River cruising to Bavaria’s Christmas markets

From Frankfurt to Nuremberg, we sailed along Germany’s Main River on Uniworld’s River Queen, hugging the banks of dozens and dozens of medieval towns along the way.  River cruising is magical; the ships are small and intimate, conducive to socializing and making new friends.  The most rewarding attribute, though, is that these small luxury ships dock in the HEART of medieval cities … no tendering, no docking in gritty ports.  The towns are straight out of fairy tales with their half-timbered houses and cobblestoned streets.

I’m not even off the ship when I’ve begun planning next year’s Christmas markets river cruise.  Let’s all go together!

Soon, I will be in Rio to meet my new granddaughter. The weather is lovely there right now … hot, but not the sweltering 100 degree-plus that Rio is known for in January and February. This is the view from Corcovado mountain where the statue of Christ the Redeemer stands facing the sea.

what is Dutch cuisine?

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Amsterdam, food, hodge-podge, snert

Someone – today – took exception to an award-winning article I wrote on Dutch food a full year ago!  Yes, although I ate hodge-podge and snert  in Amsterdam restaurants, although I spoke to waitstaff and management about hodge-podge and snert, the commenter accused the Dutch of ripping off Belgian food, in effect, demeaning Dutch food as not much of anything.  Read the story from last October and let me know what YOU think!  Thank you ….. Donna

http://www.neverstoptraveling.com/amsterdam-its-all-about-the-food

 

Rio

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Facetime, Rio de Janeiro, Skype

My new granddaughter arrived four weeks before she was expected; she was born in Rio de Janeiro on October 17, 2013, beautiful because she is healthy.  I will hold her in my arms as we look out – together – over the sea and the mountains that hug the shore.  It’s sad that I have to leave my two precious, cherished grandchildren HERE to hold my new precious, cherished grandchild there.  Thank goodness for Facetime and Skype!

I’ve changed my Dulles/Rio ticket to a new departure date.  It’s getting very warm in Rio, now, and I’ll be going from sweaters to sun dresses. 

Lebkuchen and Gluhwein

• It will snow in January and February in Germany but what you will not find in abundance is Lebkuchen and Gluhwein …. for those, you do need Christmas markets.

Horse-and-carriage, Nuremberg

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Christkindlmarkt, Christmas market, gluhwein, Nuremberg, Nuremberg sausage

Day 1 of my 2012 Uniworld river cruise … snowflakes danced among the streets and square of Nuremberg’s Altstadt … spent all day at the well-known Christmas market there, sipping hot gluhwein and nibbling on the city’s famous finger sausages. I’ll be back again in December, 2013 … Christmas markets are my annual tradition.