Trier (of course)

A trip to visit us here in Luxembourg would not be complete without a trip over the German border to Trier. We took Lena & Sierra on our usual tour of the city but added a stop at the Roman Baths this time! Lena made a check list of things to find for the girls before our trip. The were really into it.

The Roman Baths were pretty cool. There were many underground passage ways we got to walk through. It was like a maze. The Roman Baths stopped being so cool when youngest daughter had an accident of the #2 variety. Now when I look at the pictures of the Baths, I picture myself crouched over in the cold drizzle trying to clean up a most unpleasant mess with a few tissues from my purse and a sandwich bag. Ugh.

The palace garden was still beautiful even without the flowers of summer.

I heard on the radio this morning that Trier has the worst traffic of any city in Germany. The road that is the worst is the one that connects Luxembourg and Trier. We certainly experienced that! Next time we'll take the train.

That was Day 4 (well, technically 5 as we took day 4 to rest and hang out.) Paris is next!

Trier (It's in Germany)

The last day trip we took before Emily and Jeff headed home was to Trier, Germany. Settled along the Moselle River, Trier bills itself as Germany's oldest city. Although we'd been to Trier several times - Christmas Market, circus and fabric fair - we have never explored the city. Now I'm wondering what took us so long.

Trier is a beautiful city with much to see. It has several Roman structures, beautiful cathedrals, a "Palace," beautiful gardens, museums, and a great pedestrian walking zone. It is only 45 minutes away from Luxembourg City!

We started at the Palace of Trier, mostly enjoying the beautiful garden in front of it.

We walked to the Amphitheater, one of the Roman structures Trier is known for. It was a long (for kids) HOT walk. Honestly the Amphitheater didn't do that much for us. Maybe it was the heat. We did enjoy sitting in it's courtyard sharing enormous bottles of Fanta that we bought for only 80 cents. I think the Roman Baths would have been a better choice that day.

Next we toured the Cathedral of St. Peter. It was magnificent. The courtyard outside was glorious as well. Emily had the girls pose by some beautiful old doors a couple times. After that Audrey wanted her picture in front of every door we passed.

Our last stop was the pedestrian zone. We ate pretzels (called bretzels here) bought postcards and ended the day with gelato.

If you're planning a trip to this part of Europe I highly recommend a stop in Trier.

Travel

Paris
Children's Books about Paris
Trip to Musee D'Orsay
The Louvre
The Tuileries
Views from a Ferris Wheel
Things that Caught my Eye
Pierre Herme
Highlights
The Pompidou Center
Paris Days and Nights
Disney Paris

France
Metz
Strasbourg
La Clusaz - skiing, market
Rodemack

Germany
Saarburg
Rothenberg ob der Tauber
Europapark
Fussen - Neuschwanstein Castle
Trier
Christmas Market
Christmas Market 2008
Trier, of course
Trier (It is in Germany)
Fabric Market
Circus


Austria
Innsbruck

Switzerland
Grindelwald - Part 1, 2, 3, 4

Belgium
Gent
Interesting bits
By Boat
By Horse Carriage
Brussels
Atomium
Natural Science Museum
Food
Grand Place
Bruges
Reflections
Bits of Bruges
Beer
Redu
Picking Raspberries
A Book Town
Bouillon
Day Trippin'
A different Bouillon
Bastogne
Bastogne
Day Trippin'

The Netherlands
Amsterdam
Keukenhof Garden
I heart Amsterdam
The Hague
Escher Museum
Czec Republic
Prague
Interesting Bits
The Castle Quarter
The Jewish Quarter
The Charles Bridge
Old Town Bridge
Getting Lost


Ireland
County Clare
Dingle
Dublin
Dingle Bay
The Burren
Wrap-up
Brown Bread

Italy
Rome
Famous Sites
St. Peter's Basilica
The Vatican Museum
Day 3
Day 2 - Spanish Steps, Pantheon
Day 1 - Trevi Fountain

Venice
Magical Venice
Through her Eyes
From the Gondola
Buonasera

Florence
Boboli Gardens
Overview

Pisa


Morocco
Agadir
Taroudaunt

London
More London
Those Cheeky Brits
London Calling

Chips and Crisps

**This list will reside over on my side bar under the button "Travel"

2009 in Pictures

. . . and a few words.

What a huge and eventful year.

January

~ a Luxembourg resident ~ Trier Circus ~ charm quilt exchange ~ Eva turns 5 ~

February~ little differences ~ Italy ~ charm quilts ~

March

~ reversible patchwork bags ~

April
~ Amneville Zoo ~ Amsterdam ~

May ~ Switzerland ~ in-laws visit ~ butterfly garden ~ Bernard Massard Caves ~

June ~ my mom's surgery - Seattle~ Neil Young in Cologne ~ 10 year anniversary in Paris ~

July ~ Seattle ~ Skykomish ~ Paul & Ann's wedding ~ pool party~ Pine Cone Drive-in ~ Audrey turns 3 ~

August ~ plums ~ Jeff & Em visit ~ Belgium ~ trampolines in the park ~ schueberfour ~

September ~ Disney Land Paris ~ Parc Merveilleux ~ owl pellets ~ Julie visits ~ Paris ~

October ~ Julie and I go to Italy ~ Aunt & Uncle visit~ AWCL Halloween ~

November~ Neuschwanstein Castle ~ Bavaria ~ Innsbruck ~ my birthday ~ St. Nicolas Train ~ the flu ~

December~ nephew is born ~ Hawaii ~ Paris ~ Trier Christmas Market ~ in-laws visit ~ bryce's birthday ~

2010 it's nice to meet you. I look forward to getting to know you better.

The inspiration for this post was seen here.

Trier Christmas Market

On Sunday we went to the Trier Christmas Market. We had such an enjoyable time last year, Bryce and I were excited to share it with his parents. The train ride was pleasant and uneventful. The only added element this year was snow, it didn't stick, but still - SNOW! Although incredibly cold, it really did put us in the Christmas mood. Who can worry about cold when there is hot, steaming mugs of Gluehwein to be had? I must confess that I skipped the Gluehwein this year and had a latte spiked with Baileys instead. Slurp. Grandpa and the girls
Traditional German Christmas Cookies

found underfoot Baseball sized marshmallows. "I want that one."

Got it. Carousel ride!

Living in Luxembourg

So, now you've moved here. What next? Here is a list of some of the things to experience here in the Grand Duchy. This list is by all means exhaustive. These are just the things we've experienced and enjoyed.

Castles in Luxembourg

Vianden
here
photos

Usldange
here
photos

Beaufort
here
photos

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Day Trips From Luxembourg City


Metz, France
here
photos

Trier, Germany
here
photos

Bouillon, Belgium
here
photos

Rodemack, France
here
photos

Redu, Belgium
here
photos

Malbrouk Castle - Manderen, France
here
photos

Saarburg, Germany
here
photos

Burg Eltz - Germany
here
photos

Bastogne, Belgium
here
photos

Petite Switzerland, Luxembourg
here
photos

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Holidays and Festivals

St. Nicholas Day

Easter Bird Whistle Market (Peckvillcher)

Schueberfour

Bretzelsonndeg

3 King's Day or Epiphany

Carnival

Buergbrennen

List of Holidays and Traditions in Luxembourg (written in French)

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Take the Kids

Butterfly Garden

Park Merveilleux

Zoo D'Amneville (France)

Ice Skating

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Good Places to Eat

Chez Bacano - order the Scampis Flambés or just go home.
Brasserie Mansfeld
Tout pour toi - Reserve a table upstairs
Goethe Stuff
Bosso Brasserie- Very friendly staff. A great place to take guests after touring the Grund. The goat cheese salad is tdf.
HaPP - Owned and run by Icelandic peeps. Their food it fresh, tasty and very healthy! They offer lunches to go. You can even order a day's worth of meals or a detox bag. I will miss HaPP when I move home.

Family Friendly, good food, comfortable atmosphere:
Antica Trattoria

Fancy a Curry?
Namaste

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Learn Something

Second Degree - Courses in English. I just finished the Practical Photography class. It was exactly what I was hoping for - very technical as the first 1/2 of the session focused solely on how to use your SLR.

L'Atelier de Cuisine Bertrand - cooking classes. Take one in an afternoon with some friends. Also does children's birthday parties.

Spice Curry - Indian cooking classes taught by Sunita. You can take them through Second Degree or set something up with Sunita herself. Some friends and I took an afternoon session with her; learned a lot and had a great time.

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PESTS

Martens - They will climb up into the underside of your car and chew through hoses or any rubber parts. Don't laugh, this really happens. We were in the Ardenne in Belgium when a marten got our car. Our neighbors told us that they have a sounding device installed in their car that keeps the martens out.

Ticks - Yup. Hedgehog ticks and sheep ticks (the ones that carry Lymes disease) are found here too. Tick season is from spring to fall.

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Little Differences - Small things that are different in Luxembourg from my home in Seattle (and America.)

first post Dec. 2010
edited Feb. 2011

**This post will be added to my site bar under a button called, Living in Luxembourg.