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As a German I never heard of Paducah before... until we got stuck there for 3 days due to high water on our first attempt to go to Nashville by riverboat. It was love at second sight... And on my three stops there I still haven´t been to the National Quilt Museum (except for the gift shop). steamboats

Just to mention that Paducah, KY, is on the Ohio river ;-). And that´s why I do prefer the paddlewheelers - less vibration even in lower water... steamboats

There will be something on Cruisetricks and also on Cruisediary. So far I only did a story/highlight on IG on Cruisediary. Plus I downloaded all the photos and sorted them. There were actually four ships but I took photos only of three of them. Why? The Thurgau Ultra (ex TUI Queen, ex Premicon Queen) is leaving the fleet and will be replaced by the newbuildt Thurgau Gold. So it didn´t make sense to take photos of a ship leaving the company. And with more than 3,200 guests visiting the ships in two days it was hard to take photos anyway. There will be also an interview with the German CEO. But my DH is just returning from Miami today and we haven´t talked about the details yet. I will post in the other thread when there´s something online. steamboats

Swiss Francs 😉 - Switzerland is not part of the EU and also not of the Euro-Zone. steamboats

I've been to two more markets in Munich today (plus the Residenz Weihnachtsdorf for another eggnog). So I've been to Schwabinger Weihnachtsmarkt. They have the best Flammbrot (the photo shows only half a Flammbrot as I shared one with my Mom as a starter). Then we moved on to Mittelalter Weihnachtsmarkt for a wild boar roll as entrée. I also can recommend the Knödel there. Heard a lot of English there. We moved over to Residenz Weihnachtsdorf which is just around the corner. Another eggnog for dessert. The main problem was the subway which had a construction going on. So the trains and stations were crowded as this was right in the center of Munich. I haven't ready anything about this so it came as a surprise. steamboats

One was 3.50 CHF. In Portugal it's more Like 1 Euro. So two were all I could afford 😂. steamboats

As far as I´ve heard almost all markets switched to LED lightning to save energy. And instead of having the lights on 24/7 they put it on when it´s starting to get dark and turn it off when the market closes. So many may have limited hours for the lights. steamboats

Actually I´m not sure but you may have to wear masks on busses in Germany for excursions as they might be qualifying for public transportation. steamboats

So here we go - Baseler Weihnacht with the Weihnachtsmarkt Barfüsserplatz in Basel, Switzerland. I only bought two pieces of Pastel de Nata. They took my Euro and have me 2 Swiss Francs in return. That booth did not accept card payment. The ticket machines at all tram stops did accept card payment. steamboats

No masks in Switzerland. In Germany you still have to wear masks in public transportation (medical masks in local and regional public transportation and KN95 in IC, EC or ICE trains). steamboats

I´m on my way back home from a 24 hour visit to Basel (actually I visited 4 river cruise ships of Swiss operator Thurgau Travel - Edelweiss, Thurgau Prestige (ex Tauck ship), Antonio Bellucci and Thurgau Ultra (ex Premicon Queen, ex TUI Queen). I walked back from the ships to the train station stopping at the Basel market at Barfüsserplatz (there´s a second one). I will post some photos later. steamboats

There was a news report in German TV about that turtle shaped design study of a floating city. At the end the moved on to the Icon of the Seas saying the ship is buildt in a Lower Saxony shipyard.... Yes, Papenburg is in Lower Saxony. Yes, Meyer Werft is in Papenburg. But no, the ship is buildt by Meyer Turku in Turku, Finland... steamboats

The markets usually opened Friday of the first weekend of Advent. But now they open on Thursday or even Monday prior to the first weekend of Advent. Some open even earlier but have to close on Sunday (the one before the first Advent Sunday) as it´s our rememberance day. So those which want to open earlier have chosen the Monday after that Sunday. The Nuremberg market did stay with the traditional opening day and does open this Friday. But by this Friday all markets should be open. I don´t remember when they started this earlier opening... It´s all about planning 😉 - I had to go to my old office in downtown and the Residenz is close to that. So I used lunch break for that on Friday. Yesterday I was working from home and went to the Glühwein-Festival for dinner (it´s only 10 min walking from home or two tram stops). steamboats

Made it to market number 2 here in Munich - the closest one to my home - the Glühwein Festival. Forget the drinks... I had a Captain Jack which should have been a hot chocolate made of delicious dark chocolate with Jack Daniels. O.k., the last part was o.k. but the hot chocolate was more milk with a little cocoa powder. But regular cocoa and not dark one. But the food booths are better. I had my dish from Uganda with beef - yummy! I also bought an Arrancino con Spinaci (rice ball filled with spinach from Sicily) and a Sfogliatella con Vaniglia (from Naples). The Arrancino will be my dinner tomorrow night. Three rides for kids. So with small children it's worth going. Tonight our mayor opened the main Christmas Market of Munich. So maybe that's one of the next I will visit. steamboats

Ups, sorry, I didn´t see the "plus". Most of the Whiskeys are above the 15 USD which is covered by the Premium Package. steamboats

First market done - Weihnachtsdorf in der Residenz in Munich. Got my egg nog... Not very many people at noon but most of them tourists. Heard American English, Spanish besides German of course. steamboats

Here are some impressions from the MSC World Europa And The Venom Spiral Drop steamboats

It gets dark by 4 pm so there should be some time to visit the markets lit up. steamboats

@Oz_Steve no, Rotterdam is not a big interporting port. So there won´t be too many people. Fun thing... when the ship returned to Hamburg on Monday all disembarking passengers were checked by customs and many of them had too many cigarettes or other stuff with them. steamboats

Not many... see bar menu here. steamboats

You can get pretty reasonable prices regarding nutcrackers but then they are made in China. German made nutcrackers are more high priced. Hats? Not sure what exactly you are thinking of... Souvenir hats are cheap, a real good handmade felted hat is pretty expensive. But you won´t find those on markets but in specialty shops. steamboats

Remember him from the Serenade where he came to the M&M to see what a bunch of crazy people boarded his ship. And he didn´t ask where the vodka for the yell-o shots came from ;-). Simeon is also great! Met him several times onboard Oasis class ships. steamboats

Also in Germany you will find lots of different types of mulled drinks. Glühwein is the traditional one. Traditionally it´s made with red wine but for years now you also find it with white wine. There´s a market close to my home which is called Glühwein Festival offering 28 different hot drinks with all kinds of alcohol (or without). You can have a hot Caipirina, a hot Daiquiri... and for 20 Euro they are offering a Maß Glühwein (Maß = 1 liter). I doubt I would find my way home after that... Pretty popular during the last years are hot Gin or hot Aperol. steamboats

I don´t like anise so I would leave it off for a home made mix. Really, you never heard of Glühfix? Meßmer has the spices in teabags too. Over here Glühfix is very well known for decades. My parents used it too. steamboats

That´s what I thought too. I wouldn´t have even started yet. steamboats