Another day and another Christmas Market or two! Today we had docked in Koblenz, best known along the Rhine as a shopping destination. The Christmas market was centered around the Church (big surprise there) and had similar stalls as we had seen in other locations.
The Cat Woman of KoblenzMichael & TiyemeThe Peter Altmeier Monument Old and New joined with artworkJaneen under the wisteriaTrebor has her personal transportDrummer StatueTrebor wants to play along
It was a lovely day and a short walking tour took us into town to discover quaint old-world shops as well as a modern shopping center.
Our time in Koblenz was short as we had to be back on the ship for an afternoon sailing with commentary about the various castles and sites we saw as we travelled along. UniWorld has a separate sailing called “Castles along the Rhine” and it was clear during our afternoon sailing why this was the case.
Pfalzgrafenstein Castle is a toll castle situated on Falkenau island in the Rhine River, adjacent to Kaub, Germany. Also known as “the Pfalz”, Pfalzgrafenstein Castle has never been destroyed since being established in 1326/27. The area is part of the Rhine Gorge and we sailed right past this. Such castles were usually placed at strategic locations and were manned by armed guards.
At one point, Jason said “Did you know there are more castles in Germany then MacDonald’s in the USA?” I was not convinced and of course had to ‘google’ it and yup, once again he was correct.
Ryan MichaelChris
There are 25,000 castles in Germany and 13,562 MacDonalds! However, France has almost double the castles as Germany with 45,000!
Once we docked in Rudesheim we ventured off the shop to visit one more Christmas Market returning for a late evening dinner.
A special desert showing all our ports of call!
Danna, Debra, Sara, Bill, Jason, Chris, Ryan, Tiyeme, Michael
Sara, Terri, Theresa, Beth, Emma
MaryAnn, Trebor, David, Katie, Janeen
We had a lovely group of people for the entire adventure!
The magic of our first day at the Christmas Market continued the following day with a more detailed adventure into Cologne. Along the way, we saw these really interesting buildings along the riverfront – The Kranhaus (“crane house”) three 17-story buildings, collectively Kranhäuser.
Their shape, an upside-down “L”, is reminiscent of the harbor cranes that were used to load cargo to and from ships, two of which were left standing as monuments when the harbor was redesigned as a residential and commercial quarter in the early 2000s. Not sure I would want to live in one of these but they were certainly eye catching.
When the clock strikes the hour, the head sticks out its tongue!
Further along, the markets beckoned and time was awasting…so walking tours and other excursions could wait for another day.
Did I mention glühwein? The hunt was on as there were 5 different Christmas Markets in Cologne and members of our group were determined to try and get to all of them and pick up a glass (I honestly don’t know if anyone was successful or not…).
Not only were there market stalls to visit but shops too!
Theresa and her wineTerri and TheresaMary Ann and DebraTiyeme and EmmaEmmaTiyeme, Theresa, EmmaJaneen & DavidTiyeme & Theresa
The return to the ship brought about the Captains Welcome Party where we got to meet the crew and enjoy a beverage before dinner.
Fröhliche Weihnachten! (German for Merry Christmas). Nothing beats being home with your family for the holidays, but strolling through European Christmas markets is pretty close. Something like 18 months ago, I booked our entire family on a UniWorld Christmas Market River Cruise along the Rhine River. Our adventure started in Cologne Germany and ended in Basel Switzerland. Our family of 8 (both sons and spouses and our two granddaughters) were joined with an additional 11 people from our extended Framily (Friends who you choose to be part of your Family) for this adventure.
Our Transport! A bit big for our needs but did the job for sure.Theresa is ready to go!
Jason had arranged a bus to take the group from his house in Mainz to Cologne, so on the morning of the first day we loaded aboard and headed to the Ship!
Our ship was ready for us with lots of lovely decorations.
In the 14th century, the custom arose of allowing craftsmen such as toy makers, basket weavers and confectioners to set up stalls under the name “Saint Nicholas market” to sell the little things that children received as Christmas gifts. There were also stands selling roasted chestnuts, nuts and almonds. A Saint Nicholas market in Munich was first mentioned in a document in 1310. In 1384, King Wenceslas granted the town of Bautzen the right to hold a free meat market on Saturdays from St. Michael’s Day (29 September) until Christmas.
Over time, the tradition of Christmas Markets spread throughout the German-speaking world. The first document reporting a Christmas market is dated 1434 during the reign of Frederick II of Saxony, mentioning a Striezelmarkt, which took place in Dresden on the Monday before Christmas. Later, the Reformation continued the tradition by renaming it Christkindlmarkt (“Christ Child market”) to combat the cult of saints. The Strasbourg Christmas market dates from 1570, that of Nuremberg from 1628.
Since around the first half of the 20th century, markets have become an integral element of pre-Christmas customs. A revival took place in the mid-1990s. Many cities in Europe have established their own Christmas market with chalets and sometimes attractions (ephemeral ice rink, Ferris wheel, etc.), thus offering a more commercial market.
Our home, transport and dining facility was the S.S. Antoinette – a 443 foot ship, part of the UniWorld River Cruise fleet. With elegant decorations, including a beautiful chandelier that once hung in New York’s Famous Tavern on the Green, the S.S. Antoinette was a wonderful home for our week of adventure along the Rhine River.
A gingerbread village was on display in the main lobby of the Ship.
Once on board, and settled into our cabins, we went ashore for a walking tour of the City and had our first visit to the Cologne Christmas Market. Along the way, to the Market, we were treated to some local history sweet treats and got some perspective of how the city started and how it has survived for so many years.
Our first walking tour bus ride
When it comes to traditional holiday markets, Germany leads the way in decorations, baked goods, and grand festivities that range from live concerts and ice-skating rinks to the crowning of the Christmas angel. Of course, the shopping is half the fun the other half being all the sweet glühwein (mulled wine – white or red) we had to taste in each and every market as special commemorative cups were provided!
Our walking tour took us through a variety of places to see and experience Cologne. Not sure my youngest granddaughter on Jasons shoulders, was really into the experience yet
Cologne Cathedral is the city’s most photographed landmark, most visited site and biggest draw, so it only seems natural that it would also be home to one of the city’s most beautiful markets. Located on Roncalliplatz (Roncalli square) directly next to the cathedral, the market includes a stage with live entertainment and sits beneath a canopy of fairy lights.
The Cologne Cathedral dates from the late 1200’s but of course took several hundred years to complete
The markets are made up of small stalls – each with its own specialty – some with finely crafted items – Nativity scenes, olive wood spoons and bowls or hand- crafted ornaments, scarves and other warm clothing. Crafter stalls also displayed an abundance of small wooden figures and toys.
Of course, there are scarfs, slippers and lots and lots of other things to view and enjoy. Almost at each end of every row of stalls was a stall selling mulled wines – glühwein and small plates of fried foods. It seems each Christmas Market has a different design for the glühwein mug, so you could really get smashed collecting all of them (ok, it is possible to buy the mug without the glühwein, but what’s the fun in that?).
My granddaughter became an expert at cracking nutsTerri and Theresa enjoying a beverage in the loungeTheresa had dressed for the occasion
Once back to the ship, we had dinner as a group and relaxed. Several of our party went back into the Market to enjoy the market with all the lights. This was our first port of call, we several more to visit and more Christmas Markets to enjoy.
A year ago, I knew absolutely nothing about a painter called Caravaggio. He lived a brief life, but had a huge impact. He was born in September 1571 and died in July 1610 but during those few years he had a major impact on the artworld. His paintings have been characterized by art critics as combining a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, which had a formative influence on Baroque painting.
Thanks to Elaine and her presentations, Art History Encounters, Janeen and I signed on for the adventure of “walking in the footsteps of Michelangelo and Caravaggio”. This started in Florence and ended in Rome and combined a whole lot of walking with learning about these two artists.
Elizabeth Namack Ross King and Elaine Ruffolo
Elaine was accompanied by Ross King – both recognized Renaissance Art Historians well versed in both Michelangelo and Caravaggio. We started in Florence with a focus on early Michelangelo and then moved to Rome where we transitioned more towards Caravaggio (still with a bit of Michelangelo of course) and visited a variety of museums with fantastic collections.
On our final day, our visit to the Galleria Borghese and Doria Pamphilij was truly a treat. Works by Michelangelo and Caravaggio of course but also Bernini, Titian, Raphael and many others.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini – Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius.jpgBernini – Apollo and Daphne.
Bernini – David a couple of shots. A very dynamic sculpture for sure
When you first walk into the Galleria Borghese, there is fantastic art at every turn. Look one way and you see paintings by Titian, look another way and see loads of sculptures by Bernini, walk down any corridor and there are significant works of art all over the walls. It is almost impossible to pick out highlights – there are just so many of them to highlight. A few are represented in the various pictures in this blog.
A few Caravaggio paintings First row: David with the head of Goliath, Madonna of the Grooms and Saint John the Baptist; Bottom – Self portrait as Bacchus (sick Bacchus) and Saint John the Baptist
In addition to the massive number of paintings, there are multiple sculptures by Bernini – many situated in the specific room they were designated to be when created. I can certainly see that I have to get back to the Borghese to walk through another time just to see all the items I missed!
Top: Diego Velázquez, Portrait of Innocent X, Filippo Lippi, Annunciation (c. 1445–1450) and Raffalello – Deposition. Bottom Titian, Salome (c. 1515) and Venus Victrix – Antonio Canova(modeled by Napoleon’s naughty sister)
Our final stop of the journey was to the Doria Pamphilij. This very large private art collection housed in the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj and contains a large collection of paintings, furniture and statuary that had been assembled since the 16th century by the Doria, Pamphilj, Landi and Aldobrandini families now united through marriage and descent under the simplified surname Doria Pamphilj.
Beautiful views everywhere you look!
Caravaggio – Penitent Magdalene. The painting portrays a repentant Mary Magdalene bowed in penitent sorrow as she leaves behind her dissolute life, its trappings abandoned beside her. At the time of its completion, ca. 1594–1595, the painting was unconventional for its contemporary realism and departure from traditional Magdalene iconography.. This is at Doria Pamphilj Gallery in Rome and is One of David’s favorite painting
The Palazzo has grown over the centuries; it is likely to be the largest in Rome still in private ownership. The main collection is displayed in state rooms, including the chapel, complete with the mummified corpse of the family saint. However, the bulk is displayed in a series of four gilded and painted galleries surrounding a courtyard.
After touring the various galleries, we had a private dinner in one of the grand salons. It was truly a remarkable place to end of our tour with Elaine and Ross.
Elizabeth and David, David, Ross and Janeen and Elaine with her “Happy Face”
Over the course of the last 8 days or so, we have seen a whole range of works of art that we continue to discuss and review. I have lost count of the number of things Michelangelo did – sculptures, paintings, architecture but I (David) have to say the Laurentian Library in Florence was a major highlight. The difference between Michelangelo and Caravaggio is vast – but they both had a profound impact in their day. I cannot even begin to say which things we saw were our favorites – there was so much to absorb and enjoy.
A special thank you to Elaine Ruffolo and Ross King for putting this together and to Elizabeth Namack and Jennifer Hagg for all the coordination and efforts and guidance both before, during and after our tours.
Join Elaine each week when she does presentations on Sunday. Go to her website for more information.: https://www.elaineruffolo.com. And to learn more about more about Ross and all his great books, go to https://www.rosskingbooks.com
After Rome, we go to Germany, to connect with our family and friends to start a River Boat Christmas Market Cruise on the Rhine River starting in Cologne Germany stopping in France and ending in Basel Switzerland! Lots more to come, so keep connected and leave a comment!
