Trier - Germany's Oldest City

Saturday, January 26, 2008 - we headed to Trier - Germany's Oldest City. Legend has it that the city was founded 1,300 years before Rome.

The most famous landmark is the Porta Nigra (Black Gate). The largest surviving Roman city gate north of the Alps. No mortar was used in the construction. The stone blocks were only held together with iron clamps cast into place with lead.


The highlight of our day was most likely the Roman Amphitheatre. Dating from around 100 AD, it is the oldest surviving Roman structure in Trier. Gladiatorial contests were presented here to audiences of up to 20,000.


We tried to imagine the crowds and the excitement of being in the arena 2000 years ago!

Sydney and Shaylee pose for a picture - standing on the arena floor. Then we all went down into the damp and dark cellars beneath the floor where gladiators or prisoners were most likely held. The original rainwater drains are still functional down there as well. Quite amazing this structure!

The amphitheatre was huge! You can see us way up on the top edge. Along the wall of the arena were doors into little rooms/cages. Shane is standing in the doorway of one of the animal cages that open to the arena. Lions, tigers and bears - OH MY!

Imperial Baths (Kaiserthermen)

These were built under Emperor Constantine in the first half of the 4th century, but never used for their intended purpose. In the Middle Ages it served as the corner of the city walls.

Constantine's FOOT (there were several of these feet around town) - apparently they are true size replicas from a statue of Constantine that at one time was in Rome. In 2007 parts of the original statue were on exhibit in the museum in Trier.


The Hauptmarkt Square


Trier Cathedral and the Church of Our Lady - these originate from a double church built in the 4th century.


Roman Basilica - Aula Palatina
This is a VERY impressive building. Emperor Constantine the Great had it built in the early 4th Century on the remains of his former imperial palace. It was probably the throne room or audience hall. To get an idea of its size - the imposing Porta Nigra (first picture posted above) would fit into the huge room twice over!

The Electoral Palace is attached to the Basilica - it is quite strange - but apparently the historic figures did strange things when they were in power! (That is an easy way to state what all took place - since buildings were built, torn down, rebuilt, and then reconstructed all at different times - we bought a book - so we have some reference material!)

After our day of touring Trier - we headed to the country of Luxembourg. Trier is on the far western border of Germany so it was only a stone's throw to Luxembourg. Last weekend was Austria, this weekend Luxembourg - maybe we will try for Switzerland next weekend - I guess you will just have to check back and see...

Our House

I took some fun pictures of a few of our homes finest features! Enjoy!

This is our winding staircase from the top looking down - all the way to the basement -it makes for a great laundry shoot.

Can you guess what this might be?? It is the light on our living room ceiling! Quite the light fixture I'd say! Shane says it looks like a heart (upside down in this picture). I think its more like a lima bean.

Our beloved cuckoo clock.

Chicken for Dinner

This blog isn't just for pretty scenery pictures - it also tells the story of day to day life - well this post is one of those stories.

I decided since the sun was out I was going to walk to pick the girls up from Kindergarten today. As we turned the corner onto our street I heard a bird of some sort squawking. As we got closer to our house I noticed a man in his backyard holding a chicken. This was the bird I had heard. I then see him take an ax and wack the chicken. No more squawking. I guess he was going to have chicken for dinner! As we continued on I remembered times as a kid when I had helped "process" chickens at my grandpa and grandma's farm....no big deal...it was actually kind of fun seeing headless chickens running around a such. Anyway, I know that all chicken you purchase at the store comes from a chicken that at one time was alive....but it just hit me odd to see a man wack his chicken in his backyard. I guess that is Germany for you. Even though we live in town many people have little farms/gardens as part of their backyards. Its pretty common to see an old barn right next to a new house. I sometimes find this strange - but other times find it just part of life here.

Anyway - anyone having FRESH Chicken for dinner??

Austria

Since we were so close to the Austrian border today, we just had to take a little drive into Austria! The mountains were beautiful with the snow and the sunshine. It was gorgeous. Jer really wants to come back and go skiing! I can see why with all the little ski villiages with hotels and such - a resort paradise.

Alps, Castles, and Martha

Today - Saturday, January 19, 2008 we decided to head down to see Crazy King Ludwig II's famous castle - Neuschwanstein. It is about a 3.5 hour drive, and we were hoping the weather would be nice. We checked the forcast on the computer and decided to take the chance. The first hour of our drive we were in rain - but as we got closer, the rain stopped and low and behold we even saw the SUN! The pictures below are of our first glimpse of the ALPS - we were very excited! We told the kids to look out the windows and see the snow capped mountains.

As we kept driving and getting closer the sky got clearer and the scenery was just gorgeous.

We arrived, parked, and got our tickets to tour both the castles in the area. Schloss Hohenschwangau is where King Ludwig spent his young years - as his father, Maximilian II, rebuilt this palace from 12th century ruins.

The tour was very good. Shane prefered this castle - I think it was because the tour guide told of the secret passage/staircase between the bedrooms of the king and queen. The castle also had what we would refer to today as central heating. There were passage ways behind each of the tile stoves throughout the castle so that the wood could be brought in and the stoves stoked from behind, instead of from inside each room. Pretty clever I'd say. I think Shane thought it would have been neat to be a servant and get to explore these passages - or sit and listen behind a stove to what the king and his guests were talking about (okay maybe it's me that thinks it would have been neat sit and eavesdrop on the king!) Throughout the castle there were paintings on the walls. They were mostly done in Romanticism - there would be a war/battle scene with knights fighting with swords and arrows, however there was no blood painted in the entire scene. Quite interesting as I had not noticed such before. You learn something new everyday! Another interesting atribute of this castle was that King Ludwig II had stars, illuminated with hidden oil-lamps from the floor above, on the ceiling of his bedroom. The royal family recieved gifts from other important figures - some of these gifts were very elaborate. One however, was a loaf of bread and salt. Apparently it was a custom to give bread and salt as a housewarming gift. The actual loaf of bread from 116 years ago was in a case with the salt. Because the salt was in the case with the bread it prevents the bread from molding. However we are sure the bread is a bit hard and stale. This was our first tour inside an actual castle lived in by a king - so we found it to be quite interesting.

Next - Schloss Neuschwanstein (that little castle up on the hill).

We took a horse-drawn carriage ride up to the castle instead of a steep 30 minute walk....we knew the kids would enjoy the ride vs the walk! It was worth every cent!

The castle is very impressive! The veiw of the valley below, and the Alps on the other side are amazing!

The tour of this castle was also very interesting. Getting a glimpse into King Ludwig II's lavish lifestyle. This romantic medieval style castle was started in 1869 but was never completely finished. The king spent just over 170 days here before he died a mysterious death in 1886. Apparently there are 300 rooms in the castle, but only 21 are complete, these 21 however are lavishly complete! The view from the castle windows was simply amazing. I can see why the king loved this area.

Complimented by Martha Stewart

As we began our tour of Schloss Hohenschwangau this morning we had to enter the castle and then wait for the tour guide. When we first entered the waiting area I saw a lady sitting on a bench that looked just like Martha Stewart. I whispered over to Jer "doesn't she look like Martha Stewart?" and Jer looked over and replied "yes, she does." Well once the tour began 'Martha' asked a question and Jer and I looked at eachother and said "she doesn't just look like Martha Stewart - she IS Martha Stewart!" Her voice was unmistakable. We were both like wow - we're on a castle tour with Martha Stewart of all people. After the tour - she sort of disappeared and we went on our way - to Schloss Neuschwanstein for our next tour. And low and behold - there she was again. On this tour we overheard another couple say "that is her" but we didn't say anything more about it. After the tour we were in the souvenir shop looking at some souvenirs and books. All the people from our tour were also in there - so it was quite crowded. Jer headed off to purchase some things and I was keeping the kids under control. I ended up right next to guess who...Martha Stewart, and she said to me "How do you have such well behaved children?" I was a bit caught off guard being complimented by Martha Stewart - that I just answered "I'm not sure - I guess I just do." And Shaylee went on to say something about seeing a lot of castles and wanting to go home. And then Martha said to her - "some day you'll be glad you got to see all these castles." Well on our way out of the castle we had to walk through the castle kitchen - and there she was again taking pictures of the kitchen (what else would Martha Stewart being doing in a castle??)

Once we got home this evening Jer and I checked out her website and blog and confirmed that yes indeed it WAS Martha Stewart that we toured castles with today! We plan to watch her blog over the next week or so to see if she posts those pictures of the castle kitchen.

Hulla Balloo

Daddy and the kids were playing Hulla Balloo tonight after supper. If you have ever played - you know how crazy this game can get....but the kids sure do like it! I think its all the bouncing and jumping and twister like moves. It sure uses up their energy before bed.

Trying to share a space....watch out for daddy's toes! Winner - take a bow...can you guess?


Touch your nose to..... Silas was watching and clapping!

FYI - for those of you who are curious about our house - they are playing in the basement playroom. This is the only room with carpet, however the carpet is very flat and thin with no padding under it. I like this room because it has a door and I can shut it 1) to keep in the noise 2) to hide the mess they make with their toys!

Crafts

The girls love to do crafts - so this afternoon after they got home from school I pulled out the craft boxes. We just took down our Christmas decor (yes just this morning)- so now it's time for Valentine decor right??? We made some hearts to hang up around the house. They had fun with the glitter and the glue - why is it that they always prefer the things that make the most mess!! I decided to make a heart window hanger too - so I guess I got my fingers a bit sticky myself!

Silas - 8 months old

I just took a bunch of photos of Silas -so thought you would enjoy them too! He's 8 months old already. Each month I take pictures of him on his John Deere blanket - thus the reason why it is in almost every picture!


8 months old - isn't he handsome!

Trying to play Patty-Cake


Silas was eating - he gave me such a look....I think he looks a lot like Jer (when he was little) in this picture....you can also sort of see the bruise on his forehead here....its more yellow now.

Auto and Technik Museum - Sinsheim, Germany

First off - I find it quite unusual that we seem to have picked all the "S" spots in Germany to visit - either that or there just happens to be a lot of "S" named places here. Today (Saturday, January 12) we headed to Sinsheim to do something a bit different. We went to the Auto and Technik Museum (no castles or cathedrals there)! We thought the kids (and ourselves) would enjoy seeing planes, trains, and automobiles - as well as motorcylces, bicycles, tanks, and trucks. We saw our share - that is for sure! We got to climb in a real Concorde jet - suspended above the museum. As well as several other aircraft. Seeing inside the cockpit of these planes and realizing all the buttons, levers and controls used to pilot them - we have a great appreciation for those pilots who fly us back and forth over the ocean!

We also saw car after car after car - all makes and models - both American and European. Apparently the museum holds over 300! And thats just cars!

We didn't even begin to take pictures of them - but I (Kimber) did find one to be quite interesting. Apparently the one behind me (in picture) was made especially for Hitler.

A very special feature at the museum is the record breaking vehicle "The Blue Flame", the fastest rocket-propelled land vehicle of all times. It is a cross between a car and a rocket and it set a world-record with an average speed of 1001.671 km/h back in 1970.

One section of the museum is dedicated to military vehicles. We saw tanks, trucks, guns, shells, planes, as well as WWI and WWII documentation, newspaper articles (in German) I would have like to have read in English. So much history there right in front of us! One plane was a wreckage pulled from the ocean. Just knowing someone died in there - fighting the war - wow! Outside they had tanks. On one they had sections removed so you could see how thick the metal was. Very interesting.

Shane liked these rockets!

We also saw some unique vehicles....definately one of a kind!

A one wheeled vehicle - you ride inside the wheel! And a car turned snowmobile - that one looked like fun! You just hooked the skis right onto the wheels.

Shane also liked this plane with the sharp teeth painted on it! I suppose to scare the birds?!?

Taking a break (Silas was sleeping - can you tell?)

We had a good time and there is another Technik museum in Speyer. The one is Speyer has a Boeing 747, U-boat, 2 floor carousel built in 1850, and much more. We will surely check that museum out sometime too!