Trier and the Champagne region

Our second day in Trier was forecast hot with thundery showers. This so we decided to visit the Landesmuseum but not before breakfast in the park.

The museum had a huge amount of Roman artifacts showing how Trier was once an important city within the Roman Empire. We had audio guides which really helped although some boards were also in English. 

There were so many amazing stone carving; some were tombs, some from buildings. The mosaic floor was incredible, again I found it hard to comprehend the age of the items.

The museum also had more recent history of Trier, the religious times were very interesting with amazing statues and plaques. The Madonna and Child was cast in iron so would have first been a wooden carving then moulded in sand before the cast was made, such intricate work. 

We had a really nice city  break in Trier, it is somewhere we would visit again although now we have seen the sights we would probably use it as a stop over. It wasn't far to walk into the city from our hotel which this time was a B&B Hotel, a budget chain that is across Europe. With the heat we decided to make use of our 9 euro ticket and caught the bus. The city centre was always bustling all the bars and restaurants in the city offered good food and wine. I'm sure we'll be visiting Trier again.

Leaving Germany behind we travelled to the Champagne region for a few days in France. As we have visited Epernay and Reims a few times before we decided this time to stay in Chalons-en-Champagne. 

Our hotel this time was Premiere Classe, again a budget chain and this one was quite old. Disappointingly the bars and restaurants nearby were all closed, apart from one at which we had a superb Anniversary meal (it was our 33rd wedding anniversary). We did celebrate before going out with a bottle of sparkling wine from Trier.

The next day we caught the bus into the city centre, our 9 euro ticket was no use but the French bus was only 1.10 euro each trip. The centre was very old, so many timbered buildings with various dates, more rustic than the Mosel it was quite charming.

We visited the Cathedral which had superb glass windows, the stories on some were amazing. As with most churches the height of the walls and ceiling was very impressive.

Within the city was a lovely park leading to the canal and river Marne beyond. It was quite a peaceful place, great to spot a heron and the colours on the river were amazing.

Back at our hotel the sky was turning black, but we didn't mind as we'd had over 6 days with the temperature above 30 so a cooling storm would be very welcome.  It was quite nice enjoying a bottle of our favourite French wine wine waiting for the rain.

After much thought and deliberation we decided to move hotels and go to Epernay again for our last night in the Champagne region. The overall reason was the quietness of Chalons-en-Champagne and with no buses running on a Sunday we would have been driving round looking for somewhere to visit.

We had planned to call at Nicolas Feuillatte on our way back to Calais but now we had time for a longer visit and browse in the shop ... of course more glasses have come home!

After enjoying our picnic lunch in the Jardin du Vignes, a superb garden with so much information about vines and the three main grapes of the region, we checked in our hotel, still a Premiere Classe, and took a stroll into Epernay centre. 

Our favourite street is the Avenue de Chsmpagne, said to be the most expensive street in the world. Not because of the stunning champagne houses and mansions but because of the cellars and the incredible quantity of champagne stored in them, some over 150 years old. 

It isn't a champagne we drink much of but we always visit the Moet & Chandon house. It is so blingy and so expensiv, always worth a visit though.

We had a lovely time in Epernay,  certainly the best idea to move hotels. Our last visit before heading home was to a small Champagne house that we discovered a few years ago and visit every time we are in the area. Their champagne is superb, I think it stands up against the big names and we certainly couldn't miss an opportunity to bring some more home. They are in Champillon, just outside Epernay with superb views.

It was a great end to our superb time in Belgium, Germany and France - an amazing trip with so many lovely memories.