Today we drive down the river (or south anyway) to Trier passing village after village on the riverbank, all of which are beautiful, picturesque and have some kind of wine fastival either going on or about to be going on. What a place this is...
We arrive in Trier just over an hour after leaving Bernkastel and have a quick walk around, refamiliarising ourselves with the main thoroughfare and the market square surrounded by stunning medieval architecture.
We were here in June 2003 when we stayed in Traben-Trarbach - our friends Jorg and Yvonne drove down from Kassel with their two kids, Xenia and Anselm and we came here by train.
"Like the slightly larger Heidelberg, Trier (population 100,000) has a venerable core. It's even older than Heidelberg's, for this was Augusta Treverorum, 'the Augustus City of the Treveri.'
Established probably in 17 B.C., it was named after the local Treveri, conquered by the Romans. From 286 until the German invasions of the late 4th century, Trier was an imperial capital and the residence of emperors including Constantine.
It also flourished as a wine center after the second century, when the Romans introduced the grape and no longer had to import wine. The local vineyards were celebrated by the poet Ausonius (310-395), whose Latin words were among the last pagan ones to be spoken in this part of the dying empire."
This time we find quite a few places we didn't see last time round. For example the large square in front of the magnificent cathedral - where we have a sit-down and a refreshing bowl of fruit and ice-cream - did I mention it's hot? It's very hot!!
After the ice cream we go in search of the Roman Amphitheatre and stumble across, first of all a huge brickwork Basilica which inside is Spartan to say the least (it's obviously not a Roman Catholic church - no gold, no statues - very bare), then, behind it, the bishops' palace and gardens which are superbly landscaped.
Again we take a much needed seat and watch the ducks playing around in the pond, including one solitary duckling, which appears to be the subject of some kind of custody dispute involving two mother ducks and a father duck...
After the rest we continiue on to the amphitheatre - it's further away than we imagined and, by the time we arrive, we are dripping with sweat due to the blazing sun and total lack of wind...
There's a show happeing in the evenings just now at the amphitheatre and so there is theatrical staging covering most of the ring. Despite this is still easy to imagine the splendour this place must have had when it was more than a ruin.
We walk back to the Bishops' Gardens and sit at the outdoor restaurant overlooking the water and order food and drinks, Apple Juice and a toastie for Anne and Apple Juice and water to drink for me, accompanied by Fried Eggs and Roast Potatoes (yes I know it sounds weird but, for some reason, they couldn't give me a vegetarian toastie). Anne takes my side salad to accompany her ham and cheese toastie....tasty
The duck custody battle continues in front of us - we'll never know the outcome... A quick walk round the shops, without going in, and then back to the car-park. The drive back seems quicker than coming here but it's just psychological I suppose.
Before we get back to Bernkastel we make a stop off and find a shady seat by the river and just sit and watch the boats and the swans glide by....
It's our last night of the holiday so we head back to the flat to shower and change and for another wee rest - did I tell you it's hot? We just sit and read for a while listening to german guitarist Michael Rother and some Miles Davis and enjoy a glass of wine.
Tonight we go to the pizzaria in the main square and the food is delicious. Garlic bread, mozzarella and tomato salad, a veggie calzone pizza for me and german sausage pizza for Anne and, of course, a bottle of Mosel wine.
While we're there, there's a huge thunderstorm outside with the rain bouncing off the streets - despite this, rather strangely, the sun continues to shine. By the time we emerge, the storm is over and the streets are practically dry. It's still hot...
We finish off with a visit to the nearby ice-cream parlour for a bowl of strawberries and vanilla ice-cream with, just for good measure, some cream on top! Then a last stroll by the river before going back up to the flat where we watch Germany draw 2-2 with Argentina.
I can't sleep tonight because it's too hot....
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