Road Trip

"No picture, no proof"- that is what Terry said about the lightpole incident in Koblenz! ...... There we we were, riding our bikes along the Mosel river on a beautiful summer day, Terry was pointing out something on the river.......when WHAM! he smacked into a lightpole. Fortunately we had the first aid kit and fortunately we didn't need it. Two elderly gentlemen sitting on a nearby bench were more than amused! I still don't know how Terry escaped injury, just a few bike battle scars!





We planned a five day excursion, first destination Koblenz, a beautiful city where the Mosel and Rhine river converge. Koblenz was established in 8 BC and the city celebrated it's 2,000th anniversary in 1998. We enjoyed touring by bike, for us it seems easier to navigate the narrow and sometimes one way streets while riding instead of driving.

We continued our journey up the the Mosel river, winding our way through miles and miles of wine country. We stopped in Cochem and wandered around the market mostly dodging tourists who were there to see the famous castle on the hillside. That day was paticularly hot it was a relief to leave the city behind and head up into the hill country towards Trier.

The temperature dropped a good 15 degrees when we entered our hotel nestled in the woods on the hillside overlooking Trier in an area known as Kockelsburg. We ate a late relaxing dinner on the terrace with an amazing view of the city, we couldn't wait to start exploring Germany's oldest city.

We began our day at the Porta Negra, the largest surviving Roman city gate. Trier itself stood 1300 years before Rome and had settlements as early as the 3rd century BC. We decided to stay an extra day and still only managed to see half of the historical destinations listed in the brochure.

The Trier Dom was impressive, within the walls of this church are numerous shrines and crypts, you could spend a whole day studying the artwork alone. There is a chapel within called The Holy Robe Chapel. Here you will find the seamless robe that Constantines's Mother Helena carried from the holy land, this robe was said to be worn by Jesus. Trier is currently a Bishops seat and according to tradition the catherdral was founded by a bishop who was sent by the apostle Peter.

St Paulin was another beautiful church, it didn't look like much from the outside, but once inside we were awed by the amount of light pouring in, and nothing can duplicate the sounds and smells that permiated this awesome baroque church.

Everything we saw in Trier was amazing, the Imperial Throne Room, the Electoral Palace, The House of the Three Magi, the statues, the monuments, the fountains....and on and on. The Amphitheater was one of Terry's favorite sites but I was a little spooked roaming underneath the venue where above, as many as 20,000 Romans could gather to watch gladiatior contests and executions.

We were sad to say good-bye to Trier but Ramstein AFB was our next destination , it was delightful to have a stopping point with a washer and drier in the room as well as screened windows plus a full kitchen. I must say, however that we were both overwhelmed by the number of Americans! This base is known as "Little America" and after a good nights sleep, clean laundry, dinner at Chili's and of course Starbucks, we were ready go.

Once more stop at the Frankfurt airport to collect Jim Long and a total of 5 days, 280 pictures and lots of memories later, we headed for home.

love and miss you all