German Easter Markets
March was a fairly busy month of travel and exploring. After having been waylaid by the flu and other bouts of illness, we were finally able to break away and get out to a number of places we've been wanting to get to.
After months of trying to make it happen, we finally made the short one hour journey North to Trier, Germany. Trier is one of the oldest cities in Germany and was founded during the reign of Caesar Augustus. Three centuries later, it would temporarily serve as the Imperial residence and court of Constantine the Great, prior to being relocated east to Byzantium (later Constantinople, and now Istanbul). Today, Trier is home to some of the best preserved Roman ruins outside of Italy. Our visit was primarily to check out the Easter Market, but were also able to see a few of the Roman sites. The Basilica is a protestant church that was originally designed to serve as Constantine's throne room and audience chamber. As you can imagine, the building was cavernous, and surprisingly experienced relatively little damage since its completion in the 4th Century.
My personal favorite was the Porta Nigra, the massive gate complex on the northern side of the old city. Massive doesn't properly convey the enormity of the gate; The second photo of Will (who's maybe 40" tall) looking up at the gate puts the Porta Nigra's size in context. We didn't pay for entry into the gate during this particular trip, but it along with the Imperial Baths warrant the expenditure on a later date.
Rounding out our walking tour was the High Cathedral of Saint Peter, an expansive complex that was originally commissioned by Constantine the Great. The complex has been destroyed, rebuilt and restored no less than three times between 329 and 1041 A.D. The final exterior touches were finally completed in 1196.
The following weekend, we opted to stay closer to home and explored the St. Wendel Easter Market. St. Wendel is known primarily for their impressive Christmas market each December, but their Easter Market was equally a draw. Arranged in their downtown area, there were easily over a hundred booths, vendors and static displays of bunnies engaged in all sorts of activities. The only downside to our visit was the arctic front that had descended on Central Europe along with a very strong northern wind. There's not much more to say other than it was incredibly cold.
My personal favorite was the Porta Nigra, the massive gate complex on the northern side of the old city. Massive doesn't properly convey the enormity of the gate; The second photo of Will (who's maybe 40" tall) looking up at the gate puts the Porta Nigra's size in context. We didn't pay for entry into the gate during this particular trip, but it along with the Imperial Baths warrant the expenditure on a later date.
Rounding out our walking tour was the High Cathedral of Saint Peter, an expansive complex that was originally commissioned by Constantine the Great. The complex has been destroyed, rebuilt and restored no less than three times between 329 and 1041 A.D. The final exterior touches were finally completed in 1196.
The following weekend, we opted to stay closer to home and explored the St. Wendel Easter Market. St. Wendel is known primarily for their impressive Christmas market each December, but their Easter Market was equally a draw. Arranged in their downtown area, there were easily over a hundred booths, vendors and static displays of bunnies engaged in all sorts of activities. The only downside to our visit was the arctic front that had descended on Central Europe along with a very strong northern wind. There's not much more to say other than it was incredibly cold. 
