Christmas markets river cruises 2023 infos and tips

[iticlaudia]

6 hours ago, steamboats said:

@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 

What a mess.  I'll be sure to pack my boots for tomorrow since I'll be doing lots of walking between stores.  

The weather for the next week looks like a mix of rain and snow hopefully that doesn't create too much flooding for the rivers.  

[notamermaid]

@iticlaudia Have a good trip. I much enjoyed the café at the Stephansdom. Glad to see it is still there in all its opulence: https://greindl-passau.de/pages/cafe-stephans-dom

Wonder if it is still as good.

 

Anyway, boots are a good idea for all that walking and shopping. Hope you find some nice presents.

 

notamermaid

 

[steamboats]

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 

[iticlaudia]

1 hour ago, steamboats said:

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 

I was driving to the airport when crew scheduling called me and told me our flight to MUC is delayed 5+ hours.  Right now, it shows us landing in MUC at 1pm.  I have doubts we will even depart tonight and that it might get delayed until tomorrow morning landing tomorrow night.  

Can't remember such a mess in Germany ever and I've been flying it for over 20 years.  

[steamboats]

@iticlaudia at least the airport website is showing arriving flights past noon.

 

I had an appointment yesterday afternoon and ended up walking almost 10 km. Although we had massive snow back in March 2006 (even a bit more than this time) I don´t remember such a mess. Back in 2006 public transportation was down for 3 days. They say it´s because back then the snow melted quickly but now we´re in deep freeze...

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

That is sportive.

5 hours ago, steamboats said:

I had an appointment yesterday afternoon and ended up walking almost 10 km.

I do not think I could have handled that... Sorry to read about the upheavals to your plans. I suppose getting out of Munich is the trouble. Once you are close to the Main valley things get easier. Our snow has gone from anywhere below 200m altitude really, so we have much better conditions. Mind you, the ice was tricky this morning. The rain has turned my valley into a "grey matter", not sure where the colours have gone.

 

I am getting a tad worried about the water levels. As we can see a bit further into the future with a huge computer on the Rhine, by that I mean better than for the Danube, I can say that problems may occur from around the 10th. For the Danube it is difficult to tell but if your conditions stay frozen than of course the snow will stay and not fill the rivers with rain. I hope the thaw will be slow.

 

Take care.

 

notamermaid

 

[iticlaudia]

6 hours ago, steamboats said:

@iticlaudia at least the airport website is showing arriving flights past noon.

 

I had an appointment yesterday afternoon and ended up walking almost 10 km. Although we had massive snow back in March 2006 (even a bit more than this time) I don´t remember such a mess. Back in 2006 public transportation was down for 3 days. They say it´s because back then the snow melted quickly but now we´re in deep freeze...

 

steamboats

We ended up cancelling. I'm sure my company which is American Airlines didn't want another crew and aircraft stuck in MUC since we already have two crews and aircraft stuck over there.  Lufthansa also operates a CLT-MUC flight that was delayed similar to us that also cancelled.  That kind of surprises me since MUC is a LH hub and I would think that LH wouldn't want two aircraft in CLT with crews.  All that kind of stuff costs the airlines a lot of money.  

What's really surprising to me is hearing what going on at the MUC airport from co-workers.  Yes, it's cold and there has been a lot of snow and ice but winter airport operations should be able to handle most of that after a day to reset.  Deicing seems to be a complete mess which might be due to poor planning and or lack of deicing liquids.  We had an aircraft that diverted to FRA on Saturday morning.  To take care of the diverted passenger and get other passengers out of MUC the company did something super rare which is to operate a flight from FRA to MUC and then to JFK because the crew wouldn't be legal to make it to CLT.   Once in MUC they couldn't get deiced.  Eventually they were number 30 for deicing and it was pushing the legalities of the crew, the agents were crying, passengers upset, and everyone was exhausted.  They finally departed past midnight only because the crew extended to the max duty hours.  

Hopefully things will clear up after today and maybe the airport will learn a lesson.  We had something similar happen in CLT several years ago and it almost caused a terrible event.  There were investigations and new rules were put in place for deicing and winter operations.  It's tough when an airport only gets big winter weather events every 10-20 years.  

Now I just need to figure out how to get us on a flight to Germany on Thursday or Friday then on a train to Passau to enjoy our cruise for my dad's 80th.  The cruise leaves on Monday but we wanted to spend a bit of time in Passau to get some rest first.  The weather looks to be very wet and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that water levels won't be so extreme that it will disrupt our cruise.  It's just a short cruise from Passau to Vienna.  Travel is always an adventure!  🙂

Edited December 5, 2023 by iticlaudia

[steamboats]

@iticlaudia yes, I heard that there have been delays at the deicing station. I have a friend whose flight was cancelled at the gate because the aircraft was too cold for deicing!!! My DH is now in the train to FRA for his cancelled flight (which would have been in the afternoon after todays closure). Pretty crazy! Usually MUC is very organized and a smooth airport (FRA is much worse). I just heard that they had the amount of snow they usually have for the whole winter in just a day.

 

We didn´t have any ice rain at my home although we´re in the North of Munich. But colleques more North and more East had it. So the airport might have been hit too.

 

All the best for Thursday/Friday! DH has to fly back from Italy on Thursday.

 

steamboats

[steamboats]

Another obstacle in traveling Germany - the train engineers are going on strike tonight at 10 pm til Friday 10 pm. But at least that´s the last strike for the rest of the year.

 

steamboats

[Canal archive]

Sounds like there in cahoots with our lot!

[notamermaid]

On 12/7/2023 at 7:22 AM, steamboats said:

Another obstacle in traveling Germany - the train engineers are going on strike tonight at 10 pm til Friday 10 pm. But at least that´s the last strike for the rest of the year.

 

steamboats

Brilliant, just brilliant...

 

The thaw is here and we are facing flooding on the Rhine. Inevitable it is, we just do not know yet how bad it is going to get.. A river traffic ban could be anything between four hours and four days. The Isar should rise a bit more slowly but I read that your temperatures will also rise well above zero. It is not clear yet how bad the impact on the Danube will be.

 

I fear this will be an abysmal week for river cruisers trying to enjoy the markets in Germany.

 

notamermaid

 

[SnowshoeCat]

Despite losing the last couple of days to a bus ride, I feel as if I were really fortunate on my trip. Rather than stay in Regensburg on the last night, we were put up in a Munich airport hotel. That allowed me to switch to an earlier flight with a better stateside connection. My flights went smoothly. The flight I originally booked was 2 hours late and I would have missed my connection. Then the snows came, then the engineer's strike... I think I used up a year's worth of luck in one week. I am truly sorry for those who are dealing with all these issues, both travelers and travel employees.

[steamboats]

BTW we made it to Regensburg yesterday with beautiful cold, but sunny weather. A total of 6 river cruise ships was there but I didn´t walk all the way back to take photos. I saw an AMA and an Emerald ship in the front row. Uniworld and Amadeus were there too.

 

I strolled the markets (Lukrezia market with two areas and the main market at Neupfarrkirche). I had my sausages at Wurstkuchl but didn´t have the time to get a Glühwein there (it might have been the best as it was made with Stahl Wein from Franconia - I ordered wine from them before). Instead I had a Glühwein at the train station which at least wasn´t that sweet.

 

We decided to take a late afternoon train not to get into that strike mess.

 

steamboats

[AnhaltER1960]

On 12/8/2023 at 11:51 AM, notamermaid said:

I fear this will be an abysmal week for river cruisers trying to enjoy the markets in Germany.

 

notamermaid

 

I cannot comment on Rhine, Moselle, Main or Danube. However, on the Elbe "abysmal" translates to "near perfect". Well filled river, neither too much water nor not enough. Christmas markets are alive with wintery, chilly weather, but nothing unusual for this time of year.

[notamermaid]

3 hours ago, AnhaltER1960 said:

Well filled river, neither too much water nor not enough. Christmas markets are alive with wintery, chilly weather, but nothing unusual for this time of year.

That is good to read. Yes, your weather ans river conditions over there have been favourable. I hope you have been enjoying the season so far. Do you eat Dresdner Stollen? There are those people who prefer marzipan and candied orange peel, or just the marzipan, or neither. I find that last version a bit boring.

 

notamermaid

 

[steamboats]

I just added another Christmas market to my list... another river... Moselle river... I´m currently in Trier for business purposes. Very nice one! Especially the atmosphere around the cathedral and the market square are very nice.

 

steamboats

[Canal archive]

Not a bad place for a business trip!

[notamermaid]

4 hours ago, steamboats said:

I just added another Christmas market to my list... another river... Moselle river... I´m currently in Trier for business purposes. Very nice one! Especially the atmosphere around the cathedral and the market square are very nice.

 

steamboats

Oh that is nice to read. I have thought for a long time that an overcrowded place like Cologne could be replaced by the smaller and quite frankly more atmospheric Trier market on an itinerary. Both very old towns but quite different from each other. Metz (France) extension, then Trier and down the Moselle to Koblenz, then through the Gorge and onto the Main to end in Frankfurt would be my Advent short river cruise of choice. Unless I could do one just on the Main.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Let us have a look at Metz and Trier Christmas markets:

https://www.tourisme-metz.com/en/discover-metz-metropole/christmas-inspirations

https://www.trierer-weihnachtsmarkt.de/en/

 

notamermaid

 

[AnhaltER1960]

On 12/9/2023 at 11:59 PM, notamermaid said:

Do you eat Dresdner Stollen? There are those people who prefer marzipan and candied orange peel, or just the marzipan, or neither. I find that last version a bit boring.

 

notamermaid

 

Adding marzipan and also raisins give moisture to the Stollen. Trying without is risky, as the Stollen can become dry or as you put it, "boring". A good and experienced baker can manage, but youre also at the mercy of the storage conditions. And, yes I do eat Stollen.

[Canal archive]

Stollen with Marzipan is my choice
 

[steamboats]

For those coming to Munich - At Christkindl Markt you will find a booth called "Stollen Franz" (near the Beck department store). They have any kind of Stollen you can´t even think of - including gluten free Stollen.

 

steamboats 

[notamermaid]

A very dear lady has just returned from the Lorraine region of France. She visited the Metz Christmas markets and says they are great. Nice shops in town, too. Would love to see the Cathedral lit up in winter. Cities of light Paris to Prague itinerary? I think there should be at least the option of going to the Cathedral of Light in Metz (my words), its nickname is "The Good Lord's Lantern" and I can truly say that it is fascinating in daylight, having been inside.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metz_Cathedral

 

notamermaid

 

 

[notamermaid]

Nuremberg is famous for its Lebkuchen but also for the angel that is the symbol of the Christkindlmarkt. There is the tradition in Germany of the Rauschgoldengel which originates in Nuremberg. I happened to stumble upon this explanation for it: https://germangirlinamerica.com/what-is-a-rauschgoldengel/

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

A little note for next year. From another thread we have learnt that Cochem Christmas market closed earlier than most, on 17th December. That is unusual and caused disappointment on a Viking river cruise. Do check if you are interested in particular ports to see what they offer next year before booking a river cruise if you can. Most dates are published early in the year, meaning that by March you will be able to see most of the dates being fixed and published, if not before. Some places are just a bit too small and cannot sustain a four to five week long market. Some are even just on weekends.

 

notamermaid