Trier, Germany with Opa

Monday (the 28th) we took Opa to our favorite nearby city, Trier. Trier is the oldest city in Germany & is also where our sweet little Taya was born. We couldn't wait to show him around. Trier is so beautiful!

Our first stop was the Karl Marx house. Karl Marx started Marxism. He wasn't the best guy in the world, but it's interesting to see the house he was born in & know that we live so close to it.

Next we walked towards the main city center & passed the girls' favorite fountain in Trier. Every time we pass it, the girls love to play hide & seek around it's massive base. Usually they have little fountains of water behind it that kids can play in, but because it's winter & FREEZING here, those weren't turned on. But they still enjoyed their little game of hide & seek, & then posed for pics with their Opa.

The kids looked ADORABLE. They got some new hats & gloves in their stockings & then new coats from Nancy & they just look so stylish & cute. It was lunch time when we got there, so we picked up some little pizzas & fresh pretzels from a vendor on our way into the main city center.

The city center was gorgeous as always. Trier literally looks like a bunch of colorful gingerbread houses. Pictures just don't do it justice. It's such a beautiful city. The city center is breathtaking & they still had all their Christmas decorations up. Dad found a vendor selling chestnuts that were roasted over an open fire. He had to try them! So we bought a bag & all of us tried them. All of us pretty much wanted to gag after one bite, but it was fun to try. We were cracking up after that. Anytime there was a lull in our conversations, dad would bring up: "Well, I think I'll eat another chestnut roasted on an open fire!" And then we'd all laugh hysterically again. It was one of those once in a lifetime things, but I probably will never eat one again. (They're icky)

Dad also found a little fresh made waffle shop on our way to the Dom Cathedral. (Dad wanted to eat anything & everything he could get his hands on so he could say "I ate that in Europe!" They didn't have any waffle dough made up, so we took a rain check & walked on until they had some dough ready. We went to the cathedral (which dad loved) that was built about 190 AD. We walked through the entire thing (until the kids couldn't take it anymore) & then went on our way towards the Porta Nigra.

On our way to the Porta Nigra, dad found a brat stand. . . ."I've got to eat that!" So from that stand we bought 2 German sandwiches (with biershinken [ham] & cheese), 3 pieces of apfelkuchen (apple cake), & a big ole bratwurst! He loved all three! He said the brat was the best thing he had eaten so far! Of course at this point he was starting to feel a little sick from eating so much stuff! But it's all SO SO SO good.

The Porta Nigra is the gate to the city of Trier. It was built about 186 AD. I can't believe it's still standing. It's very dirty now, but it's still such a majestic thing to see in Trier. My girls love posing in front of it like a bunch of statues.

After visiting the Porta Nigra we headed back towards that waffle shop. But we had to stop at the Italian Ice Cream shop since it was open. Opa tried the mandeln (almond) ice cream & loved it. The girls had strawberry & chocolate. Of course we only ate about 3 bites before we decided it was too freezing to be eating ice cream outside. Trek stopped by the electronic store to look for some ink for our computer. He found some, but because this was the first shopping day after Christmas, the lines were awful. We ended up waiting forever for him to come back. When we finally met up again, we stopped at the marketplace where the girls picked out some flowers for me. Then we got Opa's fresh waffle (which was more than AWESOME!! I'm going back for more for sure!), & then we left for home. It was a fun day! I love Trier!