Friday  25 May travelled by train to Trier on the Mosel River in Germany and stayed for 2 nights.
Today was the start of a long weekend in Germany to celebrate the Pentecost so there was a lot of visitors in Treier for the weekend and accommodation was very limited. Stayed in a very small room in a small hotel which was only 100 metres from the town centre and had good views of the Mosel Valley.

Treier is the oldest town in Germany having been set up by the Romans in the year 2AD.

There are  parts of the Roman buildings still standing over 2000 years later such as the Porta Nigra or Black Gate which was the gate to the city at that time. It is hard to believe that this structure was so old. It was only 100 metres from our hotel and we could see it out the hotel room.

Inside the Roman gate

Remains of the Roman baths

There are the remains of the city wall at various places around the city that in Roman times encircled the city at that time.

Thursday 24 May - travelled to Nancy in the Lorraine Region by a fast train with only 3 stops at Saverne, Sarrebourg and Luneville. Took 1.5 hours.
The plains of the Alsace Region

The train climbed up to the pine forested mountains .

Once on top of the mountains, it was mostly flat with farming land. There was also some dairy cows and sheep.

For some of the way there was a canal beside the train line.



Nancy is known for its neoclassical square called Place Stanislas which was laid out in the 1750's and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was named after the Polish-born Duke of Lorraine and has opulent buildings, gilded wrought-iron gateways and fountains. The square is huge and bounded on all 4 sides by buildings.



We walked around the old town with an audio guide and saw:

Arc de Triomphe

The Palace

City gate built in the 1300's

Cathedral (which is similiar to others we have seen on the trip) 

        

City Park

Wednesday 23 May in Strasbourg- visited food and clothing markets and the Jewish quarter.
Also went back to the cathedral to see the astronomical clock working at 12.30pm. There was a 20 minutes movie first to outline the history of the clock in 3 languages (French, German and English). The clock is is absolutely huge, an amazing masterpiece and a technical achievement.



 The current mechanism was developed in the 1800s.

Astronomical signs on the clock.
Below  these signs are 2 angels. One taps a bell and then the other has a sand timer that it turns over.

The twelve disciplines move past Jesus as he blesses them. This is in the top of the clock.



Then the cock at the very top crows and flaps its wings.

Either side of the clock are paintings.



Then we went shopping - lots of patisseries with wonderful cakes, chocolate, wine, shoe, jewellery and clothing shops around the city centre. The best was the cheese shop with so many cheeses that we do not see in Australia.

Tuesday 22 May - travelled by train (like a rail motor with only 2 carriages) to Baden-Baden in the Black Forest of Germany. Took about 1.5 hours and changed trains on the way at Appenweier which appeared like it was mainly a train interchange town. There were 9 platforms.

We had an hour stopover and so walked about 800 metres and found a hotel. It reminded us of an Australian country hotel. We had lunch here - the husband ( cook) and wife (bar attendant) spoke very little English but managed to order a venison goulash and alsatian noodles using hand signals and some lovely riesling.

We arrived in Baden-Baden and caught a bus to the Roman thermal baths that were built in the 1800s using the thermal springs.

At the baths you go through 17 different treatments in showers, massages, steam rooms and pools of different temperatures. Each has a specific time. It took almost 3 hours but we felt so relaxed but energised.

Map of the different treatment rooms

The old Roman baths prior to 1800s.

Baden- Baden streets reminded us of a Noosa'sHastings Street, Toorak or South Yarra but on a much larger scale - lots of designer shops and antique shops. It is the city where royalty and the rich from Europe go for holidays.

Buses travel through the mall in the city centre.

On the way back to Strasbourg we had a stopover of 45 minutes at Karlsruhe.

The station was across the road from the zoo.

pink flamingos

Best meal in the Alsace and Strasbourg has been at Colmar where we stopped at a restaurant that is family run by 3 generations. We started with a local champagne mixed with strawberry liquer. Tablecloth was also tradiional Alsace with red and cream hearts woven into it.

Wendy had duck and saukrat and potatoes. We did not see saukrat on menus in Germany.

Tony had alsatian meatloaf which was minced meat rolled in a spiral of pastry.

Simon had pork with creamy mushroom sauce, salad and pommes frites (chips).