We walked into the heart of the city from the boat – just a ten minute walk, – and strolled through the Christmas markets. These stalls stand in the shadow of the Gothic Marionkapelle, and seem as if they have been here forever.
In one of the market stalls I bought a set of little tealight candles in decorative shapes – golden angels, gold and red ribboned gift boxes, and santas.
After early lunch on board, we boarded a bus to drive to the very Christmassy town of Rothenburg, a fairy tale kind of town that is considered to be the best preserved medieval city in Europe. Narrow streets, perfectly presrved buildings and festive lights make this town one of the prettiest in Bavaria.
The Christmas Markets here are full of hand made goods – knitted scarves, hats and mittens, wooden figures, decorative stars for your Christmas rooms, and heavenly food. We sampled the struddle and marzipan, stollen and gingerbread, washed down with warm gluewein.
In Kathe W…..’s store, one of the lartest and most famous Christmas stores in Europe, I picked up silver and white hand painted ornaments for the tree.
We were back to the ship by six and joined friends fo dinner in the main dinning room – fresh oysters to start, then fillet and a tiramisu for dessert. The wines, all inclusive, are excellent and include good rieslings, sauvignon blancs and Chianti Classicos.
The day ended with laughs, as the crew performed a show made up of humorous skits and jokes.
Heidi, Editor-In-Chief
