Trier is the oldest city in Germany.  It was founded by the Celts in the 16th Century BC.  The Romans came and took over and there stands some ancient ruins.  The Porta Nigra was the gate into the city that the Romans built and that was the only way in.  It was made of white sandstone that had a yellowish tint to it, but over the years, it’s blackened and that’s the reason for its name.  It could be cleaned, but they have decided not to.

Then, there is the Basilica that was ordered to be built by Constantine somewhere around 315 or 316 AD.  He lived in Trier for a while, but during the construction of the Basilica, he made his way over to Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey) and remained there.  In the 19th century, it was fixed and became the first protestant church in Trier.  There were 24 Catholic Churches and 12 Bishops (that means that each one had two churches).  There was another protestant church built later.

There was also the Roman Bathhouses.  There were three separate baths, one hot, one tepid and a cold bath.  The warm bath was lifted about 1 meter and was heated from underneath.  It was pretty cool to see.

A funny thing happened today after the tour, though.  Since dogs weren’t allowed in the Basilica, Rob stayed outside with Casey and I went in withthe tour.  He really wanted to see the inside, so I stayed outside with Casey-puppy.  I was sitting down, relaxing, enjoying a Mezzo Mix (orange cola) and a cigarette.  Casey was next to me, sitting pretty and this old German lady came up to me and tried to hand me a 1 or 2 Euro coin.  I think she thought I was a bum or something!  I said, “Nine! Nine!” She looked horrified, after realizing that I wasn’t a bum and she said, “Entschuligung! (which is German for “Excuse me!”)”  She smiled back at me and walked away!  I kept thinking, “Do I look THAT unkempt?”  I did forget to bring my hairbrush with me, but I didn’t smell bad and my clothes were clean and neat, so I don’t know why she would have thought that way!  I know she was embarrassed, it didn’t bother me, though.  I can laugh about it, anyway  🙂

Last night, Rob and I went to the Irish pub there in Trier and we met some nice people.  Actually, we met a contractor who worked with the military and his wife is German and works at the Tourist Information Center and had a brief conversation with her about what we should do in the city.  They were really nice people and I got a phone number and an email address.  I got pretty drunk last night, though.  I feel more embarrassed about that than I do about the money thing that happened!

Admittedly, I forgot to bring my camera and I’m still kicking myself about that one!  I can’t believe it!  At least I had my phone on me and I was able to get some pretty crappy cell phone pictures that I’ll post later (I have to find the cord so I can download them onto the computer).  You’ll be able to see those pictures in my Photos album at the top of the page later today.

Well, thanks for reading and have a great day.