Tag: UniWorld – Christmas Market Cruise

While Janeen and I were going to Baden-Baden with the grandgirls, a large contingent of our group headed off to a vinegar tasting.  We had done this tasting some years ago and had urged our ‘group’ to experience this unique opportunity. So,  I reached out to Theresa Bodnar to write up something about their experiences…thus a ‘guest’ blogger.

Guten Tag!  It is truly an honor to be a guest blogger for loverofwine and to join David and Janeen and their family (my “framily” – ie, friends that become family) on this Christmas Market cruise with Uniworld along the Rhine River!  David has frequently entertained me with tales of all of his adventures with this cruise line that I’ve gotten to revisit by re-reading his historical blogs – – – so when he asked me to write about my delightful vinegar tasting experience, I couldn’t resist!

So it started like this – David “STRONGLY URGED” members of our party to select the Weinessinggut Doktorenhof (Wine Vinegar Doktorenhof) vinegar tour and tasting experience while docked in the port of Gersheim, Germany.  He and Janeen had taken the tour several years prior and were blown away by the experience – and when David and Janeen recommend something so highly, you know it’s worth it!

Honestly, I was a bit skeptical at first – vinegar?  I could tolerate it on fries and I had attempted to drink a small amount of apple cider vinegar down one time because someone had told me it had amazing health benefits – and I almost choked.  BUT – I trusted David’s advice and I love trying new experiences, especially with great friends, so we all said, “Let’s do it”. 

 Ultimately, I’m so happy I took David’s advice because it was an absolutely AMAZING experience and the vinegar was actually quite tasty – so much so, that I bought 5 bottles to take home!

When we arrived to Weinessinggut Doktorenhof, our tour guide took us back to a special room in the home where we each selected a monastic looking robe to wear during the tour.  I felt not only like I was being taken back in time but also like I was about to embark on a very special, secret society adventure.

Once appropriately transformed we were taken down to the cellars where the guide spoke in detail about the manufacturing process.  Basically you start off with a batch of wine and you spoil it using a “mother” starter. This turns the wine into vinegar.  You then infuse it with a different flavor or combination of flavors ranging from wild cherries, apricots, vanilla beans, fig, wild oranges, lavender and any number of other things to give it an overall flavor or aroma. 

Herbs are also used as part of the blending and aging process. Part of the tour included entering a room full of herbs used in the blending process.

The entire process is long and involved.  Vinegars can age anywhere from 3-10 years. The aging process is to fully infuse the herbs into the vinegar and create more complex vinegar. This whole manufacturing process has been handed down from generation to generation.

After the tour, we were then brought to the tasting room for a special tasting of 5 select vinegars. 

Although they make over 50 different blends, we tasted only five –Angels Kissing the Night, Tears of Cleopatra, Balsam of St. Damian, Ficus – the Fig, and Giacomo Casanova. Each vinegar can serve as an apertif and/or has its own health benefits:

Ø  Angels Kissing in the Night –try it as an apertif as an addition to champagne or with cheese or ice cream!

Ø  Tears of Cleopatra –use as an apertif with oyster, mushrooms, dates, gigs, and spicy cheeses!

Ø  Baslam of St. Damian – enhances healthy breathing and wellness

Ø  Fiscus- the Fig – sinfully delicious with fish, fruit, and cheese

Ø  Giacomo Casanova – stimulating apertif that complements fine pastries, pasta, cheese, and seafood

Before each tasting, our tour guide gave a short description of the vinegar and some  blending and/or pairing suggestions (champagne and Angels Kissing the Night for example).   Each vinegar was then paired with a special treat such as a chocolate or nut.  My favorite part was drinking out of the fancy, skinny flute in hand blown glass which I just had to purchase after the tour as well as mini bottles of each of the samples tasted!   It was absolutely DELICIOUS!  

I continue to have a sip of vinegar each day from one of the bottles for the health benefits😊

Probst!

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. 

 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.  

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.  

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.

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!

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.  

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.

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 Trebor, 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?). 

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.