Roman Holiday

As I mentioned earlier, a part of my visit with Cassandra included a trip to Trier in Germany. It was only 45 minutes away from Luxembourg and was a city full of Roman ruins making it one of the most interesting places I’ve visited. We started with the Porta Nigra, the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps. Built from about 180 to 200 AD, it is one of four gates each placed at the corners of the rectangular city (there are remnants of the three others but I only saw this one as it’s the best preserved). It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site in case you were wondering. We climbed it and took in the views.


On our way down, we were barred from going any further by this chap.


As a Christian in a Roman city I was immediately worried. But it turns out there was a live re-enactment starting in 10 minutes (only in German) complete with Roman costumes. Cassandra and I were severely disappointed we couldn’t take part.

From there we walked through the town taking in the Jewish quarter (there’s always one in German towns) and the main square, admiring the gorgeous buildings including the nicest looking H&M I’ve ever seen.

Along the way we passed the Cathedral of Saint Peter, the oldest cathedral in Germany. The cathedral is actual two buildings, a Romanesque part constructed after the conversion of Emperor Constantine (around 330AD) and another Gothic section with work beginning around the sixteenth century. Unfortunately, the Roman part is under construction so Cassandra and I settled for the Gothic part and its beautiful gardens. The Cathedral is home to the Holy Tunic which is supposed to be the garment worn by Jesus when he was crucified. Unfortunately, it’s only exhibited every few decades so we could only see it through several layers of glass and wrought iron fencing.

Next was the Basilica that was once used as the thrown hall for Emperor Constantine and is now a Protestant church (oh, how the mighty have fallen), and the Palace of Trier.

Then we proceeded to the Roman baths. I’d seen pictures of the Roman baths in Bath, England and so I figured they’d be similar. You can imagine my disappointment when I got there and discovered that these baths were never used as baths. Instead they were used as army barracks—which turned out to be a million times cooler!


I had so much fun exploring the underground tunnels, with the low lighting and sound of water droplets, I felt like I was a Knight Templar or something. There were a bunch of minute details—the walls were wet, the strong mossy smell, the multitude of torch holes—that made the walk a little eerie but so much fun. I spent way to long exploring those cavernous areas. Here are some pictorial highlights.

Next I headed up to the Amphitheater, which I was even more excited to see, if that’s possible. And it definitely didn’t disappoint. It’s not as big as the one in Rome, but it was still pretty amazing. I walked through the rooms the gladiators were kept before battle and all I could think was “This is so cool! Real people fought for their lives here while hundreds of people cheered.” It was really astonishing.

I saw the secret compartments the animals come out of (just like in Gladiator). I would have liked to explore more but circumstances prevented me from doing so. Circumstances being a sign in German that I’m sure read “Danger, do not go in here you idiot!” coupled with the fact that the room looked like it wasn't structurally sound. Instead I took these pictures.


Then I walked up to the grass covered hill where the seats would have been and imagined I was watching Russell Crowe duke it out with Joaquin Phoenix.

After my Roman adventure, I went to visit the birthplace of Trier’s arguably most famous citizen: Karl Marx. Indeed, the prominent philosopher/socialist/revolutionary was born in Trier and spent his childhood there. The museum was really well done; very high-tech with great graphics and a solid audio guide (which I listened to in its entirety). I did a project on Marx in Grade 12 and was surprised to learn that Marx lived for a few months in Brussels after he was forced out of Paris; and that two of his three daughters committed suicide. What was really interesting about the museum was that parts of it were in Chinese, a language I have never seen in a European museum yet. But I guess it makes sense right?