Erika Ahuja... Where Are You?

Tuesday afternoon we set off for Trier. While I was studying at RIT, my best friend was from Trier. We lost touch somehow over the years. I'm actually hoping she might google her name, find this post, and contact me.

She'd often told me how beautiful Trier is, and this was my opportunity to see for myself. Unfortunately, our stay was too short to visit any of the Roman ruins found in the town. Another visit will be on the agenda in the future.

The Cathedral 

The market has a website, complete with an English language version. When we first entered the market my thought was "mighty big website for such a small market". The cathedral square is somewhat small. Even taking that into account, the market booths didn't fill the space available, leaving a significant pedestrian zone around the perimeter.

However, later we discovered that there was a second, larger, square that contained the rest of the market.

We found a couple of stalls selling Poffertjes, which I thought I recognized as what this year's Amazing Race contestants were served on the canal in Amsterdam. I'll have to check out the episode when I get back to be sure. They're tiny pancakes with your choice of toppings (we chose Nutella), in this case served in an edible waffle bowl. Very tasty. We shared one serving since we were planning to have dinner.

We chose a restaurant called Zum Domstein right on the cathedral square.

After checking the menu posted outside, we decided to try the chicken breast in a white wine sauce with fresh mushrooms, onions, and leeks in the style of the Mosel region. I wish I knew how to cook a chicken breast to get it to turn out so tender... and I'll have to figure out a recipe for that cream sauce.

We also had a glass of wine with dinner and finished off with a shared slice of Cointreau torte.

The ambiance and service were delightful and the food was delicious.

Our hotel, the Hotel Vinum, was directly across from the train station. It's an integration hotel where the staff is comprised of recent immigrants learning to integrate into German society. The hotel is very old, but updated to modern standards. Also, it's fully accessible with an elevator that stops at every floor and half-floor. We also had a wheelchair accessible room, which meant we had more floorspace than we'd become accustomed to, but also had a shower that was difficult to use while keeping the rest of the bathroom somewhat dry.

When we checked in there was a small bottle of wine and two glasses on the writing desk with a small sign stating that it was a gift of the hotel... and of course more was available for purchase in their shop.

The breakfast room was much like a fine dining room, tastefully decorated and comfortable. The buffet itself was similar to what we've found in the other hotels, adding croissants and an assortment of fresh fruit. Of the places we've stayed, this is the hotel I'd give the highest marks to.