Last weekend we made a spur of the moment decision to take a short weekend trip. Amy finally got her USAREUR driver’s license and she was itching to go somewhere - in spite of just have returned from a 4 day trip to
We decided to check out 2 points of interest in the western part of 
Burg Eltz (which means “
oured. There are several ways to approach the castle but all of them require some hiking. We chose to park above the castle and hike down to it - a half mile maybe? It is a very striking castle and in a stunning location - sort of in a little valley but on a rock outcrop. The castle itself is a jumble of half-timbered walls and turrets. Lots of interesting stories connected to it. The tour was very informative and enlightened us on things related to castles in general as well is this one in particular.
From Burg Eltz, we went on south (upstream) along the Mosel to a little town named Zell and found a pension in which to spend the night. From our travels last fall with my dad we learned that in Germany it is pretty easy to find a room on the spot during the off-season by just looking for signs in the windows that say “zimmer frei” which means “rooms available.” So we tried our luck and found a place with 2 huge double rooms for 30 euros each. The owner, a Herr Loeffler, spoke no English but somehow we managed to communicate the basics. Our rooms had balconies that looked out onto a wooded hillside with a babbling brook below. I convinced Mike that we could leave the balcony door ajar all night so we could sleep to the sound of water (shades of my mother!) It was just like camping but the bed was considerably nicer.
After locating a place to spend the night we went exploring on foot. The town of Zell is spread out along both sides of the Mosel River. We walked a ways and found a pizza place and ate dinner. Then we walked some more and watched a lovely sunset across the Mosel and found a place to eat ice cream. By then us old people were extremely tired and drowsy and ready for bed. Amy was quite disgusted with us, but we went to bed anyway - to the sound of the babbling brook under our balcony.
The next morning we headed on down the Mosel to Trier. First a few notes on the Mosel river. The Mosel River drops 70 meters between Trier and Koblenz and a bunch of locks have been put in to make it navigable. At Koblenz the Mosel and the Rhein meet and continue on north to the North Sea. Both banks of the Mosel (and also the Rhein) are covered with vineyards. As we have noticed in other parts of Europe, the vines are always planted in vertical rows. Also vineyards are typically located on moderate to steep slopes. If there is a rock outcropping, they just plant rows of grape vines all around it. All of that spells “erosion” to my mind and I’m still not sure why they plant that way, but they do. Right now the vines, which were cut back to short “trunks” in the fall are starting to send out green shoots and there is grass into between some of the rows which creates just enough green to make one imagine how beautiful it will be come July or August. Growing grapes is an obsession along the Mosel - as well as many other parts of Europe. They string up vines everyway - on the walls of buildings and even on wires going across the streets like power lines in the US. Wine is a big tourist commodity along the Mosel River. In fact our little town of Zell is apparently the home of 
“Swartz Katz” (Black Cat) wine.
There is lots to see in Trier. We parked our car near the Porta Nigra and went exploring on foot. Porta Nigra mean “Black Gate.” It is a huge multi-story building built by the Romans that acts as a gate into the Old City. It is made of very dark stone - almost black - hence the name. The Old Town area of Trier has an abundance of older buildings with lots of interesting architectural features.
The Cathedral in Trier is the oldest in Europe. It was originally constructed by the Romans but most of the present building is more recent. What was left of the old building was sort of incorporated into the new one, but you can still see which parts are old and which are new. You can also see where one of the two steeples has been altered to make it several feet higher than originally constructed. The use of the term “cathedral” instead of just “church” apparently signals the presence of a bishop (here my protestant naivety comes to light). Apparently bishops weren’t always the most well-liked among the common people. In Trier the common people built their own church and made its steeple slightly higher than that of the cathedral and wrote on the steeple “watch with me and pray” - their way of saying that they were keeping a watch on the bishop. The bishop responded by adding several feet to his steeple to make it higher than the people’s church and wrote his response on it: “for you never know the hour when the Lord will
come.”
There was a mass going on in the cathedral when we arrived. We were allowed to go in the back and look around. It was interesting observing the mass and hearing the organ. The organ pipes were displayed in a rather unique way - hard to describe. The sanctuary was “comfortably full.” We stayed afterward for a little while so we could walk around and take pictures.
Then we walked to a Roman Basilica which is also intact and in use as a Lutheran Church - a HUGE block building. So big that the smattering of people sitting in the front look quite small in the picture I took. As we stood at the back looking around it was hard to believe that the square wooden “blocks” in the ceiling were EACH 10 feet by 10 feet.
Our last stop was some Roman baths. They were mostly ruined, possibly never completely finished and it was a little hard to figure out how things worked. Apparently the baths were at ground level - some hot and some cold - and then underneath there were tunnels that were used by the slaves to supply and heat the water. The ruins themselves were really picturesque. Plus it was a really hot day (seemed more like July than May) and the tunnels were refreshingly cool.
There is more to see in Trier and I am sure we will go back. It’s only about 3 hours from our house.
So, as I write this, I am in Woodstock, MD visiting some friends of mine from Hawaii - Ron, Mary and Luke Tallent. I got here on Friday evening, via a military Space-A flight. I landed in Dover, Delaware and Mary was gracious enough to drive 2 hours to come and get me. I am thoroughly enjoying all the stimulating discussion that typically goes on in their house.
I will leave here on Wednesday morning via commercial airlines and meet Mike in Phoenix, Arizona. We will spend Thursday with our friends from Colorado, Mary and Louie Trout, who now live in Wickenburg, Arizona. From there we will drive to Claremont, California (LA area) for Alan’s graduation from Harvey Mudd College. On Monday morning Mike will head back to Phoenix - Alan and I to Washington State. Alan starts work for Google in Kirkland on May 23rd. Amy arrives in Seattle on May 20th. She and I with leave on May 25th for the Catskill Mountains in NY. She has a summer job there with the Student Conservation Association. I have requested that we drive through southern Canada to get there instead of the northern US - my desire to travel and see new places seems to never end! Amy has to be in the Catskills on June 1st. From there I am not sure how I will get back to Mary Tallent’s house in Maryland (several possibilities) to catch a Space-A back to Germany.
I’m looking forward to seeing many of you along the way. Unfortunately I will miss those of you in Colorado. As you think of us, please pray for safe, uneventful travel by car from LA to Seattle and then from Seattle to New York.
Nancy
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