Let's Add Sprinkles: Christmas Along The Rhine/Part 2

Hi, Friends,

How are you? I hope you are well. I hope you are enjoying the holiday season.

It took a bit, but I've finally recovered from my jet lag.

I was fighting off a little virus or something in addition to normal jet lag.

I'm feeling much better and it's been fun looking back on our magical trip.

The ship was festively decorated.

We sailed with AmaWaterways. We were very pleased.

We had some fun activities such as decorating the tree. We put our shoes out one night and Sinterklaus put chocolate in them.

They gave us gorgeous chocolate Santas that made it home in one piece.

Our first stop was Cologne, Germany.

It was my favorite city. The markets were darling here too.

We explored on our own as per the advice of the security guard on the boat. Good call because some of the groups didn't get a chance to see inside the cathedral. It is my (step) sister's grandparent's home church.

It was meaningful to see.

Cologne had the best market stalls. There were four different areas and each one had its own theme and decor.

It was like being in a Christmas snow globe. So darling!

The next morning it was time for castle spotting.

It was very cold and I didn't last on the deck.

This was the only activity that would be more fun in summer.

We went to Rudsheim that afternoon. We did a wine tasting and visited an automatic musical museum. The markets were pretty good in this town.

I loved the town nativity.

Heidelberg was day three.

We visited Heidelberg Castle which was very cool.

The streets were very crowded. The markets were good.

The shops were great. We visited a Kathe Wohlfahrt store.

I'm glad we stopped in because it wasn't as crowded as the two others that we saw. They have such cute ornaments.

We were in Strasbourg, France on day 5.

I was so excited about it but at this point I was getting a little worn out. Quite a few on the boat had started getting sick. I was trying to avoid close contact with them because I haven't been sick in three years. Bill hasn't been sick in four years. We also haven't had much exposure to anything in that time so I was a little worried about our immune systems. It was a little shocking how fast one or two people coughing spread to quite a few getting sick. Those concerns combined with a five mile walking tour put a damper on this special city. It was very, very cold that day. It was a Sunday and the markets were very crowded. I don't think that they have had the markets in three years so they were bursting with people. What we could see, it was mainly food and drink so we skipped them and took the bus back to the ship for lunch. I stayed in that afternoon so that I could warm up. I was glad that I did because it started raining! Wet and cold was not what I was excited about. While I napped, Bill took a little trip to see a live advent calendar. He said it was very cold but darling.

I would have loved to spend more time exploring the gardens of Strasbourg.

It is supposed to be the Paris of the North.

After a less than stellar 5th day, day 6 was amazing.

The sun came out for a change.

We went to the utterly darling village of Riquewihr, France.

It is like a fairy tale.

It is the inspiration for the village in Beauty and the Beast.

I kept humming the theme song from that animated movie. It's my favorite Disney movie.

We got some of these French linens.

I loved this precious display.

Bill wanted to pop into a ceramic shop. Our cases were already almost full at this point and i didn't think we could get pottery home but I popped in with him.