RIVER CRUISING
SWEET AND SAVOURY STANDOUTS
Thick and creamy hot chocolate at the Schönbrunn Palace Christmas Market in Vienna.
Fluffy Salzburger Nockerln at Salzburg’s Goldener Hirsch, a traditional soufflé topped with strawberry cream sauce.
Elisen-lebkuchen, spiced almond cookies with sprinkled sugar, in Nuremberg.
Dipping warm waffles into a 10ft-high chocolate fountain at the Chocolate Museum in Cologne.
Gingerbread at Café Simon’s in Passau.
glory days of the Third Reich. More importantly for the festive theme, Nuremberg is home to the gigantic Christkindlemarkt on Hauptmarkt Square in the town’s Old Quarter. If you’ve brought the kids along, head over to the Kinderweihnacht Markt to check out the old-fashioned carousel, Ferris wheel and steam train. A lovely Nativity scene trail also runs between the two markets and the best souvenirs are the ‘Nuremberg Plum People,’ tiny figures made from prunes. At Regensberg, also a UNESCO World Heritage site, the streets and squares of Germany’s best-preserved medieval city are filled with sparkling lights for the Christmas period. I especially loved the Palace of St Emmeram, where the Princes of Thurn and Taxis lived for almost 200 years after leaving Frankfurt in 1748. In 1816, the palace was converted to a magnificent residence that can be toured, should you wish to visit on your own. At this time of year, the palace courtyard morphs into a lovely Christmas market replete with cultural events. You can also visit the market located around the 500-year- old Neupfarr Church, where buyers can choose from a huge range of traditional Nativity scenes with carved figures. Another must-visit is Spitalgarden
Market overlooking the cathedral and Old Stone Bridge and, to appease your sweet tooth, you can stop in at the oldest pastry
Autumn 2013 I WORLD OF CRUISING 69
shop in Germany, Café Prinzess Confiserie on Rathausplatz. If you’re here on a Sunday evening, don’t miss the famous Christmas Concert of the Regensburger Domspatzen, or Boy’s Choir. The Passau Christkindlmarkt is set in the old historic town centre with St Stephen’s as its backdrop. Here, some 70 vendors sell holiday goods, including cribs and nativity scenes. A short concert on the world’s biggest cathedral organ takes place on Wednesdays and Saturdays at noon.
Pear strudel with marzipan sauce on the terrace at Fisherman’s Bastion in Budapest.
Grilled sausages at the Sausage Tavern (500 years old and touted as the world’s oldest sausage kitchen) near the Old Stone Bridge in Regensburg.
Best apple strudel in town at Schuhbeck’s Orlando Pâtisserie in Salzburg.
The Christmas bakery where holiday cakes and biscuits are made right before your eyes in Koblenz.
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