Xanten, Germany

A few weeks ago, some friends told me about a nearby city called Xanten which is a 40 minute drive northwest from our house.  We discovered that it is one of the oldest medieval towns, if not the oldest, in Germany.  The city still has part of the wall around it with a beautiful church and town square.  First,  we visited the Xanten Cathedral.  The Xanten Cathedral is the biggest cathedral between Koln and the North Sea.

Out in front of the church was a beautiful crucifixion scene made out of stone.  

It was a beautiful reminder during the Lenten season of Christ's sacrificial love for us.  

This old windmill was built right into the wall.

 This was my favorite house inside the city, just on the other side of the windmill.

Here is a picture of the kids with Charlie in the town square.  

It was a beautiful day and we were able to enjoy eating lunch at an outdoor cafe.

Xanten has one of the largest outdoor Archeological Museums with ancient Roman ruins that were just outside the walled city.  

We couldn't believe there were Roman ruins this far north in Europe.  

Here are some pictures of the colosseum.

 That is Jack (in the picture above) running through the middle pretending to be a gladiator.

 

The picture below is of one of the temples.  This one was called Harbor Temple.