Christmas on the Danube
December 2024
We do love a Viking River Cruise: 6 in
Europe, plus 1 on the Mississippi. Marjorie disrupted the pattern of
togetherness when she and her sister Mary took a Christmas Markets cruise along
the Rhine in 2012. She showed no feelings of guilt about leaving me behind [tho
full disclosure: I traveled with my brother Doug to South America in 2013 and
on a “Midnight Sun” Viking Ocean Cruise in 2018] but is quite happy to do a
similar cruise with me, this time along the Danube. We’ve cruised on both the
Rhine & Danube in summer, the latter covering much of the territory on this
cruise, but expect different looks at Christmastime.
The
2nd-longest river (1700 miles) in Europe, after the Volga, the Danube
originates in Germany, passes thru or borders Austria, Slovakia, Hungary,
Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine. European Christmas
markets have a long history, dating to a “December market” in Vienna in 1296. In
the 14th C craftsmen set up stalls under the name "Saint Nicholas market"
to sell little Christmas gifts for children. This evolved into Weihnachtsmarkt
(Christmas market) or Christkindlmarkt (Christ child market). Many
towns usher in Advent with market openings.
