By Hank Schrader, USMA ’71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert with help from Anne Schrader
My wife, Anne, is a shopper. She likes to say she’s really a “window shopper”, just looking and doesn’t really need to buy whatever has just caught her eye. She can make a stroll wherever we are last for hours. And she’s right, she does just “look”, but if the item of interest won’t break the “souvenir” budget, or won’t be too difficult to transfer back home, then I’m more than happy to make the purchase.
Now before you hear a lot of “Awwws”, let me be honest and say that I do this, not only to be the sweet, loving and adorable husband, but mainly because I just want to go somewhere to sit, drink a beer or glass of wine and have something to eat. Ergo, the sooner the new acquisition has been placed into the ever-present reusable shopping bag that accommodates Anne everywhere, I get to reap the reward and partake in a pastime we both enjoy -- food, beverage and people watching!
Danube Shopping Overview
Shopping during travel is considered one of the many activities that can have a great influence on the location you visit. One of our favorite shopping river cruise routes has to be on the Danube River.
We always look for local items not readily available in the United States. In Vienna, Austria we bought a drindl (the traditional dress of Germany and Austria). Here is a great picture of Anne in her drindl, we bought on a summer AmaWaterways Danube cruise—darn does she look good—I’m a lucky man!.
Anne in her drindl with Kata (the cruise manager) and Carmen from the barstaff
But that is not the reason for this blog post—it is really about value during our shopping experiences. For example, we almost always take a river cruise during the Christmas season to enjoy their famous markets. There are so many itineraries that provide the opportunity to visit both large and small markets and many of the larger cities have multiple markets which, after visiting the city once or twice on a cruise and not porting long enough to enjoy all of them, then a pre-post cruise visit to that location will enhance your river cruise.
Our Pre-cruise—Regensburg
This year we did just that. Our cruise aboard the AmaSonata started in Vienna and ended in Nuremberg. With this itinerary, we knew we’d visit the markets in Vienna, Linz, Passau, Regensburg and Nuremberg, with the option of visiting the market on a tour to Cesky Krumlov. We’ve done this route several times, during the holidays and also summer months. And our favorite port on this particular itinerary is Regensburg.
We have never really had the opportunity to explore this beautiful city as we would have liked to, as we knew on this cruise our port time would be limited and we would not have a chance to really have an in-depth experience at their two main markets. So, we did a pre-cruise stay for 3 nights in Regensburg.
What a treat, at night, the city is so walkable, the markets are truly bustling with the city’s residents! Even getting a reservation at the restaurants that are the mainstay for the locals can be a difficult, but definitely worthwhile, experience.
HATS
Anne’s New Hat with ear muffs
Shopping in Regensburg means one thing to Anne . . . HATS! She discovered the Hutmacher on one of first cruises and now proudly owns 5 of his creations. As usual, she’ll say she just wants to go look, but inevitably, she’ll depart the store with one of the big (really big) hat boxes, empty, as the new addition will be sitting securely on her Kopf (head)!
This trip, after years of gentle nagging, she actually inspired me to make my own purchase. And, I have to admit, even with 2 really big boxes to carry home on the plane, I might just be a convert.
Hank with his new Hat
But I will adamantly admit, even though the visit and ultimate purchase with the wonderful staff at the store and having the opportunity to meet the Hutkoenig at the Thurns and Taxis Christmas market, I still believe the best and easiest souvenir from Regensburg are the glühwein mugs that make it back to Anne’s ever-expanding collection.
Hank & Mark Thomas, on of our Travel Chums, at one of the Regensburg Christmas Markets—he took the picture of us with the Hutkoening owner
Glühwein—-A Christmas Market Tradition
Glühwein is the drink of choice at Christmas markets. This hot mulled wine comes in all forms of spices and even sometimes even includes liquor shots. We always buy some and, of course, Anne scours the markets for just the right mug(s) to add to her collection. The Glühwein mugs are a great idea—the can be reused to cut down on the waste, most are well designed with the year and place of the Christmas Market you visited and they, as Anne points out, don’t cost much. When you buy the glühwein, the beverage costs about 3-5 Euros and there is an added deposit of 1-2 Euros that is refundable when you return the mugs. Some Glühwein Booths actually sell the mugs alone but that varies. They may be breakable, but they are small and the best part . . . while you can return the mugs to receive your original deposit, drinking the hot Glühwein adds so much to the Christmas market experience, 1 to 2 Euros seems like a very small price to pay for the memories. Just save some room in your suitcase and, like Anne does, carry some bubble wrap to get your mugs safely home—another cool tip from Anne!
Here is some pictures of her every expanding collection
3 Regensburg Christmas Mugs
Anne’s Growing Collection of Christmas Mugs
Our Europe River Port Guides
So, what does this mean for you? As you can see, there are just so many ways to expand an Europe River cruise experience and shopping is just one way—we almost always do extra explorations of the many river cruise ports in Europe and have now 51 port guides available for your use.
The idea is simple—you get an in-depth look at the port prior to your visit—it includes the must see sights and helps you decide which tour best suits your travel style if several tour options are offered. Best of all they are free—just go to our River Cruises section on our website, scroll down to the bottom of the page on the route you desire, then click on the port(s) you desire and we send you the PDF PowerPoint slideshow and, for the larger cities, a word document that expands on the port. We cover the Rhine, the Main, the Mosel, the Waal loop of the Rhine (Tulip Time), the Upper and lower Danube, and French River cruise routes of the Rhone and the Bordeaux route. We are in the process of posting the list for some of these ports but they should be available in a couple of days if the port you desire is not listed yet.
Just to show how we could create great experiences for you, here is a picture of Anne with our other travel Chum, Denise—they went to a cooking school in Nuremberg (post cruise trip)to learn how to make gingerbread cookies (Lebkuchen).
My Final Thoughts
Who knew shopping could be so fun, even for a non-shopper like me! Let us help you enjoy Europe and experience the magic of new experiences and cultures.
We are travel experts, ocean and river cruise experts, and Europe destination experts. We have first-hand knowledge of almost anywhere you want to visit in Europe. We know our products and the vendors who sell them to you. We have designed special tours for dozens of clients, led several and will continue to find just the right vacation that will exceed your expectations. As you can see, our full service agency can get you to almost anywhere you desire to travel and provide you a great experience and vacation.
When you are spending your hard earned money for a vacation, you want an advisor who can match you with the right trip. You want someone who will understand your expectations and fuel your anticipation (or excitement) to get you the best possible trip experience.
Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@dreamdestinations.com. We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!
HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 48+ years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:
AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent
