Day 18: Man, I need a bath
I wonder how different the 50s and 60s in North America would have been if American politicians had been forced to visit the Karl Marx museum.
We slept in this morning but Carmen beat us to breakfast. Since I was forced to hurry my morning ablutions, the disreputableness of my appearance was enough to force Carmen from the table before I could discuss her dietary habits. But Leslie had chocolate covered chocolate again. I stuck with eggs and jam and butter with some bread to convey it.
Across the street from our hotel is the Karl Marx Museum. He was born in this house on Brückenstrasse, which is lovely and built in 1727. He was born in was 1818. He didn’t spend a lot of time here and the house was unremarkable until the early 20 century when they discovered documents referring to his father’s original business. then it became political symbol symbol for and against and remains such to this day.
Marx was raised in Trier until he left for school.
Things to research later:
The highlight of the museum was Leslie alternatively agreeing and arguing with the hand held electronic guide. Seems as though the machine might have had a slightly different skew on Marxism than our esteemed doctor. But it was occasionally right and she would nod vigorously in agreement. Unfortunately even though she was listening to the speaker in her ear, to the casual observer it would appear she was gazing at the window sill, arguing vociferously with it.
On a side note, after much observations and consideration I have come to the conclusion that 3 urinals in washrooms seems to be a German rule. It’s pretty damn consistent.
Upon leaving the museum we visited the gift shop. Leslie purchased the tshirt (of course) and a couple of Marx postcards, and so it would appear that she is, at long last, a card-carrying Marxist.
We had a quick lunch of coffee and pastries and were on our way. Headed for the baths, we stopped in at the seminary church; I have no idea what it was called.
Painted throughout in golds and whites with floral accents, it featured modern stained glass in matching opaque white and golds. It was light, full of nature and incredibly peaceful. Another favourite for the trip. One of the more interesting things were these awesome water colors for the stations of the cross. Not something you would ever imagine seeing in a modern church, yet more modern than any art I’ve ever seen in a church. It was a pretty cool vibe.
The Cattle Yard Baths or Forum Baths were built in 3rd & 4th Centuries. Rediscovered this century, they are completely enclosed under glass and building. As we wandered the labyrinth-like layout we traded off sharing the guide book trying to make heads or tails of the ruins. I will note several groups of tourists came and went while we were there. It’s a 18 century old structure rooted in history with architectural and engineering feats that we find hard to grasp to this day; its worth more than 10 minutes! Sigh.
Anyway about out third turn round, we finally got a feel for what we were seeing. I would love to see more models, because it truly is a mind boggling feat of engineering. And they — the Romans — did this everywhere they went.
Upon leaving these baths, we headed east to the Kaiserthermen. On the way there the subject of Carmen’s ankles came up and we all got to wondering how they would go with bright red nail polish. Well the now familiar refrain, “What would Constantine the Great do?” was heard and we turned a corner and got our answer.
Soon we arrived. The Kaiserthermen are another set of baths started in the 4th century. However as Constantine moved his political base back east, they were never finished. But the foundations were used for many things including a fortress and, as a result, much more of the original works survived than in the Forum Baths. Underground tunnels and soaring arches all added to a unique experience. The only thing marring that visit was Carmen’s quip as I picked my way over the pointy remains of a wall that I should “be careful not to fall or I would ‘ruin’ my ass!” Ba dum, dum…
Well at this point it was slightly after 5 and someone pointed out we’d not had a single drink that day. So we headed to the place Carmen’s Piesport friend had recommended.
It turns out at Waldendorffs across from the Dom (Cathedral) that there was a Zumba open air thingee going on. It was loud and had 50 or so women in exercise clothes jiggling around; so we stayed. The girls were out giving it their all, meanwhile the boyfriends drank beer and watched.
I splurged on a 2005 Mülheimer Sonnenlay Auslese from Wiengut Bauer, Mülheim. It was an auselese so I knew it was going to be sweet, but Carmen was silly enough to say ‘boy’s choice’; so I did. Very fruity, but I liked the finish.
Then the bells took on the Zumba and won. 15 minutes of ever increasing crescendos from the bell towers may not have entirely drowned out the 20th century amplifiers and speakers, but it definitely relegated it to the background. After our bottle (it was only 500 ml), we departed for quieter environs.
Back at the basilica for a evening visit the light is playing across the space in entirely new ways. Columns are alight, window frames act as mirrors to the stained glass and the altar is awash in pure white light. It would worth it to spend a year here just learning how this building interacts with its environment.
Leslie’s back stiffened up while we sat so it’s taking a few moments for her to loosen up… in more ways than one: she won’t answer to Stiffy and still refused to acknowledge me even when I addressed her formally as Dr. Stiffy. Sheesh, talk about stiff-necked…
Anyway, back to the place we ate a few nights ago. We all had schnitzel of some sort, although mine was chicken breast. A couple of beers and we decided to call it a night. Tomorrow is either the Colosseum (something I’m am especially excited to see) or a day trip to Saarborgh; the morning will reveal all.
