Europe 2012- Day 22: Nurburg, Trier, Luxembourg

The plan was to head down into Germany to the Cochem castle and then possibly to Trier if we had time, but all that changed.

As we headed into Germany Nathan decided to stop by the Nurburgring (racetrack) to see if there were any cool cars. Nathan Feigion told us there were some castle ruins right in the middle of the track, so after checking out the parking lot we headed towards that.

Just one of the exotic cars ready to do some laps on an open day

We parked and climbed up to the castle. It was really neat as we had never been to castle ruins before. There were really no rooms to go into except the tower where you could climb up to the top of the highest tower, which gave an awesome view of the surrounding area.

Ken striking a pose

The guys

Just part of the view from the  tower

The Nurburg Castle is located in the famous North Loop of the Nurburgring called Nordschleife. Originally built for Count Ulrich as a refuge castle back in 1166, his descendants were called the lords of Nurburg. After there were no more family hers to inherit the castle it was transferred to the Electorate of Cologne.

The outer curtain walls were added between 1340 and 1369. Restoration was carried out on the castle several times during the 16^th century. During the Thirty Year’s War the castle was captured, plundered, and damaged. Then in 1689 the French finished the destruction. In 1818 Prussia had the inner tower restored so they could use it as a trigonometric point for surveying further destroying the outer walls, and leaving it in its current state of disrepair.

By the time we were done with the castle it was past noon and so we ate at the restaurant just below the castle.

We were finally ready to get back on the road by 2, but as the Cochem castle was a little over an hour away, and they were only open until 5 we decided to just skip it and head to Trier instead.

Nate actually got it up to 140mph, but I didn't have time to take a picture

Ken napping again

Due to closed roads around town we were funneled down this small street. We had to drive on the sidewalk to let this bus by because it was so tight.

The parking garage that had red and green lights to let you know where the open spots where.

Upon arriving in Trier we found several roads blocked off and some horrible traffic. Eventually we made our way to the city center and found some parking. One of the main reasons Nate wanted to bring us there was for fresh made waffle cones. But first we went to the churches because we figured they would close first.

The original Trier Cathedral dates back to 313 when Bishop Agritius had the first large Basilica built. This was made possible when Helena, the mother to the Roman Emperor Constantine donated her house to the Bishop to be made into a church. You can still see the remains of this church if you go on a tour, as it is located underground.

In 340 the square core of the Trier Cathedral was built, with the addition of the Holy Robe Chapel and pilgrim stairs being added much later. Then around 1235-1260 the Church of our Lady Basilica was built. The Holy Robe Chapel is said to house the tunic of Jesus Christ. Records first mention it in the 11^th century, and although they say they cannot verify it 100% the seamless robe is also a symbol of the undivided Christian Church, and serves as a reminder of the binding power of God.

Walls of the choir area

Ceiling of the Choir area

A view of the holding place of the supposed robe of Christ

A list of the bishops of Trier Cathedral since 250 AD

Both the Church of our Lady and the Trier Cathedral were very unique in their own right. The ceiling in the west choir of the Cathedral is amazing as is the wood inlay along the walls. And the Church of our Lady had some cool stained glass, as well as a painted ceiling.

The Trier Cathedral on the left and the Church of our Lady on the right

There were more areas we could have paid to visit, but we really didn’t have time for all we wanted to do, so when we were done we headed into the city square to try locate the ice cream place. But low and behold there was an open market going on and with tents everywhere Nate didn’t remember which direction to go. After doing a loop we walked towards the Roman city gate called Porta Nigra.

Once again we found an open market

Nate got his fresh waffle cone with ice cream

As we drew close to the gate we finally found our ice cream shop. Nate and I were both going to get a strawberry ice cream cone, but they were sold out of that one, so I got a nuts one, which had walnut ice cream, chocolate, and peanuts on top, and Nate got one with cherries.

It looked like it must be possible to go up into the gate somehow but we weren’t sure where. The other side of the gate was blocked off and there were 2 police officers standing guard. I went and asked if they spoke English, and then asked why everything was blocked off. They told me there were some government protests going on. I asked about the gate and they said they though you could maybe go up the right side but they weren’t sure if we had to pay.

We found the entrance on the side like they said, and after paying 3 euros each we walked up the stairs. The view of the city just kept getting better with every floor we climbed. There was a total of 3 levels to go up, and as we went we could hear the chanting and drums of the protestors, they were not far away.

Porta Nigra

Porta Nigra (black gate in Latin) was built between 186 & 200 AD by the Romans using grey sandstone. Porta Nigra guarded the North entry to the mostly square city. There would have been 3 other gates, one for each side. In the middle ages when the Roman gates were no longer used the stones were taken to be reused for other buildings. 

The view from Porta Nigra

Just a few of the cops hanging around town

After enjoying the city view and a quick peek at the protestors (which was rather lame) we headed back towards the car.  Near where we parked was a Roman bath house, so we stopped to look at that as well. It was closed so we couldn’t go in but we still admired it’s massive size from outside.

Constantine throne room

The Roman bath

Nate peeping into the baths

Map of Trier

Luxembourg was our next stop, which was only an hour away, and as we drove we got to see another beautiful sunset. 

When we arrived in Luxembourg we followed signs for parking in the city center, until those signs just don’t exists anymore. Last time we were in Luxembourg we had a hard time trying to figure out parking as well. We finally decided that we needed to follow a different parking garage sign, and we ended up parking in the same garage as our last trip there.

Ghost car!

First thing we wanted to try find the Roman ruins, we looked for signs and walked out near where we thought they were but no luck. We decided to skip that idea and get some dinner so we could head for home. 

We were slightly disappointed to find we had a 3 hour drive home. Nate was getting tired as he never gets to sleep in, and always had a lack of sleep. 2/3 of the way home we decided to stop for gas, not so much because we needed gas, and Nate needed a break. I decided to drive the rest of the way home.