Art & Architecture Trip - Day 8

We woke at 0800 and ate breakfast. I had chocolate sauce on my bread (I must comment on the excessive amount of bread at the the table!). At 0900 we left for Xanten, a small town north of Koln and only about 15 miles from the border of the Netherlands. Xanten has two major articles of importance to the Rhineland: its cathedral and a reconstructed Roman city. In 117 AD, when the Romans under Emperor Trajen's officers conquered the area, the city of Xanten was designed and built as the second largest Roman city north of the Alps (in Northeastern Europe). The city, which had long been buried, has been partially rebuilt and we were given a first-hand look at the actual size of Roman architecture. The monuments, walls and other buildings are amazing! After a little while looking at the city, we went to the Xanten Cathedral, which has a similar history as the Koln Cathedral. It was built on the site of the graves of several Thebian/Roman soldiers who had refused to change their Christian religion back to that of the old Roman gods. We went through this building - which, noticibly, has been nearly entirely rebuilt since 1945 (it was mostly destroyed in World War II). The church is both Romanesque and Gothic - and their are relics of saints from all over the Northern part of Europe. For lunch, we ate at a "Roman" cafe. The restaurant was located in one of the reconstructed villas. We had chicken, fish, pumpkin, Coke and Roman bread. At 1530, we were given the opportunity to sketch the cathedral. I started out in a small courtyard inside, but I moved back out when I got bored by the sight where I was. Instead, I went out to the front and sketched the towers. While I was working, a little boy approached me. I helped him with his bike - he had fallen down and his chain had fallen off the wheel. He seemed to think I spoke German, because he kept talking and talking to me (I'm not sure what I would have been able to say if he had asked me any questions...). It started to rain after this - just in time to leave! The trip to and from Xanten took about one hour each way (traveling at 140 kph on the Autobahn). Christa and I fell asleep on the way home. We arrived at JGH at 1800 and had to take a short quiz about what we had learned today. Had dinner around 2000 and then we all sketched some more in the room where we ate - all the way up until 2315!