Bernkassel Kues and Trier, My Outing with the Sisters!

Well, much to Hank's delight, I took off one Saturday with the senior single sisters to visit Bernkassel Kues and Trier! He doesn't enjoy the travel much and figures once you've seen one city you've seen 'em all, so he was happy to stay home and complete a list of honey-do's while I partied!

Trier has the reputation of being the oldest city in Germany. One author states: "Trier was already a city when Peter was still out fishing on the Sea of Galilee....The city was officially chartered in 16 B.C., called the "Rome of the North" and in its heyday in the 4th Century A.D., it was as important and splendid as Rome itself." So, there's your history lesson for the day! This is what is left of the "Porta Nigra" or black door. It is massive.


We entered here and then just walked up and down the streets for a couple of hours.















Here's Sis. Meisman and I posing for the world. I work with her in the R.S. Presidency in our little branch. She goes home in July and would have to take the prize for the "most traveled" missionary here! She's got an awful lot of miles under her belt!

This was certainly my favorite house! It's really narrow on the bottom and then gets a little wider at the top. Don't quite know how it stands up, and you can see how narrow the streets are on either side of it! Talk about no privacy!

It was a really cloudy day, so the colors won't be as fun, but this is their "farmer's market" and main street, full of all kinds of little shops and restaurants, etc. They had three full choirs spread up and down the street, as well as a small band and various other single performers. They were incredible and provided music the whole time we were there.

More market, more gingerbread houses, more fun!

St. Peter stands atop the fountain in the market square. He has been there for 400 years, but he's considered a "newcomer" since the city itself is so ancient. It's amazing there's anything left, as the city was so badly bombed during the war.

My favorite picture of the square.

A cheat picture! These are more Roman ruins, but I resorted to snapping a picture of a postcard! These were ancient Roman baths.

Another cheat picture. This was the Constantine's Basilica. It was once a 67-meter long throne hall of the Roman Emporer Constantine and is today used as a Protestant Church. We couldn't go in the church 'cause they were holding some kind of service. Anyhow, I couldn't get a picture of the whole building, so a bought a postcard and send you a fuzzy copy of the card!
This is the Palace of Trier. Trier has been in the hands of the French, the Prussians, the Germans, and, of course, the Romans. Quite a history.

My all-time favorite church so far (except maybe the one with the Chagall windows), and that's saying a lot, since I've seen a bunch of them!! My pictures can't begin to do it justice, but try to imagine mauve, light blue, white, and gold, gold, gold, and you are just beginning to get a feel for the beauty inside.

This very ornate gold gate separates the choir seats and I don't know what all from the chapel itself. How I wish I could have captured the delicacy of the colors and the ornateness of the wrought iron...

Same general picture, just a little closer.

The priest's preaching post!

The confessional. I sure hope they use curtains or doors!

More...This was taken just beyond the front gate. Mary sure takes precedence over the Savior.

The entire length of the ceiling was painted. Again, the combination of colors and the beauty of the work was remarkable.

And here's what I came home to! Hank had planted all our pots and boxes on our balcony, and that was more fun for me than the whole trip! Aren't the flowers beautiful? We called the little guy in the corner Friar Tuck, but he doesn't exactly qualify in dimensions, so if you have a better name, let us know. It was one of the treasures left behind by Sis. Spittler.

More flowers.

And the hero of the day! There he was, with a beautiful patio, dinner all ready, and a smile on his face. Can't beat that!

Love you all. Thanks for letting us share!