TRIER, Germany, Oct 4 - Our ride from Paris to Trier via Reims and Luxembourg took about five hours, including a stopover in Reims (see the map - right).  Freeway driving was fast and smooth, but it took us "forever" to make our way from the Autobahn into Germany's oldest city.  Guess they did not figure on cars and trucks 17 centuries ago.

 

We parked near "Porta Nigra" (above), what's left of a big city gate which dates back to Constantine time, when Trier was an imperial city and the capital of the Roman Empire (see the model above).  The name "Porta Nigra" (Black Gate) originated in the Middle Ages.  By that time, the light-colored limestone the Romans used to construct the gate and the walls had acquired a dark patina.

We had arranged with our friends Walter and Deborah from the Netherland to meet them in Trier this afternoon.  They were supposed to start driving from Maastricht around noon, and were expected to arrive in Trier by mid-afternoon.  Which gave us a couple of hours to do our ceremonies.

The films I have made about each ceremony speak for themselves.  The only thing I need to say is, if you are not familiar with the tragic story of Constantine and Fausta and Crispus, I strongly urge you to watch first this video (Greek Tragedy in Trier, Pula)  and/or check out this story.  I had made them both in the last couple of days to provide the necessary context for the full appreciation of the emotional and historical content of the Trier and Pula ceremonies and films.

Trier - First Ceremony at Constantine Basilica (Oct 4)

 

After the first ceremony, we strolled across the beautifully manicured grounds behind the Constantine Basilica...

... to the Imperial Baths (above right).  That's where I was called to do a second ceremony, for my wife Fausta in Constantine lifetime.

Trier - Second Ceremony for Fausta at Imperial Baths (Oct 4)

 

I felt thoroughly drained emotionally after these two ceremonies ready for some flesh and blood pleasures.  Like meeting friends and enjoying a lovely warm afternoon at a Trier cafe.  Here are some still shots from our afternoon in Trier...

Trier Photo Album

We left Trier around 5PM and just kept driving south until we ran out of steam.  About 13 hours and 470 miles after leaving Paris this morning we arrived at a nice hotel in downtown Stuttgart.  It was great to shower off and get flat after being on the move all day.  Alas, tomorrow an even longer day awaited us...

... some 550 miles farther southeast to Pula, Croatia.  With no guarantees that we would actually make it there in one day.

TO BE CONTINUED...

 

BACKGROUND & CONTEXT

HAIKU, Maui, Sep 27, 2011 - To understand the full context of this extraordinary journey, a new reader needs to check out and contemplate the following revelations that came to be about Constantine, the first Roman Emperor to embrace Christianity and help codify it (see Nicene Creed) into a religion that we still know it today, 1700 years later.  The first revelation occurred in late June of this year, at the time of the 40th anniversary of my first wife's death (Betty, who I later intuited was also my first wife Minervina in the Constantine lifetime).

Through a combination of my own intuitions, and that of my Masters-Teachers and other important figures in Constantine's lifetime who are incarnated today, I pieced together this fascinating mosaic of stories (published at my arts and spirituality web site - www.altzar.org ):

• Constantine and I (June 28)

• Constantine: First Christian to Rule with Sword (July 31)

• Constantine: Trail of Tears (Aug 9)

• Constantine Closure: Trail of Joy to Follow Trail of Tears (Aug 12)