Time Travel / Germany, 1983 / Part 6 - Trier (2)

Germany 1983 /Trier an der Mosel (2): Kurfürstliches Palais, Kaiserthermen, Landesmuseum, Amphitheater, Cathedral - and a Flower Show.

Sunday, 28th August, 1983: My first full day in Trier was a very full day. Looking back in my photo album now I can't really grasp that after first having attended the church service in the Basilica (previous post), I afterwards also managed to see all of the sights below on the same day. (Somewhere in between, I suppose I must also have had lunch. No note in my album to remind me exactly where, when or what, though!)

Das Kurfürstliche Palais, with the Konstantin Basilika in the background

Das Kurfürstliche Palais - in English, the Electoral Palace - is situated very close indeed to the Basilica. From the 16th century until the late 18th century, this palace was the residence of the Archbishops and Electors of Trier. (According to Wikipedia, nowadays most of the palace is used as governmental offices; but classical music concerts are sometimes also held there.) I can't recall going inside - I probably just snapped the photo in passing. 

After the Basilica, I went to see the ruins of the Kaiserthermen - the remains of a large Roman bath complex. (Very close the Basilica and the Palace - you can see those buildings in the background in the first photo below.) 

The construction was started around 300 C.E. and was meant to be one of the largest of its kind, with baths built around hot water pools, and underneath the complex a network of underground passageways and a sewer system. It was never completed, though, and during the Middle Ages, it was converted into a castle.

 

I also visited the Landesmuseum - an archaeological museum with a collection of objects from prehistory to the Baroque era, but with a strong emphasis on the Roman period.

And from there on to the Trier Amphitheater:
 

Trier and its amphitheatre resembled many Roman cities of its time, and many  gladiatorial contests occurred there. It is the 10th largest Roman amphitheatre still intact. The structure which was dug into the side of a hill around the 2nd century A.D. could accommodate approximately 20,000 spectators. When later on gladiatoral contests were forbidden by the Christian emperor, the amphitheatre was incorporated into the city wall. 

Trier Dom - Postcard

 Furthermore, I visited the Trier Dom (Cathedral) - the oldest cathedral in Germany and the largest religious structure in Trier.  Below: One of my bought slides that turned all red over the years, showing the inside of the Dom.

Trier, Dom, Mittelschiff, von West nach Ost

 And as if all of the above wasn't enough for one day of touristing, in the afternoon I also managed to attend part of a local flower show that happened to be going on in Trier that weekend...

 

 

Except for the Dom, all the other photos in this post are my own (slides).

 

Time Travel / Germany 1983 / Part 4 - Kloster Arnstein

 

 

Already in my first post in this series did I mention Kloster Arnstein, an old monastery situated high up on the mountain above the village Obernhof an der Lahn. There was a narrow road leading up there from Klostermühle down below (where I was staying); and I went all the way up there at least once, to have a look at the church, which was open for visitors. 

I'm starting with a couple of postcards from my album at the top, which have kept the colours better than most of my own photos. (A bit yellowed with age, but not all that much.)

Going through my photo album as well as the slides I recently had digitised, I have come to the conclusion that I must have used two cameras on this journey: One for slides, and one with negative film for prints. But I also had prints made from some of the slides. 

The prints vs the slides have "aged" rather differently. Most prints have turned almost sepia with age, with very little colour left - and difficult to "bring back" in editing. My slides on the other hand have acquired a distinctly blue-ish tint - but a little bit easier to adjust in editing. (All editing done in Picasa3 because that's what I'm used to using...)

 ▲Just to show you what I'm "up against" with editing old printed photos from my album...

 

The road leading UP

Looking DOWN

I probably didn't go up alone, as someone must have taken this photo of me!

 

Some monks/priests up in the gardens at Kloster Arnstein

 

 

  

 

Cropped from the above photo

Among my dominantly "blueish" slides, I was surprised to find some from Kloster Arnstein that had turned all red instead! And no attempts to colour-correct those were successful. I've been scratching my head about those until today - when it occured to me take out the original slides to have a look. Turns out I did not take those myself, but bought them. Probably one was not allowed to take photos inside the church. So those I bought must have been taken with a different kind of film, aging differently... 

 

Here are the bought slides - you can compare them to the postcards at the top: 

 

By the way, exactly the same thing (turning red) also happened to slides I bought at the Basilika in Trier. (I'll show those when we get there.)

There is a Wikipedia article in English about Kloster Arnstein here. 

 

Time Travel / Germany 1983 / Part 3 - Obernhof an der Lahn & Klostermühle

 

This is the village Obernhof an der Lahn, where I spent a week back in August 1983, attending a summer holiday course at the bible school/holiday centre Klostermühle. On the hills behind there were vineyards. The school was/is across the river from the village centre, below the Kloster Arnstein up on the mountain. 

I think this man was one of the teachers, but I have to confess that my memories of individual staff members and most of my fellow visitors that week have faded even more than my photos over the years. After all it was just one week, and quite a few people...

 

The two photos are from the chapel where we met for lessons and other gatherings.

This man was one of the teachers - but what was he teaching? I had to crop the image further + apply several layers of editing to be able to read the text on the screen...

OK. A bit clearer. This is about the division of the books in the Old Testament, with some Hebrew terminology involved. The Thora perhaps better known to most of us as the Law, or the Five Books of Moses; and the Nebiim (or Nevi'im) = the Prophets. Probably shown as introduction to give "context" to some text then presented in more detail.

The gatherings during the week were not all about lectures, though. There were also more informal get-togethers involving for example games and dancing. (Knowing myself, I was probably happy to step aside from some of the latter with the excuse of taking photos...)

 

 

One thing I never got used to during that week was that no water or other drinks were offered with lunch/dinner. As you can see in the photo, no glasses on the table. I can no longer remember how I handled that. I do seem to recall at least at one time going into the kitchen and asking for water. But whether I made a habit of that, or after the first experience perhaps took to bringing my own, or if I actually learned to get through a meal without it, I can no longer remember. I'm still not sure if this is/was customary in Germany - or other countries. As far as I can recall, no one else seemed to have a problem with it, so I suspect I probably hesitated to ask! Can someone enlighten me, 40+ years later? Because neither in Sweden nor in England did I ever find myself in a situation where I was served food, but offered nothing to drink...

In the afternoons, they had a kiosk open where you could buy warm or cold drinks of your choice, though. The sign says tea, coffe or chocolate; but I recall they also sold soft drinks and bottled water. (And I could not help thinking that not serving water with the main meal must have increased the sales...)

I think in the afternoons we were free to do whatever we wanted; and if one did not feel like socialising, the surroundings offered lots of opportunities to go off on solitary walks if one preferred. Into the village, along the river, into the woods behind the school - or if one wanted more exercise, up the steep hill/mountain behind, to Kloster Arnstein. (I did go up there at least once to see the church, but I'll save that for another post.)

 

 

Something I remember, even though not connected with a special photo, is sitting and reading Goethe's novel Die Leiden des Jungen Werthers (The Sorrows of Young Werther) (on my reading list for the upcoming term at the university back home) while looking out over the river Lahn - which meant probably having very similar views to what Goethe had in mind when writing it. When he wrote the novel in 1774, he was drawing on memories of a summer in Wezlar by the Lahn - another town along the same river. 

Unlike the fictional young Werther, no suicidal thoughts on my mind, though... But I later copied this quote into my photo album:

"Ich bin allein und freue mich meines Lebens in dieser Gegend, die für solche seelen geschaffen ist wie die meine." - I am alone and I am happy about my life in this area, which is made for souls like mine. 

 

 Linking to Sepia Saturday 819 

Time Travel / Germany 1983 / Part 2 - Bad Ems

 

Bad Ems (postcard)

I had left Sweden on a Friday, by night train, and travelled down from Hamburg via Koblenz to Obernhof an der Lahn on Saturday - not sure when exactly I arrived at Klostermühle (see my previous post), but probably late afternoon. 

The next day being a Sunday, I assume there was probably some kind of morning worship service between breakfast and lunch. In the afternoon it seems we were free to do whatever we wanted, as my photo album tells me that I ended up visiting Bad Ems (an old spa town located on both banks of the River Lahn, between Obernhof and Koblenz), with a couple who kindly invited me to come along with them. 

And on Monday afternoon I went to Bad Ems again; this time with a whole group of girls. As I rememer it, people were generous all week to include me - the foreign visitor... I think one of my biggest "problems" was actually to get people to talk to me in German, rather than practising their own English! ;)  (And I also recall finding it strangely difficult myself to switch quickly between the two different foreign languages.)

The couple who invited me to come along with them to Bad Ems on Sunday. 
 

 

There was an old Roman spa well preserved, from which you could still drink the water.
Possibly healthy (with lots of minerals in it) - but not really "to my taste"... 

The gang of girls I was hanging out with in Bad Ems on Monday afternoon. Looks like a good day to enjoy an ice cream at a street café... :)