Porta Nigra - the focal point of Trier and a world heritage site. This Roman gate dates back to the 2nd century.
A staircase leads up to the top of the Porta Nigra.
The roccoco-style stone carvings were made later when the Porta Nigra was integrated into the structure of a church.
Hallway connecting the two towers of the Porta Nigra.
We thought that the sandstone would be much darker. It was definitely eroding away in several spots.
I got a kick out of the name of the trolley - the Roman Express.
We don't know what this building was but B calls it the royal Roman donut bakery for the two donut-shaped windows at the top.
Karl Marx's birthplace. Last year, among the many visitors to this museum, 2000 of them were Chinese. Large displays inside give a detailed tour of Marx's life and work.
Inside the Trier cathedral, another world heritage site.
View inside the cathedral
This eye is the same as the one on the dollar bill.
The image below the eye seems to be Greek orthodox
This turned out to be some sort of administrative government building and we saw an interesting collection of press photographs and political cartoons.
Cute mosaic inside the government building.
The amphitheatre is more like a gladiator arena. There are rooms on the sides where animals must have been kept. There is a huge cavernous room under the arena with two staircases leading in and out.
These bugs were attacking an elderbox tree. One of my nicer close-ups.
Another view of the arena.
Under the arena was a cavern with small ponds and puddles and a wooden plank trail which we used to cross them.
Lots of creepy little corners and niches.
I was glad to get outside again.
The Roman baths in Trier are impressive also for their underground tunnel system through which they conducted water and steam.
These tunnels were really cool but a bit creepy.
View of the bath ruins from outside
Detail of the ruins.
It was late in the day when we went down into the tunnels.
The ticket lady at the entrance told us that these tunnels extend and wind for miles, way beyond what the tourists see.
Since we didn't have a guided tour, we couldn't figure out why the tunnels where so tall and narrow. Really creepy if you are all alone down there.
Luxemburg, view of the valley
We went to see the Bock "casemates" - more tunnels - built into the fortress walls. These are as long as 17 km.
View across the valley from the Wenzel walk.
This is one of Europe's biggest stone bridges.
A roof detail in Luxemburg City
A detail view of a bridge in the valley.
We took a beer break at a cafe near the museum of art.
No secrets here - it is what it is.
Grilled calf kidneys with violet mustard - yummy! And all for the low, low price of 23 Euros! Or, if you have a lot of time you can wait 7 hours for the knuckle of lamb.
The fluorescent color of this fountain caught my eye.
Something is missing here... I can't quite put my finger on it. Our TV remote control in the hotel in Luxemburg.
