.:pilgrimage--or less worms and more celts:.

Having seen the sights in and around Worms, we departed our little hopeful hotel--the owner doted over us at breakfast, and despite some noises in the night, I think we were the only guests there, and I hope that they catch a break, even though there are no concessions for poor planning and location in business--and took a tour of the Heiligenberg high in the mountain, overlooking the city of Heidelberg.
The trails afforded a magnificent view, despite the impending grayness of the morning, of Heidelberg and the Neckar below, and wound around several anachronisms, including remnants of a Celtic fortification and wall, the ruins of St. Michael's basilica, and a bit of statecraft, an amphitheater, Thingstatte, with seating for 8 000 built to showcase propaganda and show to the rest of the nation that even the intelligensia of Heidelberg endorsed these doings. 

After seeing the Cathedral at Worms yesterday, we continued on through the region to the old papal seat of Speyer.  Given the weather, we stopped off at the Technic and Transportation Museum, and had fun seeing the classic cars, motorbikes, locomotives, submarines and jumbo airplanes there.  It's a strange business, this sort of taxidermy, especially considering that just up the road, there is another museum at Sinsheim dedicated to the same themes.  The installation at Sinsheim has the last Concorde but the Speyer museum has the Buran, the Soviet version of the space shuttle.  It was really impressive.

The weather cleared up and it was if Spring was busting out all over, after the dreary skies and dirty, hard-packed slush, as we meandered towards the old town dominated by the cathedral.  We had a nice walk and peeked around a bit.  The cathedral's interior was simple and plain compared to the gaudy excesses of Trier and Worms.  Trier has the tunic of Christ, and Worms has the depiction of the Rood of the Cross, which legitimizes the ruling royal families of Europe.  Speyer had no such artifacts but was very impressive architecturally. 

We started back towards Bavaria, along the patchwork of lands claimed by Hesse and the Rhineland-Palatinate, and paid a visit to a friend and former colleague along the way.

.: von Kelten und Wormsern... :.

Nachdem uns gestern schon die Socken gequalmt haben, beschlossen wir, heute noch eins draufzusetzen... kurz nach einem wirklich, wirklich gutem Fruehstueck im Trierer nh-Hotel brachen wir gen Saarland auf. Wochen zuvor waren wir auf die Website des Keltischen Ringwalls in Otzenhausen (naja... die ollen Vorbewohner haben sich den Namen sicher nicht ausgedacht) gestossen. Vielleicht haetten wir einplanen muessen, dass sich Steinhaufen unter ca. 50 cm Schnee nicht wirklich gut finden lassen... nach einem ca. 1-stuendigen Marsch durch von Gott verlassene (oder nie besuchte) Waelder fanden wir uns dann auf dem Gipfel eines Berges wieder. Dort wurden wir natuerlich von denen, die in zuenftiger Schnee-Wander-Montur unterwegs waren schwer bewundert - im schicken City-Outfit hatten die dort sicher keinen erwartet. Nach dem mindestens genauso abenteuerlichen Abstieg hatten wir dann auf der Autobahn bis Worms ca. 1,5 Stunden Zeit, um die Socken (wieder die Socken... diesmal nass und nicht heiss) zu trocknen. In Worms nutzten wir den Rest des Tages, um gleich die "wichtigsten" Attraktionen zu bestaunen - so den Dom, die Altstadt (was nach '45 davon uebrig blieb) und das Paulinus-Kloster. Fuer morgen gibts ne kleine Planaenderung... anstatt bis Die in Worms zu bleiben, werden wir schon morgen ueber Speyer einen Abstecher ins schwaebische (pardon Nadine... laesst sich so einfach besser beschreiben!) machen, um die "Kolleschin" mal eben kurz zu besuchen. Dann wird's am Abend wieder heim ins unterfraenkische gehen...

Constantine's Mother

Today is our second day of our tour through the Mosel region.  Yesterday after meandering by Burg Eltz and Burg Pyrmont, we arrived in Trier late in the afternoon. 

Our sight-seeing on the second day was much enriched by a chance encounter with a hobbist tour guide who alighted from his bicycle while we were photographing an ornate fountain, which turned out to be full of allegory and not so subtle political criticism.  For forty minutes, he told us all about the history of the city and what special things to look out for. 
We went back into town in the morning and saw the magnificent Dom stocked with religious plunder from the Holy Land, thanks to Helen, Roman Emperor Constantine's mother.  We toured the ruins from the Roman times, including the archeological site of one of the largest Roman baths in the world.

In the afternoon, we took a short trip to the Arch Duchy of Luxemborg and we were really taken in by the spectacle of the compact kingdom, stacked high above the valley.  Tomorrow, we'll have a start back towards the east and home with a visit to Worms and see some sites along the way.