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Great, Munich Airport is closed til noon tomorrow and DH's afternoon flight has been cancelled. This time it's ice rain which is announced during the night. So more problems for those wanting to fly via Munich tomorrow. steamboats

On day 4 we have reached Aldabra, Seychelles. This remote atoll has only a research station plus 150,000 giant turtoises. A mere 900 people are visiting this atoll per year. We were offered three different walk and opted for the backpath tour to see endemic birds and more. steamboats

Day 3 is a seaday from Mombasa to Aldabra. Nevertheless, a lot to do onboard! steamboats

@iticlaudia sorry, no recommendations for Passau from my side. I've never been in a hotel there. At least it stopped snowing. MUC is slowly resuming business. Trains and trams are still out of service but the first bus lines are running again (not on a regular business). So even no suburban train to go to the airport. It's -7 C but it looks like the WGs are kidding... The forecast for tomorrow shows a low of -13 and a high of 0 and rain!! So there might be some nice floodings when all this snow is melting quickly (plus icy roads). steamboats

Yes, some TA flights had been diverted to FRA today as they we're already airborne. It's still snowing but not as bad as before. But they said it should stop by 8 pm and it's 9:30 pm right now. We have app. 3.000 people stranded at MUC. They hope to be back to normal air traffic by Monday. But it all depends on the weather. This is the worst snowfall I remember. We had half a meter of snow on March 5th, 2006, within 24 hours. Took us 3 days back then to get back to normal. My DH is supposed to fly on Tuesday. steamboats

@iticlaudia currently nothing's going anymore in Munich. The airport is closed at least until tomorrow morning 6am. No trains, no Public transportation. We had heavy snowfall for more than 24 h. We have app. half a meter of snow. Maybe in Monday air traffic is back to normal. Trains may take a while too. Schwabing is all local artists (not all from Munich but also surroundings). Nutcrackers are more famous for the Erzgebirge. You may find some at the main market - Münchner Christkindlmarkt. There you find a lot of wood work especially nativity scene figures. So maybe also nutcrackers. steamboats

Day 2 is online - we finally board the SH Diana an leave Mombasa for the Seychelles. steamboats

Onboard language on AIDA is German. You won´t find any daily programs or announcements in any other language than German (except for safety announcements which are in English too). Of course the crew does speak English as this is the official crew language. Therefore there is no need for an English website. As Diddn stated the prices are all including any taxes & fees, so no 15% upcharge on anything. The drink packages are valid at all bars (except Champagne), the buffet restaurants, the included served restaurants but not the upcharge served restaurants. You can find more about the ship here (all photos of menus are from last year, so the prices may have changed). steamboats

Looks like I will be at the airport in two weeks... early in the morning... so no market for me either ;-). Regensburg is next week... I´ve been to the Münchner Christkindlmarkt two days ago - still very nice! If you love Stollen - there´s Stollen Franz next to the Beck department store. They even have a vegan and a gluten free stollen. At Karlsplatz/Stachus there´s the Eiszauber - they have an ice rink and a two story Glühwein area where you can watch the skaters. steamboats

Thanks all! There will be a short break until the weekend. I still have to work on further entries of the actual cruise. steamboats

First entry of the actual trip - a couple of photos of the pre cruise hotel which was included - unfortunately we had heavy rain so we weren´t really able to use the amenities of the hotel. steamboats

Todays entry ist featuring all details of a balcony cabin. steamboats

Part 2 covering the extra costs is online. This entry includes the bar menu although most beverages including cocktails are included. You can also order cocktails which are not on the menu with no extra cost as long as they are made with the included spirits. steamboats

We had the pleasure to be onboard Swan Hellenic´s new SH Diana from Mombasa to Maputo. Our port stops were Aldabra and Assumption Island (Outer Islands, Seychelles) and Nosy Be, Mahajanga, Morondava and Toliara in Madagascar. My photo intense review starts with the ship itself. It´s a deck by deck description. The text is in German but usually an automatic translation works pretty well. And there are still plenty of photos ;-). Enjoy! steamboats

Not Deutsche Bahn but the engineers´ union 😉 - and unfortunately yes! I have various trips planned for December... So far nothing about what day they are going on strike. steamboats

It snowed a litte more today... As the markets are closed today I took my chances and made it to four markets... Weihnachtsmarkt am Chinesischem Turm - still very nice for the atmosphere, but hardly any booths anymore just food Weihnachtsdorf in der Residenz - still very nice but yesterday night it was totally crowded, got my egg nog! Weihnachtszauber am Viktualienmarkt - more or less just the Christmas lights, two boths selling food and mulled wine plus a nativity scene - not worth going anymore Glühwein Festival - o.k. still 36 different mulled wines, some food, had a nice crepe with Nutella, banana and cocos flakes. Went there because I saw a friend is there (thanks to IG) so we met up while he was waiting for something he had bought (it had to be engraved) As the Tollwood Wintermarkt is close to my office I might give it a try this week. The Christkindl Markt does not open until tomorrow. It was nice but also pretty cold... the falling snow was adding some atmosphere as well. steamboats

We got some snow last night - maybe a centimeter ... steamboats

@Canal archive actually Glühwein is pretty simple. A good red wine and spices. Usually orange peel, gloves and cinnamon. That´s it. The most popular spice mix for Glühwein in Germany was "Glühfix" by Teekanne - those three spices in a teabag. Easy... Lot´s of recipes to make your own... other spices that can be added: cardamom, nutmeg, star anise, allspice, aniseed. Of couse you can add some rum to the wine or use white wine (White Bishop - weißer Bischoff). You can add a little orange juice as well. Or you can buy a ready made bottle and just heat it up 🤣. My favorite Christmas drink (2 glasses): 200 ml orange juice 200 ml apple juice 1 cinnamon piece 1 cm fresh ginger 3 pieces allspice 1 star anise 5 pieces gloves Gently heat it up (not boiling, just 80-90°C) for about 30 min. Add 5 cl Tanqueray Flor de Sevilla (or any other gin). steamboats

The first two markets in Munich opened up this week... The Glühwein Festival opened up on Thursday. O.k., that might be a bit off the beaten track (but walkable from my home). A bit easier to reach for most of you is the Christmas and Winter Market at Munich Airport which opened on Friday. They even have an ice skating rink. Next week we have: Tollwood Winterfestival opens Nov 23rd on Theresienwiese (Oktoberfest grounds). The Weihnachtsdorf in der Residenz (small, but one of my favorites - best egg nog, but first have a big bite at Mittelalter Markt as there´s a lot of rum involved!) also Nov 23rd. Weihnachtsmarkt am Chinesischen Turm also opens Nov 23rd (for the first time after the pandemic,last year there were construction works going on - also a must for me because of the nice surroundings). The main market - Münchner Christkindlmarkt opens Nov 27th. Also the Mittelalter Markt München opens Nov 27th (another of my favorites regarding food). The Schwabinger Weihnachtsmarkt still sticks with the traditional opening day (Friday before the first of Advent) and opens Dec 1st (my favorite for more than 40 years now). I think there are approximately 30 markets all over the city - way too many to list them all up on here. These are my favorites and the ones I usually visit (time depending). I hopefully will try out the Regensburger Christkindlmarkt (depending on Deutsche Bahn and whether they go on strike or not) which opens Nov 27th. @Canal archive your recipe reminded me to give my collegue a note to get me some hand made Elisenlebkuchen from Nuremberg. steamboats

Munich is the most efficent airport in Germany. They guarantee a connection time of 30 min (including baggage). You only have to go through passport control when you change from the international area to the Schengen area (which is one floor down). For connecting flights there is a separate passport control. And for short connections there might be a transport waiting for you to get you to the new gate and a separate passport control (you usually will be collected at the gate and go by van to the conncting flight). And even when you don´t catch your connection LH will automatically rebook you on the next flight to Rome. And there are more than one flights to Rome per day. So not really a need to worry. You might check which is the next connection to Rome. steamboats

As the sale to Miray was never closed another player came up and today Celestyal Cruises confirmed the purchase of the AIDAaura which will become the Celestyal Discovery next year after a major refurbishment over the winter. So Miray still has no ship for the world cruise of Life at Sea Cruises. The ship is already handed over and the flag has been changed to Malta. steamboats

Every two years a new young lady from Nuremberg is elected to become the Christkind. Today a new Christkind was elected and this young lady did win. steamboats

Although it rained yesterday and today it wasn´t really much rain. Most of it may have been absorbed by the extreme dry soil. So even this rain may only cause a temporary rise of the Danube river and not really much of a rise. steamboats

Yes, Nov 26th is "Sunday of the Death" which is a so called "quiet day". Therefore the Christmas markets are not allowed to open. No singing, no dancing, no other fun activities on that day to honor the death. steamboats

@Ladyshopper23 as your cruise started in Southampton you are only required to pay the Spanish VAT in Spanish ports (and within the 3 miles zone). Anyway, someone on the Epic said that they now don´t charge the Spanish VAT anymore on drinks when you do have the package. The information in the daily read "not for F&B packages". steamboats