Germany Adventures Part I

As I warned everyone, it's been a while since I posted.  But now I've recovered from all the jet lag and bouts of laziness and here it is... tales of our December adventures in Germany.  Spending a month there means that it'll take several posts to get it all out, so settle back and get ready to start your virtual trip to Deutschland.

It all starts with packing of course.  How do you pack for a month in Germany?  The answer is… very carefully and very light.  Remember that you'll be traveling by train once you get there, and have to carry everything you bring by yourself - at least that’s what Heinz told me over, and over, and over, before we left.  So we agreed, one backpack and one carry-on bag each.  Impossible for a woman you say?

I packed 2 shirts, 1 pair yoga pants, 2 undergarments and 2 socks, 1 skirt, 1 pair of jeans, 2 handkerchiefs, and 1 jewelry roll.  I wore a pair of jeans, 1 shirt, 1 sweater, 1 set of undergarments, 1 pair of socks and a pair of black boots as my only footwear.  Other than the jeans and sweater, all items were quick drying.  Even pared down to this, it turns out I still had too much stuff – the yoga pants and jewelry roll got mailed back home as they were just not needed.

All of my clothes for one month in Germany.

Carry on bag holding accessories: gloves, hat, scarf, books, Nook, and toiletry bag.

After all that careful editing, my backpack (on the right) is still a bit larger than his...heavy sigh!

Our tale starts like a lot of good tales do:  Once upon a time there were two people who decided to travel overseas via the military Space-Available (Space-A) system.  Space-A travel allows active duty personnel, retirees, and dependents (when accompanied by their sponsor), to fly on military aircraft that happen to have… you guessed it… “space available” for passengers. 

The types of aircraft one can fly on run the gamut from cargo and tanker aircraft, to chartered commercial airliners – all with varying degrees (or lack) of things we’ve come to take for granted, like guaranteed passage, reclining seats, in-flight movies/music, meals, drinks, stewardesses, on-time takeoffs, landings at the advertised destination, or even windows to see outside. 

But what makes Space-A a great way to fly, is that IF you have the time, you swap all of those inconveniences for a flight (or flights) that cost you nothing, zip, zilch.  These Space-A flights can take you anywhere in the world that military aircraft fly – and they fly to oh-so many places!  It also means that if things don't work out as planned (no flights back, mission changes, maintenance problems, stranded in Goose Bay Newfoundland, etc.), you may have to buy a last-minute commercial airline ticket to get back home.  Traveling this way can be completely uneventful, or it can be an adventure all in itself. 

In our case, our first leg had us flying out of Travis AFB California to McGuire AFB New Jersey.  We wanted to spend Thanksgiving with our youngest daughter and her husband, and McGuire was the closest base.  Available flights are posted three days prior to departure, and one was going in our direction right before Thanksgiving – they advertised 46 Space-A seats.  Seats are assigned in a sort of “first come, first served” basis.  We showed up at the appointed time for roll call, and crossed our fingers that we would get two seats for the flight.  Fortunately we did, and arrived in New Jersey just in time for the feast day. 

It was my first flight on a KC-10 (a refueling aircraft), but hopefully won't be my last.  Even with the uncertainties involved it was a good flight.

Kicking back on our flight to McGuire.  Notice the conspicuous absence of windows.

Tash and Ryan picked us up at McGuire AFB, and we headed to their house for Thanksgiving week.  While they worked (sorry about that guys) we played with the dogs, watched movies on their Netflix account, cooked and baked, and scanned the web pages for Space-A flights to Germany.

Heinz's annual baking ritual: Linzertorten.

Is it the light or is Tango really a Hell Dog?

Kicking back with "the kids", Tango and Karma.

Trying new margarita recipes, R to L, Ryan, Tash, Heinz.

Can you do that someplace else besides the doorway?

The day after Thanksgiving we scored a flight out of McGuire AFB to Ramstein Air Base (AB) Germany.  We flew out on a C-5 cargo aircraft with 30 Space-A seats available and only 12 passengers - Whoohoo!  Everyone got a row of three seats, the lights went out, and we all stretched out to sleep our way across the Atlantic.  It was an 8-hour flight and a 6-hour time difference.  We arrived at Ramstein AB bright and early on Saturday morning and checked into the hotel on base.  The next two days were spent recovering from jet lag, checking out the town of Ramstein, taking walks, eating, and sleeping, and sleeping, and napping, and sleeping, you get the idea - the jet lag really hit Heinz hard.

After recovering a bit, we hopped a train to the city of Trier.  I was amazed at the trains in Germany.  They were fast, efficient, on time (rarely late, and then only 2-3 minutes), and traveled seemingly everywhere, even to the smallest towns.  It was also much cheaper than traveling by train in the U.S.

Train pulling into Trier.

Once we made it to Trier, we stopped at the closest Tourist Information office (TI) and found a hotel room.  The TI will reserve a room for you for a fee of 6 Euros (around $8) or tell you which hotels have rooms available and you can go, walk in, and check the hotels out.  We took their recommendation for a small hotel across the street from the Moselle River, only a short walk away from the Roman ruins and the Altstadt (Old Town).  

As a city, Trier dates back to the time of the Roman Empire and is often said to be the oldest city in Germany (over 2,000 years old).  Traditionally, Trier was known in English by its French name, Treves.  The Romans founded the city in approximately 16 B.C. and called it Augusta Treverorum, or City of Augustus in the Land of Treveri.  Following the reorganization of the Roman provinces starting in 16 B.C., Emperor Augustus decided that the city should become the capital of the province of Belgica.  In AD 100, an amphitheater was built, the sign of a city of any importance.  Trier continued to rise in importance throughout the early 200's and by 395 the city served as one of the residences of the Western Roman Emperor.  

Under the rule of Constantine the Great, the city was expanded and the Kaiserthermen (Imperial Baths) was built.  It is the largest surviving Roman baths outside of Rome.  Much of the ruins are easily accessible by the public.  

When you enter the Baths you first come to the hot water bath, which originally measured 120 x 60 feet with a ceiling that was 63 feet high.  There were also other cold and warm water baths of various temperatures arranged symmetrically with the large hot water bath.  The excavated passages underneath the baths are over a half-mile long. These passages allowed movement of the workers around the complex to maintain the fires under the hot and warm water baths, perform other maintenance tasks, and direct the flow of water throughout the system.  The incoming cold water was heated in six boiler rooms, four of which are still visible. 

Outer walls of the Imperial Baths.

Roman arches on the outer walls.

Heading into the subterranean passages.

One half mile of underground passages to explore.

During excavations of other Roman ruins in Trier archeologists discovered the remains of a ceiling fresco from the residence of Fausta, Constantine's first wife or Helen, his mother depending on the reference checked.  It was found in approximately 30,000 pieces and took over 10 years to reconstruct.  The scenes depicted show a noble woman in the center panel surrounded by 3 philosophers, 3 ladies representing adornment, music, and beauty, and Amor and Psyche.  These panels can still be viewed at the Bishop's Museum.

Photo of the entire ceiling fresco. (photo courtesy of Rutgers.edu)

Amor and Psyche

Music

By the beginning of the 6th century, Trier was lost to the Franks and the Huns and the population dropped from 80,000 to 5,000.  Over the next several centuries the city was held by the Franks, the French (several times), the British, the Dutch, and the Prussians.  In 1473, Emperor Frederick III founded the University of Trier, still in existence today.  During WWII, Trier experienced extensive bombing by the Allied Forces.  In 1984 the city officially celebrated its 2,000th anniversary.

Here is a hand-drawn map of Trier.  Our hotel was in the lower-right portion of the map, right by the Roman bridge.  Old Town, the Churches, the Christmas Market, etc. are all on the upper-left portion of the map.  Today, the streets are STILL laid out exactly as they are on the map – by the way, the map was drawn in 1430 and most of the streets still exist today.

Map of Trier - circa 1430.  

The bridge was originally constructed by the Romans in 17 BC.  The bridge pillars are made of basalt and are the main support for a bridge that is still in use for both foot and car traffic today – amazing!      

The Römerbrücke (Roman Bridge)

We continued our two-day whirlwind tour of Trier by dropping into a local bakery for a snack (actually, numerous bakeries).  Local bakery is a bit of a misnomer as bakeries are located approximately every 3-5 blocks in even the smallest towns.  It’s hard to hang back and not go into every one to check out what’s on offer.

A local bakery's display case.

A quick snack…Raspberry & Black Forest Torte

with killer coffee & tea.

Almost every night in almost every town, we ended our day by heading over to a Weinachtsmarkt (Christmas Market).   Open during the four weeks of Advent, these street markets are held all over Germany and are also known as Christkindlmarkts. The Weinachtsmarkts date back to the Middle Ages with the earliest one on record held in Munich in 1310.  They are held in the town squares and food, drink, crafts and seasonal items are sold from open-air stalls.  I discovered my new winter drink while at the Trier market - Hot Chocolate with a splash of Bailey’s Irish Cream.  But the hot mulled wine known as Glühwein often gave it a run for the money.

The Weinachtsmarkt in Trier.

Exploring the booths.

Christmas pyramids are a German tradition.  These larger-than-life-size ones are at almost all of the markets.

Tools made of chocolate were a crowd pleaser.

The local sausages made a great meal in each city.

Meter long sausage and no, I didn't share it with Heinz!

Keeping warm with hot chocolate (and a splash of Bailey's!).

While in Trier, Heinz and I began our exploration of German churches.  There are some truly fabulous cathedrals and churches – Gothic, Romanesque, Baroque, Modern - throughout the country.  But, one thing I discovered about German churches is that they do not heat them except during Sunday services and some not even then.  Therefore when the temperature outside is in the 30’s, it is even colder inside the buildings!  If you’re visiting in the winter be sure to bring gloves, hat, and a warm coat!

First up to visit was the Dom Saint Peter, (Dom is German for cathedral).  This is the oldest cathedral in Germany.  The structure was built on the foundations of a Roman basilica from the time of Constantine the Great, 392 A.D.  The Roman walls still rise up to a height of 86 feet in places.  Added to over the centuries, the church displays architecture and artwork from over 1,650 years. 

Dom St. Peter

The interior of the cathedral with its Gothic arches.

Carved ceiling over a side altar.

Carving on a side altar.

This reliquary is supposed to hold the skull of St. Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, first Christian emperor of Rome.

Another major church in Trier was the Konstatinbasilika.  This is the largest surviving single-room structure from Roman times.  The architecture was meant to express the magnificence and might of the emperor and originally served as Constantine’s throne room.  Of unbelievable size (90 ft wide x 108 ft high x 220 ft long) the depth is magnified by an optical illusion, both the windows of the apse as well as the niches underneath become progressively smaller towards the middle, thus enhancing

the impression of length.  Since the middle of the 19^th century, it has been used as the first and oldest Protestant church in Catholic Trier. 

Drawing of the Basilica done in the 1600's.

Interior of Konstantinbasilika facing the apse.

View of the Basilica at night (through a Glühwein-induced haze). 

Our last stop in Trier was the Rheinisches Landesmuseum dedicated to Roman archeological finds.  Among a huge collection, the museum possesses almost 200 individual segments of mosaic floors.  It also features a series of funerary statues that were discovered along a road leading from Trier to a Roman-era cemetery on the outskirts of the city. 

A partial Roman mosaic tile floor.

Close-up of the tiles.

Funerary statue for a group of wine merchants.

Close-up of the far end.

Another amazing exhibit at the museum is the Trier Gold Hoard.  While many locals say that you cannot dig a flowerbed without unearthing Roman artifacts in Trier, this discovery was truly unusual.  On September 9, 1992 more than 2,600 ancient Roman gold coins were unearthed at a construction site for a parking garage in the - once Roman - inner city, the largest collection of gold coins discovered anywhere in the world.  They depict about 40 Roman emperors and family members ranging over almost 300 years and have a total weight of almost 41 pounds.  This was determined not to be a "private" treasure that someone had hidden, but a "safe" used by Roman administration officials.  Its value in Roman times would have been roughly the annual salary of 200 legionaries.

Some of the Roman coins on display.

After three nights in Trier it was off to Köln (Cologne).  Köln is a city of over 1 million people and is the fourth largest city in Germany.  It was founded in the first century A.D. by the Romans and was known as Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium.  During the Middle Ages it flourished, as it was located along one of the major trade routes between east and west Europe.  It was one of the most heavily bombed cities in Europe during WWII.  The population was reduced by 95% and almost the entire city destroyed.  The rebuilding of the city has resulted in a very mixed and unique cityscape. 

Heinz studied gothic churches in college (art major), so our reason for visiting Köln was the Hohe Domkirche St. Petrus (High Cathedral of St. Peter).  A renowned monument of Gothic architecture and Germany’s most visited landmark, the church attracts an average of 20,000 visitors a day.  Construction of the cathedral began in 1248 on the foundation of an older Roman Christian church, and was worked on continuously until 1473 when work ceased due to a lack of money.  The church remained unfinished for about 300 years.  The work finally resumed in the middle of the 19^th century and completed in 1880 with all work following the original plans.  In its current configuration the church is 474 ft long x 284 ft wide with towers that reach 515 ft and can seat 1,200 people.  As a sense of scale, entire churches (built before this one) can fit inside – it is incredibly large!

Hohe Domkirche St. Petrus from across the Rhine River.

Main entrance.

Entrance detail - 64 figures and every face is different.

Interior arches.   

The current church (there were several older versions on the same site dating back to the late Roman period) was built on the foundation of an older church.  Relics of the Magi were brought to Köln from Milan in 1164 and the church became one of the most important pilgrimage sites throughout Europe.  Therefore the older church was torn down and the current one begun in order to hold the faithful.  By 1322 the Gothic choir was consecrated and the western end closed by a wall so services could be held as construction continued on another portion.  By 1530 work slowed and then stopped and the cathedral was left with two portions that remained unconnected until work resumed in 1842.  

The cathedral still houses the relics of the Magi in a reliquary made in the shape of a basilican church.  Made of bronze and silver, gilded and ornamented with Biblical figures, architectural details, enamels and gemstones, it is said to have taken over 50 years to construct.  On July 20, 1864, the shrine was opened, and remains of the humans were discovered.  An eyewitness report reads:

     "In a special compartment of the shrine now there showed - along with remains of ancient old 
      rotten or moulded bandages, most likely byssus, besides pieces of aromatic resins and similar
      substances - numerous bones of three persons, which under the guidance of several present 
      experts could be assembled into nearly complete bodies: the one in his early youth, the second
      in  his early manhood, the third was rather aged."

Reliquary of the Magi.

Plaster and gesso statue of Mary from 1640 covered in jewelry left by petitioners who had their prayers to her answered.  There are so many pieces left that the cathedral staff changes the displays surrounding the statue several times a year.

Carved figure on the end of a pew.  Every pew has two end carvings and each is unique.

The stained glass within the cathedral is truly magnificent.  The styles change throughout depending on the era in which it was installed.  In an attempt to preserve the glass during WWII all of the glass was removed and stored in the underground rooms of the cathedral.  The majority was saved despite 13 bomb hits to the cathedral itself.  

Middle Ages glass commissioned by Ludwig the 1st.

Glass installation from the mid-nineteenth century.

The newest glass installation.  Designed and installed by Gerhard Richter in 2007.  The window fills a 66 ft high space with 11,500 squares of glass in 72 colors, no two adjoining squares are the same color.

Late night view.

We only spent one night in Köln, but we made time to take in the Käthe Kollwitz Museum.  She is one of my favorite artists and it gave me the opportunity to introduce Heinz to her works.  Kollwitz is regarded as one of the most important German artists of the 20th century.  She studied art in Berlin and in 1881 married Karl Wollwitz, a physician who worked with in a working class area of Berlin.  

In 1914 their son Peter was killed in Flanders.  The loss of Peter contributed to Kollwitz's socialist and pacifist political sympathies.  Kollwitz believed that art should reflect the social conditions of the time and she produced works reflecting her concern with the themes of war, poverty, and working class life.  During WWII her work was declared by the Nazi's to be degenerate, barred from exhibition and removed from German museums.  

She left Berlin for Moritzberg due to Allied bombing in 1943 and her house and much of her work was destroyed on Nov. 23 of that year.  She died on April 22, 1945, two weeks before the end of WWII.

Charcoal sketch by Käthe Kollwitz.  From her series portraying conditions leading to the Farmers Rebellion in 1922.

Sketch from her 1918 series on Death.

Of course, we also checked out one of the Weinachtsmarkts before getting out of town.

Ahh, that wonderful hot chocolate and Bailey’s!

After Köln we hopped on a train and headed south to Ettlingen (Heinz’s hometown), to spend a few days with his Tante Gertrud.

Knock, knock, knocking on Gertrud’s door.

We’ll leave you here and sign back on soon with further adventures.