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We had the pleasure to be onboard Swan Hellenic´s new SH Diana from Mombasa to Maputo. Our port stops were Aldabra and Assumption Island (Outer Islands, Seychelles) and Nosy Be, Mahajanga, Morondava and Toliara in Madagascar. My photo intense review starts with the ship itself. It´s a deck by deck description. The text is in German but usually an automatic translation works pretty well. And there are still plenty of photos ;-). Enjoy! steamboats

Not Deutsche Bahn but the engineers´ union 😉 - and unfortunately yes! I have various trips planned for December... So far nothing about what day they are going on strike. steamboats

It snowed a litte more today... As the markets are closed today I took my chances and made it to four markets... Weihnachtsmarkt am Chinesischem Turm - still very nice for the atmosphere, but hardly any booths anymore just food Weihnachtsdorf in der Residenz - still very nice but yesterday night it was totally crowded, got my egg nog! Weihnachtszauber am Viktualienmarkt - more or less just the Christmas lights, two boths selling food and mulled wine plus a nativity scene - not worth going anymore Glühwein Festival - o.k. still 36 different mulled wines, some food, had a nice crepe with Nutella, banana and cocos flakes. Went there because I saw a friend is there (thanks to IG) so we met up while he was waiting for something he had bought (it had to be engraved) As the Tollwood Wintermarkt is close to my office I might give it a try this week. The Christkindl Markt does not open until tomorrow. It was nice but also pretty cold... the falling snow was adding some atmosphere as well. steamboats

We got some snow last night - maybe a centimeter ... steamboats

@Canal archive actually Glühwein is pretty simple. A good red wine and spices. Usually orange peel, gloves and cinnamon. That´s it. The most popular spice mix for Glühwein in Germany was "Glühfix" by Teekanne - those three spices in a teabag. Easy... Lot´s of recipes to make your own... other spices that can be added: cardamom, nutmeg, star anise, allspice, aniseed. Of couse you can add some rum to the wine or use white wine (White Bishop - weißer Bischoff). You can add a little orange juice as well. Or you can buy a ready made bottle and just heat it up 🤣. My favorite Christmas drink (2 glasses): 200 ml orange juice 200 ml apple juice 1 cinnamon piece 1 cm fresh ginger 3 pieces allspice 1 star anise 5 pieces gloves Gently heat it up (not boiling, just 80-90°C) for about 30 min. Add 5 cl Tanqueray Flor de Sevilla (or any other gin). steamboats

The first two markets in Munich opened up this week... The Glühwein Festival opened up on Thursday. O.k., that might be a bit off the beaten track (but walkable from my home). A bit easier to reach for most of you is the Christmas and Winter Market at Munich Airport which opened on Friday. They even have an ice skating rink. Next week we have: Tollwood Winterfestival opens Nov 23rd on Theresienwiese (Oktoberfest grounds). The Weihnachtsdorf in der Residenz (small, but one of my favorites - best egg nog, but first have a big bite at Mittelalter Markt as there´s a lot of rum involved!) also Nov 23rd. Weihnachtsmarkt am Chinesischen Turm also opens Nov 23rd (for the first time after the pandemic,last year there were construction works going on - also a must for me because of the nice surroundings). The main market - Münchner Christkindlmarkt opens Nov 27th. Also the Mittelalter Markt München opens Nov 27th (another of my favorites regarding food). The Schwabinger Weihnachtsmarkt still sticks with the traditional opening day (Friday before the first of Advent) and opens Dec 1st (my favorite for more than 40 years now). I think there are approximately 30 markets all over the city - way too many to list them all up on here. These are my favorites and the ones I usually visit (time depending). I hopefully will try out the Regensburger Christkindlmarkt (depending on Deutsche Bahn and whether they go on strike or not) which opens Nov 27th. @Canal archive your recipe reminded me to give my collegue a note to get me some hand made Elisenlebkuchen from Nuremberg. steamboats

Munich is the most efficent airport in Germany. They guarantee a connection time of 30 min (including baggage). You only have to go through passport control when you change from the international area to the Schengen area (which is one floor down). For connecting flights there is a separate passport control. And for short connections there might be a transport waiting for you to get you to the new gate and a separate passport control (you usually will be collected at the gate and go by van to the conncting flight). And even when you don´t catch your connection LH will automatically rebook you on the next flight to Rome. And there are more than one flights to Rome per day. So not really a need to worry. You might check which is the next connection to Rome. steamboats

As the sale to Miray was never closed another player came up and today Celestyal Cruises confirmed the purchase of the AIDAaura which will become the Celestyal Discovery next year after a major refurbishment over the winter. So Miray still has no ship for the world cruise of Life at Sea Cruises. The ship is already handed over and the flag has been changed to Malta. steamboats

Every two years a new young lady from Nuremberg is elected to become the Christkind. Today a new Christkind was elected and this young lady did win. steamboats

Although it rained yesterday and today it wasn´t really much rain. Most of it may have been absorbed by the extreme dry soil. So even this rain may only cause a temporary rise of the Danube river and not really much of a rise. steamboats

Yes, Nov 26th is "Sunday of the Death" which is a so called "quiet day". Therefore the Christmas markets are not allowed to open. No singing, no dancing, no other fun activities on that day to honor the death. steamboats

@Ladyshopper23 as your cruise started in Southampton you are only required to pay the Spanish VAT in Spanish ports (and within the 3 miles zone). Anyway, someone on the Epic said that they now don´t charge the Spanish VAT anymore on drinks when you do have the package. The information in the daily read "not for F&B packages". steamboats

@twototravel Yes, it´s an easy walk to Marienplatz. It´s all pedestrian area except for the two crossings which have an underground passing. Marienplatz is two stops by S-Bahn (suburban train) from Hauptbahnhof. The S-Bahn runs underground there. As rcaruso mentioned, the Bayern-Ticket includes all regional trains and all public transportation. So you can use the S-Bahn as well. The Munich Central (Hauptbahnhof) is currently a big mess as parts of the building complex have been turned down. But from the train tracks go to the left and one floor down. There you can hardly miss the entrance to the S-Bahn (signs: green S on white ground). steamboats

Yes, you can use Google translate. Firefox has a good automatic translation too. Microsoft Edge does ask me if I want to have a text translated as soon as it´s not in German. steamboats

There´s a fast train from Munich Central to Vienna via Salzburg which is operated by Austrian RailJet. As for Prien I don´t think that any German IC/ICE trains will stopp there (maybe during summer). So the next major station is indeed Rosenheim for trains to Salzburg and onwards to Vienna. So you have to take the regional train (RE) to Prien and from Prien to Rosenheim (or Salzburg) to catch the faster ones to Vienna. steamboats

Actually the train does not bypass Munich as the airport is outside of Munich to the North East - so inbetween Regensburg and Munich ;-). @SnowshoeCat that direct train is a pretty good (and still fairly new) option. And I would prefer that over the train/bus via Freising. But the train/bus via Freising is easy to manage too. The bus station is right next to the train station. The bus can be crowded. The direct train is definitely more comfortable. steamboats

BTW, I just read that the US are expecting a higher risk of terrorist attacks too. So you´re as safe as you´re at home... steamboats

Yes, there is a baby club onboard MSC Euribia. I have some photos here (scroll down). steamboats

ATVO has an airport express from Treviso airport to Piazzale Roma too. steamboats

I haven´t heard of any terrorism attacks on tourists in Italy or Greece. The only incident involving tourists was in Egypt (which is not Europe). Of course, Europe is safe. France had some major incidents but those were in areas you usually won´t be as a tourist. steamboats

Life At Sea Cruises now has announced that the 3 years long cruise is delayed to Nov 11th out of Amsterdam. The ship is supposed to go into dry dock for 18 days. But the sale is still not closed. steamboats

Get well soon, @Mucciano1! We didn´t have any significant rain. Some drops, some hail. But that´s it. steamboats

According to German local newspapers the sale has not been completed. The name parts AIDA were removed from the funnel and the hull. The ship never went into dry dock. It´s still moored in Bremerhaven. The hand over was delayed and the last date (on Friday Oct 13th) has been cancelled too. Rumors are that Miray has some problems with the financing. steamboats

The ship (former AIDAaura) is available but they couldn´t close the deal. Obviously some financial problems. steamboats

There are basically 3 companies on the Mississippi river system and all of them do have wheechair accessible cabins: 1) American Queen Voyages 2) American Cruise Lines 3) Viking American Queen Voyages and American Cruise Lines also do have ships on the Columbia/Willamette rivers. Traditionally on the Mississippi river stages are used as gangplanks - those are accessible (not used by Viking). Anyway the river levee may cause problems as there usually is not docking area with a concrete wall where a ship goes alongside (Viking has some ports) but the ships do stop at the river levee which can be cobblestone and is sloping down into the water. steamboats