Much of my doctoral dissertation was written on this subject - not something many travel company directors can claim, perhaps… I’ve always loved this period, when the well-known machinery of the early Roman Empire and its great armies take over Europe, and the hitherto unknown names of the prehistoric societies and their leaders enter the history books. It is the period of overlap between history and archaeology and the best time to enjoy both of them as subjects.
The landscapes and countryside of Germany are fabulous, and for those who have never visited, come as a great surprise. The volcanic hills of the Eifel south of Aachen, the dramatic and majestic sweep of water which divides Europe – the river Rhine, the wild and forested uplands of the Taunus, through which the Roman frontier ran, and the gentler, vineclad hillsides of the Moselle. Our tour really does them all justice.
The largest army in the Roman Empire was at one time amassed along the Rhine-Danube frontier, waiting to march into “Germania Libera – free Germany” and make it part of the Empire, enforcing on it the “pax Romana”, the Roman Peace.
It is a wildly exciting story, well documented by ancient authors and with lots of fascinating evidence for adult archaeo-sleuths. We go deep into the excavations under Cologne cathedral; visit a Roman villa for which a modern motorway was diverted; explore the badlands of the “Limes” which is the largest man-made structure Europe has ever seen, where hapless soldiers from all over the Empire had to patrol the still isolated Teutonic forests described by Tacitus as “bristling”.
We stay some time in lovely Trier, adopted by the Emperor Constantine and turned into an extraordinary Imperial showcase. We finish in Aachen, with a sort of 9th century retrospective, where Charlemagne tried to emulate the glory of former days and resurrect the “Holy Roman Empire”.
Guest comments from this tour in 2009:
"The Guide lecturer gave us a great deal of information. He made it all come alive. The occasional surprise- like the Roman style dinner in Trier were most enjoyable."
"Good hotels in heart of cities so easy to explore on foot."
"The variety of things which we did- visiting Roman sites, museums, cruising down the Rhein, the different towns visited."
"The helpfulness and expertise of the Andante staff, especially Alan French
's willingness to answer all questions. My impressions of Germany, from previous business trips, has changed in a positive way- so much that I would like to go again - especially to Trier and Mainz"
Follow this link to details of our tour in 2010.
