-34 Days Left, Fun Holiday Facts & Solo Destinations

With only 34 days left until New Year’s, we are launching the Holiday Countdown with a daily fun/odd holiday fact and top solo travel destination. To avoid being “home alone for the holidays’, check in with us each day for ways and places to celebrate!

New Yr’s Minus 34 Days and Counting: Where can you celebrate the holidays by heaping dishes at your favorite next door neighbor?  In Denmark, those who have the most dishes broken on their doorstep are considered lucky indeed to be so popular! It seems strange but perhaps you have to be there to enjoy it!

Fun alternative to spending the holidays home alone: Book a Holiday Markets River Cruise to your choice of the Rhine or Danube for 8 days/7 nights.

Typical Christmas Markets Cruise, just one of many options:

NUREMBERG TO FRANKFURT

Day 1 | Nuremberg, Germany. Start at Nuremberg to join  your ship.

Day 2 | Nuremberg. See this picturesque medieval favorite of German emperors starting with the Kaiserburg Castle. This famous landmark was home to every emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. After a walking tour, you are off to your first visit to Germany’s oldest and largest Christmas Market. Save room for gingerbread and an array of treats.

Day 3 | Bamberg.  Next stop is Bamberg perched among seven hills like ancient Rome but with its fishing village known instead as “Little Venice”. Then you will move on to the Old Town and the Bamberg Cathedral. You will find lots of holiday cheer strolling past Nativity scenes and yes, of course, their Christmas Market. Save room for not exactly Christmas-y smoked beer!

Day 4 | Kitzingen (Rothenburg). Würzburg. As an exchange student in Germany, I remember Rothenburg well. It is one of Germany’s most fabled Middle Ages towns, well-preserved through the 21st century. Here you will find one of the most famous Christmas Markets in Germany.  Save time here for a tour of the toy museum dating back to the 17th-century and yes, if you like, sample the local brew!

Day 5 | Würzburg. From the Middle Ages, you will fast forward to the Baroque Era at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Würzburg Residenz. This 300-room palace built over the course of 6 decades has the largest ceiling fresco in the world by the Venetian artist Tiepolo plus a remarkable staircase. Next stop is, of course, the 200-year-old Christmas Market. Do save room for the coffee and cookies before you board the ship.
Day 6 | Wertheim. On a walking tour, you can gaze across the Main River to storied Bavaria with its unique architecture filled with picturesque domes and towers like the Spitzer Turm (Pointed Tower), a 13th century former prison. (It is said to have been “for drunkards and feuding women” which must have made for some lively exchanges! )Here you can see local artisans glassworks, and save room this time for local wines.

Day 7 | Frankfurt. For a real change of pace, you ship arrives in Frankfurt, the financial heart of modern-day Germany. Never fear, there are still ample opportunities for holiday purchases at Römerberg Square, Paulsplatz, and Mainkai Quay where 200 stalls await you offering local wares and more delicious samplings to eat and drink.

Day 8 | Frankfurt. Time to head home laden down with all your holiday purchases!

To see which Holiday Markets River Cruises still have space available, Follow this link!