Ho Ho Ho... It's off to the Christmas Markets we go....

Monday, 9 December 2013

Return to Vienna

Yesterday we caught a high speed train from Nuremburg to Vienna as our next tour starts tomorrow. We did have a few problems locating our booked seats on the train but took heart in the fact that many Germans also had the same problem. We caught the U Bahn (underground) from the railway station to our hotel - the system here really puts the Sydney system to shame. Good clear announcements (even if they are in German) and the indicator boards in the carriage show the station name and the side to disembark.

Here are some images of the street lighting in the main centre of Vienna:

These are the images from the Rat Haus Christmas markets - what a difference between day and night :)

So glad we took these last night as it has rained all day today!

Nuremburg o our final destination on the cruise!

Nuremburg - our final destination on the cruise!

Our final destination on the cruise was Nuremburg. We travelled from Regensburg to Nuremburg via the Rhine Main Danube Canal which meant 10 locks within a 100 kms or so. The locks were quite narrow and we travelled this section overnight so not much to see but we did hear the bumping of the ship against the lock walls.

As we arrived early in Nuremberg we had the opportunity to visit the Christmas Markets in the morning before they were packed - they were the biggest Christmas markets we have visited to date.

In the afternoon we went on a tour of the old part of the city - more snow fell during the afternoon which curtailed the walking part of the tour. The view from the Nuremburg Castle is spectacular and it was great to hear that the old town walls were restored after WW2 as they provide a lovely historic backdrop for the old part of the town.

We were able to take some images of the Christmas street lighting in the town (well it was dark about 3 pm after all :))

A fantastic way to end the trip xxx

Regensberg - where the Herivels met snow!

Regensburg - where the Herivels met snow!

By the time we reached Regensburg the following day, the weather had deteriorated and we ran into snow shortly before we moored at Regensburg.

After a few minutes we had snow on the deck of our balcony:

We were late docking so fortunately the snow had stopped before we set off on foot for a walk around the old town.

The photo below is from the old stone bridge across the Danube and is looking back onto the old part of Regensburg (see how sunny it was 30 minutes after the snow stopped)

The rooftops were covered in snow - a typical winter image :)

We spent some time at the Christmas markets and returned to the ship for lunch - missing the next snow storm by only minutes.

In the afternoon we took an optional tour to the Thurn and Taxis Palace (see below) which was very opulent. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures inside as the family still live there. One of the features of the Palace was a Christmas Market that featured local handcrafts. Very lovely but expensive!

Passau

Our next port of call was Passau which is where three rivers: the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz. The old part of town is situated on a peninsula. We did a walking tour of the old town which was fantastic - lovely old building and church before we went to the Christmas Markets.

As you can see it was cold and foggy when we arrived - this was the first place where we felt the effects of the large storm that was wreaking havoc in Belgium, the Netherlands and Northern Germany.

During the walking tour, we visited St Stephan's Dom (church) which was magnificent inside:

and there was a fantastic advent wreath in the square next to the church.

Then off to the Christmas markets for the usual wander and because it was cold, a medicinal Gluhwein (mulled wine) was consumed :)

We also visited the Wood Market whch was being held on that day

We really enjoyed our time in Passau and would have loved more time to wander through the medieval old town

Thursday, 5 December 2013

Wachau Valley

After leaving Vienna we then cruised through the UNESCO World Heritage Wachau Valley. It was extremely colc with temperatures in the minus so it was with great trepidation that I rugged up and went out onto the open deck to take these photos!

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After lunch we stopped at Melk to look at the wonderful abbey!

Truly magnificent library and well worth the visit!

Vienna Christmas Markets

We spent a few hours at the Christmas Markets which are held in the park in front of the Rat Haus (Town Hall). There were a lot of stalls and I can't wait to return to Vienna so that we can see the markets at night especially as the trees contain decorations :)

Some of the stalls - look at all the pretty things :)