Daytrip to Trier

After hearing such delightful things about the city of Trier, Kathy, Jenn and I set off for the oldest city in Germany.  Trier (Trèves in French) is situated on the banks of the Moselle River, the same river that flows through Metz.  The city is best known for its well-preserved Roman ruins, which include a basilica, three baths, an amphitheatre, bride, and the best preserved city gate north of the Alps.  The Gothic cathedral, baroque churches and charming medieval architecture also give the city a fairytale setting.  The three of us enjoyed wandering the town, the exquisite cathedral, and the Roman ruins, but the highlight of the day was enjoying lavish ice cream sundaes in the Marktplatz, overlooking the church of Saint Gangolf, basking in the sunshine and laughing. With a stopover in Luxembourg, we marveled at our ability to be in three countries on the same day, without blinking an eye. 

Potra Nigra, the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps.

Marktplatz

Marktplatz

The Dom (Cathedral of Trier) 

The Dom (Cathedral of Trier)

 

Cloisters of the Cathedral

Saint Gangolf

Sundaes in Marktplatz

The Palace of Trier and Constantine's Basilica

The ancient Roman baths

The ancient Roman baths

A full rich day well spent

Easter in Berlin

Taking advantage of a four day Easter break and a budget airline, Kathy and I jetted off to Berlin.  Immediately, we were struck by how massive the city is.  Because of the enormous damage during WWII, most of the beautiful architecture has been replaced by modern structures. Unlike Munich, which recreated its original buildings after being bombed beyond recognition, Berlin has transformed into a modern, international metropolis, and is in a continuous state of reinvention.

While not conventionally beautiful, Berlin houses a wealth of art and history museums, and continues to be a leader in the world of art and design.  We wandered through a number of exciting museums, including the Gemäldegalerie, which houses one of the most important collections of European art in the world.  We also toured the Bauhaus, a famous design school.  As a graphic designer who studied the Bauhaus extensively, it was very much a pilgrimage for me.  A trip to the astoundingly beautiful Charlottenburg Palace (heavily restored after the war) was a highlight of our trip.  Kathy and I agreed that it is in many ways comparable to Versailles.

A free walking tour brought us to important sights like The Brandenburg Gate in Potsdam, the embassies, the site above Hitler’s former bunker where he ended his life, remaining sections of the Berlin Wall (which ironically are protected by fences), Checkpoint Charlie (name given by Western Allies to crossing point between East and West Germany during the Cold War), The Fernsehturm (TV Tower) the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral), and many others.  We found the Holocaust Memorial and the underground memorial to the book burning particularly moving.  Although admittedly, I dozed off during the Easter Sunday Mass at the Catholic Cathedral of Saint Hedwig, we did enjoy a rousing performance (in English) of the Halleluia chorus from Handel’s Messiah. 

A culinary highlight was visiting the world's largest chocolate house, Fassbender & Rausche, where our senses were tantalized by chocolate sculptures of German monuments, and every imaginable form of chocolate.  We dined at the upstairs cafe, on warm, flakey apple strudel bathed in white chocolate. 

In the midst of incredible history and sights, my favorite moments were spent at the table, over coffee or dinner, when we could just relax and talk about anything under the sun. 

While we barely scraped the surface of the lively city of Berlin, it was a lovely experience with a great friend to be cherished forever!

Brandenburg Gate

Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral)

Catholic Cathedral of Saint Hedwig

Fountain of Neptune

Checkpoint Charlie

Mural extolling the "glories" of socialism

The Bauhaus!

The Bauhaus

Charlottenburg Palace

Charlottenburg Palace

Gardens of Charlottenburg Palace

Brandenburg Gate, Potsdam

Chocolate reproduction of Brandenburg Gate at 

Fassbender & Rausche

Fassbender & Rausche chocolate house

Fassbender & Rausche chocolate house

Remnants of the Berlin Wall

Holocaust Memorial

Inside Holocaust Memorial

St. Marienkirche and the Fernsehturm (TV Tower)

Alexanderplatz, surely named after me!

Kathy at one of the Opera houses

Apple strudel in white chocolate sauce at 

Fassbender & Rausche chocolate house!

The Christmas Markets of Saarbrücken, Germany

Why do I love living in the Lorraine region? Take today, for example. I was working on my final essay for the grueling French Literature class I'm taking, and Hélène walked in and said, "You look like you need a break... So, wanna go to Germany?" An hour later, we were there.

We arrived in the town of Saarbrücken, which is a very ordinary German town near the French border.  It's not exactly a tourist paradise, but Hélène and Nicolas wanted me to experience the Christmas markets (Christkindlmarkt in German), which are often less expensive than the French variety.  We had an absolute blast strolling through the wooden chalets of Christmas decorations while sipping hot glüwein and nibbling on pretzels, sausages, and chocolate covered bananas!  The city was beautifully lit for Christmas, and the cold was a distant memory as we huddled for warmth around our hot drinks, laughing and singing along to familiar holiday melodies. 

I have a true family here. It's hard to believe that we've only known one another for a few months, because it seems like we've been laughing like this together for years.  

Oktoberfest in Munich

View from Sankt Peter's belltower, overlooking the 

Cathedral and the Glockenspiel

The Glockenspiel at Marienplatz

Theatinerkirche or St. Kajetan, a baroque church at Odeonsplatz

Hohenschwangau Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle

Enjoying the view of Neuschwanstein Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle courtyard

Bavarian Wilderness

Sankt Peter

Oktoberfest Beer Tent

Oktoberfest Beer Tent madness

Oktoberfest Beer Tent

The best of Bavarian cuisine

Schottenhamel, supposedly the best beer tent at Oktoberfest

Inside Schottenhamel beer tent

The group!!!

My first European holiday since landing a job in France, and I haven't even started working yet! I just returned from Munich Germany with several fellow American language assistants from towns neighboring Metz, and the series of events over the past few days are so action packed that they're a blur! 

Overall it was a fantastic time, although I had a few unintentional pitfalls (getting kicked out of a Biergarten by a scary German cop who I could have sworn was going to arrest me... don't ask! Well, if you MUST know, I stupidly picked up someone's half empty stein, and set it down when I realized my mistake, but the cop thought I had drank half the beverage and tried to set it down discreetly without paying for it. I was physically escorted out, and made to pay a 7 euro fine! It was quite traumatic! My last day in Munich, I was nearly thrown off the train for stretching my legs onto the empty street in front of me, a big no-no, apparently.  The controller screamed at me, and although I apologized profusely and told him I didn't understand German, he continued to rant, making a motion like he was going to strike my feet with his ticket machine, even lifting his leg and shoving his shoe in my face to illustrate his point! Both experiences were results of unintentional, albeit stupid mistakes on my part, and one good thing about me is that I NEVER make the same mistake twice, so at least I know I can never get in trouble again for those gaffes.) 

Despite these experiences, I thoroughly enjoyed the beauty of Munich, and marveled at how precisely the city was rebuilt after being over 85% destroyed by WWII bombing.  Sightseeing highlights included a free three hour walking tour of Munich, the Glockenspiel, the Cathedral Church of Our Lady (Frauenkirche), climbing the bell tower of Sankt Peter for a fantastic view of the city, Nymphenburg Palace, the Englicher Garten (a 900 acre park that apparently permits nude sunbathing on Sundays, as we were surprised to discover) a gorgeous outdoor market selling fresh produce, flowers, and gifts, and of course, Oktoberfest itself! We also took a day trip to the whimsical Neuschwanstein Castle (which inspired Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland). Although the trip to the castle was severely delayed due to various train issues, I adored the picturesque German alps, quaint villages straight from a fairy tale, and the sheer magic of the history of King Lugwig II, his mysterious death, and the legacy of his castle. It's definitely topped my list of castles so far.

The German people overall are very friendly. At the beginning of our trip, we were wandering the suburbs of Munich looking for the house we would be renting.  A woman pulled over to help us, and when the language barrier proved to be too much, she hailed another driver (who spoke English) to pull over and help us.  This girl, Sylvia, proceeded to ring doorbells and ask passers-by if they knew where our address was.  This lasted probably half an hour, and we were completely grateful to her kindness. 

The landlord of our rental house, Klaus, was a magical creature indeed.  While we waited for the previous guests to vacate our rental house, he welcomed us with a charming German breakfast complete with bread, cheeses, cold meats, Christmas cake, and coffee.  His home was adorned with his hand crafted mosaics, inspired by Gaudi, and surrounded by fragrant pear trees and gardens.  Even his little dog was perfect.  He was so helpful, giving us tips about the best times to go to Oktoberfest, free tickets to Neuschwanstein Castle, taking a sick girl in our group to the pharmacy, and the list goes on.

In the tents at Oktoberfest, the Germans were festively dressed in lederhosen and dirndls, no matter what their age!  It's quite adorable! They were very receptive when a few of us joined a table in a tent, welcoming us to dance on the table with them, singing German drinking songs, and toasting. The live music played a mixture of traditional German songs and modern pop music, but it seems that every other song was a repeat of an anthem commanding one and all to raise their glasses and drink! Every time it played, everyone stood, raising their glasses, swaying ceremoniously. The name of the song escapes me, but melody endures in my head. The beer was delicious, as were the pretzels, pastries, and brats.  

There were eight of us in the group, and while we split up at certain times, we managed to stay together a good portion of the time too, which ended up being the perfect mix.  The night train from Munich returned me to Metz at 6am, after which I proceeded to crash until noon.  It's so good to be back in France...