We moored overnight in Issel, a very small town with a couple of houses, a church and a cemetery. We could go ashore of course, but Steven cautioned us to be sure to be back aboard befor the boat sailed at 5:45 a.m. I felt it shove away from the shore, and fell right back asleep. Two hours later, I woke and jumped up to get ready, thinking breakfast would be served for only another 45 minutes! In pulling the drawer out from UNDER my bunk, the whole thing came out and I fell on my knee, now it has been hurting… clumsy of me.

We took a bus into Trier, an ancient, ancient city, dating back to Roman times. The Roman Empire had expanded all the way up here, and Trier was the last large outpost to supply the garrisons. It became quite wealthy, but when the Roman Empire fell, so did Trier and much of its glory as well. The Dark Ages descended and people did not keep up the Roman buildings. But still you can see remains of the Roman baths; an ampitheater; a balisica built first to honor the Roman authorities, now a Lutheran church; the Porta Nigra (part of the original fortifications to the city, then a cathedral during the Middle Ages). I felt we were partly in Italy with all the Roman ruins around.

Trier is also birthplace of Karl Marx, though we didn't bother to visit the site. We did however stumble upon a flower market. Beautiful arrangements with pine boughs and dried natural decorations were displayed everywhere. We were told it is what the people put on gravesites for All Soul's Day, Nov. 1st. The night before is our Halloween, the night when the departed souls roam the earth.

We stayed in town for lunch with our friends. Down two flights of stairs to the restaurant, very plain and unassuming, rather drab entrance, we went in between two undistinguished glass doors to a marvelous Romanesque basement - HUGE - and it was all restaurant! (photo) Curved arches over every table in bricks and stones, with shields for decorations. We expected to see racks used in the Inquisition in the corner. Our waitress might have been a bit upset to see a group of foreigners at her table, but her English was helpful and we ordered first cocoa (which came with whipped cream floating high above the cup - dessert first), then I had Jaeger wienerschnitzel (pork cutlet with mushroom gravy) and spaetzel (noodles). The other two women followed suit and the men had open-face ham & cheese sandwiches. I think you can figure out who is the most adventurous is our family.

After our meal, we all went shopping. First to find something to wear for Halloween, which we found right away. A party on the sundeck is planned on Oct. 31st, our last night on board, with the Captain's Farewell Dinner. Then we found a watch battery and gloves for Darrel. It's getting cooler again, but I find it still lovely. Steven warned us, however, that when we get to Lucerne, there could be snow!

Shuttles are running back and forth from the boat to the town center, so it's quite convenient to come and go back and forth. We discovered that here in Trier we are only ten miles from Luxembourg, our next visit. Yet we are sailing away tonight, further away from Luxembourg. Steven explained that if we stayed here to visit Luxembourg, we would have to sail for one whole day, thus missing at least one shore day. So instead, we will be bused from Traben-Trarbach tomorrow.

Dinner tonight is weird: Hollywood themed. I can't guess what…

TOMORROW: Traben-Trarbach, Germany and Luxembourg (the whole country in one day!)