Ending a Christmas Story...in April!

Salzburg Market

Spending too much time on social networking sites can be an impediment to actual communication.  I realized this when I looked over my blog and was startled to find I left our Christmas trip down the Danube dangling unfinished more than four months after finishing the trip itself.  Too much Facebook time!  Back to work.    

One of the Salzburg markets

Salzburg castle

Our "Christmas Markets Along the Danube" river cruise was our first cruise as well as our first organized tour of any sort.  Grand Circle Tours was the tour company, and we had heard good things about them from family and friends who had taken their cruises and land excursions in many different parts of the world.  Our itinerary was Nurnberg to Vienna on the MS River Concerto in early December 2010, and we added a 4 day pre-trip in Munich so we could see more of Germany and allow a little time to deal with jet-lag.  It also gave us the chance to become acquainted with our program director, Jutta, and several of our fellow travelers.   

The Abbey at Melk

Weather presented us with some challenges, even before we arrived in Germany.  Flights were delayed or rescheduled and we were beginning to wonder about the wisdom of trying to travel to Europe in the winter.  Once we arrived in Munich and Jutta took charge, we put our worries behind us.  The Munich part of our trip went perfectly, and the optional trip to Neuschwanstein was everything we had hoped for.  My wife and I have since agreed the brief time we spent that day in Oberammergau, walking the quiet streets and the rustic Christkindlmarkt, was the high point of the entire trip for us. 

Linz Christmas Market

As we came closer to joining the ship for the actual cruise, it became clear that our trip was not progressing according to the original plan.  The early rains and lots of snow continued to cause the river to rise, making it impossible for the Concerto to reach Nurnberg.  Jutta was in constant contact with the ship, and even though there were many changes in our itinerary to cope with weather related problems, we didn't miss anything which had been planned.  More time was spent on buses than we liked, but we also found we were seeing more of the German towns and countryside than if we had simply sailed down the river. 

Metal ornaments - only in Linz.

Once aboard the Concerto, we quickly fell into a routine and the Captain and crew took extremely good care of us, welcoming us back from each shore excursion with warm cider and hot towels.  The Chef and kitchen staff outdid themselves and I wondered if I would ever be hungry again.  Our trip down the Danube through Austria went smoothly.  Linz and Melk slipped past much too quickly and we found ourselves wishing we had signed up for the Vienna post-trip extension.

Last stop - Vienna

Very little of our trip wasn't affected by the weather.  Many plans were changed, adjustments made, times altered.  All without sacrificing any part of the trip.  As we left the ship in the early morning hours to go to the Vienna Airport, we kept chuckling to ourselves as we remembered Jutta’s oft repeated words…”Anyone can take a Christmas trip, you get to have a Christmas Adventure!”  

Vienna market

The Wiener Rathaus

So now the question is raised, should we take another organized cruise/trip?  Or do as we did before and strike out on our own?  Mike and I discussed this as the cruise was winding down, and we both agreed it was very nice having someone else doing the planning and handling the logistics, especially when plans have to be altered because of weather, etc.  But it would be nice to have more flexibility to allow for more time when a really interesting town is discovered, or a special museum is missed because it isn't open until the next day.  Or just really not feeling like doing much of anything except rest for a day to recuperate.  No decisions yet, but I'm looking at a GCT tour of Tuscany and the Amalfi coast which sounds really interesting.  But then I've always wanted to spend a couple of weeks in the north of Spain wandering along the old pilgrims' path to Santiago.  Decisions...decisions.

Christmas Marketing

Up early (becoming a common event), we checked out of the hotel, and were soon on the road to Rothenberg an der Tauber. Rothenberg is a extremely well preserved medieval walled city, and the weather cooperated for once with a beautiful sunny day and temperatures not too far below freezing. The Christmas market was quaint and low-key with many wonderful stands with wurst & gluhwein, but the focus for many of our group was a maze-like shop which was the headquarters of Kathe Wolfahrt. This crafty venue offered all manner of Christmas paraphernalia, as well as cuckoo clocks and other Bavarian souvenirs. Those of us who become claustrophobic in small, craft-filled spaces quickly left this shop for the open air market and the promise of more gluhwein to settle our nerves!
As with so many of the markets, eating was a simple matter of pointing at what you wanted and the vendors were only too happy to provide. An unending supply of wurst with crusty rolls and the local mustard, either spicy or sweet, made for a quick and easy meal. Local biers served to wash down these tasty treats, and warm gluhwein - red or white - allowed shoppers to warm up inside and out. Sweets were available at many of the stands, and in Rothenberg we found some crunchy waffles with cinnamon and powdered sugar.


 Like many medieval villages, Rothenberg has a number of towers, and a few members of our group decided to climb one located in the downtown area. Over 230 steps took them to the top of the tower, with the last 10 being up a very narrow ladder. After catching their breath, the process was repeated on the way down. By the time Jose & Bill got back on terra firma, their enthusiasm had definitely waned and they were glad to enjoy the offerings of the market.

Back on the bus, we found we had progressed to Alternate Plan “C”. Instead of moving to Nurnberg and spending the night there, the boat had moved to the town of Deggendorf, and we were to meet it there. If the water level dropped enough, the ship would move on up the river to Nurnberg and we could start our official cruise from there. Traveling down the autobahn towards Deggendorf, the snow continued and driving conditions worsened. Arriving, we realized that we were not at the end of our journey. With so many ships stopped on the Danube because of the high water, dockage was scarce, and our ship was tied up at a landing with no dock which was 500 meters across an icy field from where the buses stopped. A few had the foresight to put a flashlight where it could be reached and we started off, slipping and sliding across the field to our boat. When we drew closer, we found the reason we were asked to walk to the ship…the first bus arriving with passengers from the Nurnberg airport had tried to drive to the ship and had sunk to the axles after breaking through the icy crust covering the muddy field. Noses were numb by the time we arrived and, thankfully, we were greeted by the staff with hot towels and hot cider.