffee: kind of a strong latte. We decided to hit the three big attractions in Trier today: the museum, the baths, and the amphitheatre. Trier museum was fascinating as it covered the history of the area from the Celts to the Romans to the Franks to the medieval period through the renaissance. Lots of roman artifacts including coins and statues. Only downside of the museum was the fact that most of the signage was in German, very little in English. After the museum we walked through the ruins of the roman baths. Lots of excavation work being done there. From the baths it was about a ten minute walk to the amphitheatre. We got to tromp around the arena and the arena basement where the gladiators prepared for battle. The amphitheatre itself was impressive- in its day it had stone seats for 20000. The natives must have been impressed, even if they were part of the entertainment! After lunch at Burger King per Chris's request, we went to Karl Marx's house near the center of town. It was an ordinary looking Trier house filled with lighted displays detailing the major events of his life and some of the people he influenced. I picked up a Karl Marx button for a left-leaning friend back home. :) On the walk back to the hotel we stopped by the Dom cathedral, the biggest in town. It reminded me of the cathedral in Trondheim. Mom, I lit a candle to atone for my Notre Dame sins. :) For dinner, we decided to go back to the square and try a pizzeria. Good pizza! Great day! We went back to the hotel and collapsed. Looking forward to castle exploring tomorrow.