Cities of Light: Day 5
Day 5: Sunday, October 22, 2023 - Trier, Germany, and Bernkastel-Kues, Germany
The day's statistics:
- Weather: upper 50s, overcast
- Steps: 11,924 Linda; 12,048 Steve
- Miles traveled (approximately): 32
After showering and dressing, we headed to the dining room for breakfast.
As always, breakfast - like lunch and dinner - is sit where you want. We again sat in Geo's section.
Breakfast is only a one page menu. However, an order can be made from the menu, and or someone can get food off the buffet.
Linda frequently, though not always, ordered the egg benedict. I always visited the buffet and usually had eggs, sausage
and or bacon, potatoes, and mushrooms. I didn't take a picture of that because, well, it was just scrambled eggs...
We returned to the room to pick up our excursion tickets, jackets, camera, and QuietVoice® devices.
I spied these ducks on the bank.
There was also this monument on the top of the peak across the river.
Today's first excursion was called "Trier Highlights", and our guide was Johanna - we departed at 8:45.
Trier is the oldest city in Germany [settled by Romans] (but not the oldest German city [settled by a Germanic Tribe]).
Some sites from the bus ride.
An original lifting apparatis.
An old bridge, made with stones from the old jail. The bridge was originally made of wood so it could be burned in case of an attack.
A statue.
We were driving up to the top of the hill to get an overlook of the town.
A random street.
Some Roman bath ruins, both from the bus and the overlook, and an ampitheater.
Some turbines from two differnt locations.
We arrived at the overlook - it was cold and windy - and were told about some of the various sights.
On the way back down the narrow, twisty road, we passed a hotel near the summit.
We arrived back in town, debussed, used the restrooms, and started the walking portion of our tour.
We don't seek out the stumbling stones - the memorial marker to those that lost their life during the
holocaust - but will take a picture of them if reasonably possible.
Our walk started at the palace (a replica, as the origianl was bombed), which is adjactent to the the red
brick building (a Lutheran church) in the second of three pictures above from the overlook.
The four statues across the top of the building represent morning, early afternoon, late afternoon, and evening.
The Lutheran church 1856 with smoke vent holes on the side for the floor heating fires, and a view from further away.
A Trier manhole cover.
Moving on.
We eventually made our way to two churches that were next to each other.
The rain was coming to an end. Johanna said "Oh look, a rainbox." I stuck my head around the corner and click.
I said "Hey Linda, come here." In the few seconds it took her to get there, it was gone.
We went inside the church.
Back outside, this square marked the oriignal location of the baptismal pool.
Our visit inside was over, and we continued our visit in the town - including stopping by the town square.
Like gas, a Micky D's menu is a pricing benchmark. Two years ago we saw nuggests in Switzerland for $1.16 per nugget. Here, a nine piece
meal (with large sides) is $12.00. Assuming only $1.00 each for the drink and fries, that's $10.00 for the nuggets - which is $1.11 per
nugget. (Obviously if the fries and drink are more, the per nugget cost is less.) So Germany is similar in cost to Switzerland.
This is Porto Negra. It is an entry with two sets of arches with an opening between the two, with a second floor balcony
so archers or other defenders can take care of any enemies that are trapped in the space.
The stone, like most of the sandstone we saw, turns black due to a chemical reaction from the content of the rock.
It is not discoloration for pollution or dirt.
This stone shows a cut for a door, as well as a stone cutter's marking (looks like "VW") to assure the supplier is properly paid.
After our guided tour, we were given some free time in the town. We saw some more sights - including a Karl Marx statue - and
visited a grocery store to get some prices (for comparison) - and get something to snack on, including some cough drops.
Ten, not a dozen, [unrefridgerated] eggs are $3.49.
We were told to meet in front of the gate at 11:15. We found out from other tour group members that it looked
like the group was gathering in the gate, and heading to the buses. We notified anyone else we could see and we
all made our way through the gate and onto the bus. This was poorly communicated.
Headcount was taken and we all eventually made it onto the bus, and we got underway.
On our way back to the ship, a few more sights.
It was a relatively short drive to the ship.
We got off the bus, and made our way to our cabin. At 12:45, we had a mandatory safety drive.
The ship was underway, and we captured some sights before lunch.
After our drill, we headed to the dining room for lunch.
Linda had the cauliflower soup, open-faced cheddar cheese sandwich, and floating island.
I had the shrimp from the market fare selection, cauliflower soup, baby back ribs, and chocolate chip sundae.
After lunch, we were in the lounge for some scenic sailing.
We went through a lock.
The ship makes quite the wake.
Some mountainside vineyards - some with hashtags too - and some other sights.
The ship arrived in Bernkastel-Kues and docked. Some of us were going on the Wine Tasting excursion.
Since the excursion was 5:30 - 7:30, the port talk was at 5:00.
The walk to the winery included a short walk, near sunset, along the river and into the town a little.
We arrived at the winery - Dr. Pauly Bergweiler - had a tour of the cellar, and sat in a small tasting room.
Our favorite was the 2019 Wehlener Klosterberg Riesling Feinherb
Our wine tasting was done, but not our visit to the little town.
Admittedly, we were making a purchase when the tour guide and most of the group left - I guess
the guide didn't do a head count first. We caught up around the corner with no problem.
Here are some sights from around the town - after our tasing, it was night and I did not have the monopod,
all the night shots are hand held.
Through town there was a parade of a grooup of children, followed by [assumedly] their families. celebrating something.
Some high-water markers - two of them within days of each other in January, 1995.
While one of us had their camera turned onto archecture related sights, someone else had their phone turned on - mostly -
store windows.
Our wine tasting excursion and tour of the town was over, and we headed back to the ship in time for dinner.
We embarked, dropped our belongings off in the cabin, and headed to the dining room.
We sat with Ken and Vicky from South Carolina, and Jay and Susie from California.
Linda had Erbsensuppe mit Rauchwüstchen (sausage and pea soup), Schwäbische maultashen (ravioli and mushrooms, and
Mango lassie cake.
I had Erbsensuppe mit Rauchwüstchen, Gambas sauté provençale (shrimp), and Heisse liebe.
This is the other wine we had onboard.
After dinner there was some on-board entertainment. Not from the pianist in the lounge every day, but a duo called a Heart Jazz Duo.
Here are a couple of their songs.