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?

Shake Your Bonn Bonn

The next morning, Matt and I split ways. He went on to Romania (Bucharest to be more specific) and I carried on to Bonn, a 20 minute train ride south of Colgone. Although I left plenty earlier (10am), I didn’t arrive in Bonn until 12:30pm thanks to a horrible experience where I took the wrong train and nearly ended up in Koblenz. But, once I was in Bonn, I found it was worth the trouble.
Bonn is a small city but its major significance is that it was the capital of Western Germany during the Cold War. It was also the birthplace of Beethoven, the composer. That alone was enough to sell me on the city, but it’s much more than a historical relic. It’s just a very beautiful city.
Bonn is divided into two areas: the older, prettier center of town and the newer area near the river dominated by old West German government buildings. I started here and decided to work my way back up to the center of town. The woman at the tourist office had sent me via the boardwalk so I had a lovely walk through the city square and then along the Rhine river.


The buildings that make up the government area are not pretty. They’re squat 1960s-style industrial buildings with brown roofs and dull metal paneling. The best example of this is the old Bundesrat, the building where West German politicians met. It was torn down and a new Bundestag was built. It was this new Bundestag that I wanted to see. It was one of two things I insisted on seeing while in Bonn (the other was a visit to Beethoven’s house), and I had already decided I was going to take a tour. My plan encountered a slight hiccup when I went in at 2pm, looking for a tour and found they were only available in German…Well, I’d walked all the way down here and it was on my list, so I was going to do it. And I did. I spent an hour listening to a German man explaining the architectural and historical significance of the building without understanding a single word. Fortunately, there was a young woman who spoke phenomenal English and somehow divined that I didn’t speak German (maybe it was my blank stare?). So she translated for me. So most of my information comes from her.

Construction on the Bundestag began in 1988, under the guidance of architect Günter Behnisch. Given that it was built in the thick of the Cold War, democracy was an important principle in Germany. Therefore, democracy and transparency in government is a consistent theme throughout the building. In fact, it was (at the time) the world’s only transparent parliament, as the building is made mostly of glass.


The lobby is a wide open space with only two doors: one to the outside (which is made of glass) and the other to the parliamentary chamber (also made of glass). As a result of all the glass, it’s very bright and there is green foliage all around given the feeling that nature is coming inside. This is to symbolize that democracy is a natural phenomenon. A (coloured glass) partition separates the press from the politicians, but no doors, symbolizing that West Germany’s politicians should always be, at least accessible, to the press. The lines on the floor lead to doors, and depending on which one a politician stands at, indicate whether he is ready to speak with the press.


Another theme of the building is the concept that democracy and government is a task that is unfinished. As a result, the painting on the poles framing the (glass) elevator is painted yellow except for the very top where the architect purposely stopped in order to reinforce this theme.

The theme of transparency is carried inside the chambers as well. The walls of glass and the ceilings are exposed and with out covering, so you can see the lights and ceiling tiles.

This parliament was never used by West Germans as reunification happened before construction finished. It was used from 1992 to 1999 as the seat of German government, but after that government operations moved to Berlin. Today Bonn still holds some ministries and secondary residences of the Chancellor. The building is currently being used as a conference centre. Also in the neighborhood is a UN building. I find it interesting that it happened to be located in the heart of West German government…

As I was walking back to town I somehow ended up on the Path of Democracy. Some of the sights were pretty cool (the Chancellor’s residence, the first place the West German Parliament convened was in a converted waterworks building), but some were lame (the old Foreign Affairs ministry, a science museum). Here are the pictorial highlights. Read along with the website.


That sexy beast is one-time West German Chancellor Kondrad Adenauer.


Then I walked through the center. Like most capitals, Bonn seemed like it was cleaned up for tourists. The banana colored university building seemed to sparkle in the sunlight and the pink paint of City Hall was gleaming.

Then there was the Opera house that you could tell was built during the Cold War.

My last stop was Beethoven’s house, now a museum dedicated to his life. It was a really great museum and I wish I’d had the time to really go through it. There was some really good stuff: the ear trumpets Beethoven used to hear with when he was going deaf, two of his pianos, a violin given to him as a first gift and his first instrument, pages of his work, portraits, and a death mask (true story). What’s interesting about this site is that Beethoven actually hated living in Bonn. He lived there for the first 18 or 20 years of his life before he moved out and then spent the rest of his time in Vienna. But if I were Bonn, and was no longer the seat of German politics I’d stick with Beethoven too. Here are some pictures of the museum and the huge statue they have of the man in Beethoven Square.

Eau de Cologne

Then, after an exhausting week of doing absolutely nothing at work and saying goodbye to fellow intern friends as they fled the country, all while trying to put off moving out of my apartment into my newer (and smaller) one, I jetted off to Germany for the weekend. We spent two days in North Rhine-Westphalia state along the Rhine River and it was quite enjoyable.

The first stop was Cologne (or Köln in German). Three hours from Brussels, Cologne is known for its Gothic Dom (Cathedral), which is the largest in Germany and somehow escaped being blown to smithereens during World War II.

And it’s pretty big; 509 steps from the bottom to the top. And I climbed them all. They tell you it takes about an hour to climb to the top, but yours truly did it in half that. This despite the foul smelling and vertigo-inducing spiral staircase—imagine what a hundred years of people climbing up 509 stairs and sweating in a very confined space with minimal oxygen smells like. In any case, it wasn’t bad. After a certain point we got to the bell tower and there was a gorgeous breeze to cool us off. And had I paid €1, I could have rung the bells Quasimodo-style. But I didn't. But the view itself was worth it. That and the bragging rights. Here are some pictures from the top.

(Me pulling a King Arthur and trying to pull a "sword" out of "rock")

What was also astonishing was the amount of graffiti on the way up. Now I understand that climbing 509 steps is a feat. I did it, I get it. But there’s no reason to deface a two hundred year old Cathedral. And not just any old Cathedral either. The church also houses the Shrine of the Magi which allegedly holds the remains of the Three Kings. So it was especially tragic to see “Sally was here ‘99” in White Out on the top.

The rest of the church is stunning. So gorgeous that someone was actually getting married as we toured it. I can imagine why they would want to get married there. It has absolutely massive stain class windows which I couldn’t resist.

After the church we walked around for a bit. We check out 4711, a store that sells Eau de Cologne, a perfume that two hundred years ago, was believed to be a healing elixir, so people used to drink it. Now they spritz it on them to smell nice. The name, 4711, dates back to Napoleonic times when they used to name streets using numbers.


Then we took a walk along the Rhine River. We walked through an impromptu battle of the brass bands that was happening in front of us and intercepted a German-style Run for the Cure marathon. Never a dull moment in Cologne. We also tried to jump on a Rhine boat tour but they were too expensive.


So after a hunt for a restaurant that didn’t exist, we strolled through the old city until dinner. We had a lovely dinner along the river—which included a class of Kölsch, the local brew—and then waited until the sun set so we could walk across the river and see the Dom at night.


These pictures were the best out of 28 attempts. Anyway, once I was satisfied with the shot, we went back to our hostel for the night.