Grandma and Papa visit (Germany)

Gate of Reichsberg Castle in the background

excavating Roman Baths

We had an adventure packed summer.  I can honestly say I did not hear my kids say "I'm bored" in the 6 weeks they had off from school.  The day that I dropped Amy and the boys off at the Frankfurt airport, is the day that I picked-up Mom and Dad Reilly.  A good thing, because the kids didn't have a chance to miss their friends with Grandma and Papa coming in.  Our first few days we spent here in Landstuhl, but Clark and MJ really wanted to show them Trier and Cochem (remember the castle that MJ had nicknamed "the Pumpkin Castle".  So, while Sean worked in the ICU we hoped on the train and enjoyed a day of wandering around Trier.
This trip we discovered a couple of new things ... the Roman bridge (Römerbrücke) which is the oldest standing bridge in the country.  The pillars are from the 2nd century.  The surface has been done twice since then in the 16th and 18th centuries and yes, cars do drive across it.  We found another site being excavated with Roman baths.  This was not for royalty, so it is clear that the Romans believed in being clean.  Turns out they had 3 bath locations in the city.  Near the bridge are two old treadwheel cranes, one being the Gothic "Old Crane" from 1413, and the other the 1774 Baroque crane.  Both used human energy to power them and from just looking at them from a distance, you can't tell them apart.  Technology was not changing rapidly.  Our last piece of excitement was finding out that we could actually tour the Porta Nigra, so we went inside of the gate and found out it had actually been turned into a cathedral around 1035; however, in 1804  Napoleon ordered that the Porta Nigra be converted back to its Roman form.
After a day in Trier we took the train to Cochem and visited MJ's favorite castle and did some shopping.  It was wonderful.  The kids really enjoy sharing their favorite places with visitors.  Clark especially likes to provide translation and guide services.  After Cochem we returned to Landstuhl where the kids had a few days to just be with Grandma and Papa before we left on our next trip ... Switzerland!