Cosy taverns
We head for one of the numerous cosy taverns in town to get warm and opt for one of the renowned Rüdesheim coffees laced with locally distilled Asbach brandy and a big dollop of whipped cream.
A warm glow comes over me as I saviour it, with a warning from the ship’s engaging compère, Peter, ringing in my ears. “Those coffees are delicious, but have more than one and you’ll never find your way back to the ship!” he’d warned.
We stick to the one, which sets us up nicely for a spot of browsing among the stalls, where handcrafted figurines, tree decorations and tasteful music boxes grab our attention, before heading back for a sumptuous dinner and wine.
After a leisurely morning spent soaking up views of the magnificent Middle Rhine, said to be the most picturesque stretch of the river and a magnet for English landscape painter William Turner, among others, we disembark at the historic city of Koblenz.
Famous monuments and pretty churches abound in this much fought-after city, with the huge statue of Emperor William I dominating the landscape at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle rivers, and we forgo a visit to their Christmas markets to join a guided tour to soak up the history.
That night, we cruise to Bonn, the capital of West Germany until its reunification in 1990 and the birthplace of one of the greatest composers of all time, Ludwig van Beethoven.
After a pleasant stroll around the modern shops and markets, we stumble on what appears to be Beethoven’s rather modern former home and take selfies. We then realise to our embarrassment that his birthplace is, in fact, on the other side of the road, a building considerably older with ‘Beethoven-Haus’ plastered across it, and make a hasty exit.
The old master has the last laugh from that great gig in the sky. As we head back to the ship in the gathering gloom I slip on the icy paths, fall and break my mobile, losing all my pictures.
At least the holiday will live long in the memory.
Source link : https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/2023-10-15/a-stress-free-way-to-see-germanys-christmas-markets/82230
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Publish date : 2023-10-15 07:00:00
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