I decided to go to Trier, Germany today. It’s about an hour away by train. When I got there, I could feel the linguistic gears in my head grinding as I tried to switch from French to German. I was pleasantly surprised that I could communicate rather well considering that my knowledge of German was limited to reading.

Without knowing where I was going, I found the Porta Nigra:

From there, I wanted to find Marx’s birth house. It wasn’t that easy, partly because there are not many signs directing you to it, and partly because ironically enough, Trier is now a giant open air mall. Fittingly, even the Marx Haus sells trinkets, including this must have:

Notice how the price plaque (aka capitalism) has risen above Marx, who is doing his best Napoleon impersonation. As you might imagine, there are many stores that trade on the Marx name. What was totally unexpected, by me at any rate, was the number of men who took Marx’s hairdo as their model coiffure. You’d think there was a Marx look-alike contest going on.

I saw this shop and assumed that it was either some kind of philosophy shop going out of business or the cosmetics company of the same name going in:

I was wrong on both counts. It’s a gadget kind of store. I’m not really sure how to describe it. Take a look for your self.

And now for the obligatory Arizona photo:

I’ll conclude with another Domino photograph, albeit a bit more ominous than the previous ones. From a distance, it looks innocent enough:

But then you get close enough to read the motto above the clock:

I’ll leave you with that thought while I go prepare for my classes tomorrow.