October 1, 2022

Smash—kerplunk! And the dreaded “Ohhh”! The train station escalator came to a dead stop. Looking backwards, both Marty and I saw Kathy laying on the bottom of the escalator on the ground. Kind German folks were quickly gathering around her. Loaded down with luggage, I asked Marty to stay, and I rushed back down the escalator to Kathy. She was bleeding rather badly and a big knot was already forming on her forehead. She said she was OK, but, I wasn’t sure. Yes, she had no broken bones, the cut was shallow and after a while the bleeding stopped. Melisa soon was cleaning her face, putting on antibacterial ointment and a bandage. Kathy said, “No pain.” We all kept an eye on her as the hours passed and this evening, all is well. 

It was a hard fall down several escalator stairs. How? She had quickly purchased some coffee at the station before our train arrived and had no free hand because her luggage was in the other hand. That is a big “NO,” “NO!” Somehow, she became off balanced as she tried to maneuver her luggage onto the escalator with one hand, and down she went. She said she has learned her lesson the hard way! 

Thankfully, she was not wearing her sun glasses, since she hit her cheek and forehead near the eye. Thankfully, she did not hit her mouth where she had dental work done a few days ago and had a temporary crown on a tooth. Thankfully, the escalator had a safety device that detected the hit and shut down the escalator movement immediately. Thankfully, there were very helpful people all around to give immediate aid. Thankfully, our friends had all the necessary items on hand to get her cleaned up. (She had coffee in her hair and clothes and blood all over her face.)

Our train journey from Heidelberg to Trier was a beautiful ride along the Rhine River and then Mosel River. Castle after castle on the hills above the rivers came into view. Steep vineyards reached upward from the river to the hill tops. Forests interspersed the vineyards and quaint villages dotted the landscape with tall steepled churches commanding attention. Once we arrived in Trier, Germany’s oldest city and the northern capital of the Roman Empire, we saw scaffolding everywhere, as if the city was in complete repair. It wasn’t a pretty sight! It seemed empty. Was coming here a mistake? Our hotel was nice and has a grand courtyard where we found several restaurants from which to choose. We chose Italian today, and it was a decent meal. 

We then went out into the city, the rain having stopped, and walked through the courtyard into an arched walkway and wow! There, spread out before us was an old town with large pillared fountains and beautiful buildings and towers and bustling walkways filled with people. O, my! It was getting late and so we headed back to the hotel, hopeful for a wondrous day tomorrow searching out Roman ruins in this old, yet vibrant, city.