Trier, being the first city in Germany I ever visited, is in many ways my gold standard for what german really means to me. Like a first kiss or first car, everything new I learn or experience about Germany is judged against Trier--its winding streets and fountain-filled courtyards, its history, its people. I am staying in the same Hostel I stayed in last summer, on the same school program with the same professor, using the internet at the same coffeeshop and eating late-night pizza at the same cheap pizza joint(although they've moved to a location closer to my hostel!). I like the familiarity, I like knowing my way around without a map. I like how everything feels like home.
Trier is one of the oldest continuously-populated cities in Germany, dating back to the Roman Empire. Actually, before Constantine built Constantinople, Trier was the capital of the Western Roman Empire. Pretty cool. People daily dig up roman coins and artifacts in their backyards; you can still visit the amphitheater. Later on in the trip we will be once again visiting the oldest wine cellar in Germany which is over 2,000 years old. Coming from America, a country barely 300 years old, its sort of mind boggling to think that people have been living in one place for that long, but something about that permanency provides a measure of peace. If civilization has managed to survive on this patch of dirt for centuries, any problems I might face(no shampoo? no cell phone charger?) can't be that bad. Regardless of the weather I will survive and grow here, if not for 2,000 years, at least for the next 4 weeks.
No comments:
Post a Comment