Trier is likely the oldest city in Germany and said to be founded in 16 B.C. While I am always up for touring a new city, this visit held a special meeting. Some of Tom's not too distant relatives are from the nearby town of Spies, Germany and we were very interested in seeing the area. Outside of my day visit to Cologne, this was also my first visit to the Rhineland-Palatine area.
We stayed at the Mercure Hotel, directly across from Porta Nigra. Providing us with an immediate view of the medieval Roman gate each time we walked outside. The day of our arrival we gave ourselves a tour of the city.
Electoral Palace
Cathedral of Trier
The most fantastic site was the Electoral Palace. While the palace's main claim to beauty is the surrounding gardens, they were rather lackluster in the winter months. The palace was built in the late 1600's and currently serves as a local government office. Could you imagine if all government offices looked that nice? There certainly are some perks to working in Trier!
Next up was the Cathedral of Trier, the oldest church in the country. Construction began in the 1200's and it still stands to this day. The inside of the cathedral was bare in comparison to many of the plush and gilded churches I have seen throughout Europe, but that is to be expected for a building of that age.
After lunch, drinks, and our walk though the city, we all crashed and took a nap. We wanted to see the city at night, but needed to rest up first.
Porta Nigra
While it was a few days past Christmas, we were fortunate all of the decorations were still up. I love the holidays and the weather was clear and pleasant enough for us to enjoy an evening walk through the city. We ate dinner at Theo, a restaurant right by the Porta Nigra, before returning to our hotel for the evening. The following day was New Year's Eve and we had to get back to Stuttgart to pick up some food and beer for the celebration!
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