Nate and Kara Buchanan take a 7-day European river cruise visiting seven cities (Germany and Austria) to explore Christmas markets. They board in Nuremberg (Europe's oldest / Germany's largest Christmas market), visit Roth, and tour the ship — a small river vessel with five floors, hydraulic captain's area (lowered to clear bridges), and plans to pass through 23 locks en route to Vienna. The trip includes both of their parents, plentiful on-board meals (buffet breakfast/lunch/dinner), festive amenities (mulled wine, local gingerbread, themed mugs), and historical sightseeing (Nuremberg castle and WWII/Nuremberg trials context). Scenes emphasize festive atmosphere, food, ship life, and logistical tradeoffs compared with DIY train/plane travel.
Questions this video answers
Seven cities in seven days.
23 locks.
Nuremberg, Germany.
Nuremberg and Roth.
Five floors.
Chapters
Last year we visited nine Christmas markets in nine days. It was awesome. It was chaotic.
I think I've lost Kara.
It was a logistical nightmare.
Running for a train that we don't even know if we can get on.
We might be taking an Uber to Austria.
Why does it always have to be like that?
And it was so much fun. Oh, my gosh, it's like £10. This year we're back for another Christmas market adventure. Regensburg for the win. This might be the best Christmas market we've ever been to. We'll be traveling to seven different cities in seven days through Germany and Austria. But this time we're doing it all by a small ship river cruise. I think this is going to be the best way to experience Christmas markets in Europe because we get to unpack one time and still visit seven different cities. There's Christmas lights and wreaths and decorations. They're playing Christmas music. It's definitely the most unique Christmas market.
We'Ve ever been to.
And they just all feel so happy, cheery, Christmasy. We're no stranger to cruising. We've done several ocean cruises and small ship expedition cruises to destinations like the North Pole, Antarctica, Galapagos, Egypt, the Amazon. We've really enjoyed the cruising experience. However, this is our first European river cruise and admittedly it's a little more expensive than the DIY version of trains and planes that we did last year. So join us as we find out if the European river cruise lives up to the hype and is worth the expensive price tag.
Welcome to Nuremberg, Germany. We board our ship here later this evening. But first we have a few hours to explore Europe's oldest and Germany's largest Christmas market.
I'm so excited.
Also, this is a very special trip because for the first time ever, we are going to be joined by both of our parents. Merry Christmas. Nap time. So Kara and I were here in Nuremberg last year. It's incredible. One of the best markets in Europe. But it's fun to have a little bit of time to show them around tonight.
From what I understand, the thing to eat in Nuremberg are little sausages. I think it's what they're known for. So this sandwich has three little bitty sausages topped with sauerkraut and of course, mustard in the most beautiful toasty baguette. It's also vegan.
It's so good. It's so good. We're here in 2023. I just got the sauerkraut and a piece of bread and a guy came up to me and he was like, that's gr. What'd you get? Crepe with white chocolate and cherry filling.
And it is to die. Might be one of the best things I've ever ate in my life.
Do you hear what he just said? You make fun of me for saying that, but it's true, isn't it?
Welcome back. Are you glad you're not on a train?
No, I missed the train.
Actually. I'm very surprised that Kara's mom agreed to come on another trip after the train trip that we sent her on. If you missed that one, there were police involved. A manhunt.
Bunk beds. Scale of 1 to 10, how good is the mattress?
Is.
Is there a mattress?
This should be a little more luxurious.
It's still not the Maldives, so they still owe me.
How do you pronounce it?
I love it.
Woo. Inside the big gold pot, there's red wine, and then there's a guy standing up above it and there' a giant sugar cube in a box. He's pouring rum that's been lit on fire over top of the sugar cube to melt it into the red wine.
I can kind of taste the fire. Like, it tastes fiery.
It's a little too sweet for me.
I do think this mug is going to be hard to beat. If I remember correctly, Nuremberg had my favorite mug in 2023, and it's basically the same, but pink inside. This year, it's a great mug. So fun.
All right, it is officially time to head to the ship.
Good morning.
It's a great bed, great coffee. I love it here already.
We have about an hour until we head back into Nuremberg for the day. No, I did not sleep in my corridors.
Good morning. So last year, we were pretty much just sprinting from one Christmas market to the next, and we didn't have too much time to learn about the history of each city that we were visiting. But on the bus ride over here, we got to learn quite a bit about Nuremberg. And one thing I didn't realize was that this was basically the epicenter of the Nazi party. So this is where they had their big rally grounds. And then it was also home to the Nuremberg trial, which is where a lot of the big Nazi leaders were tried. After the end of World War II, the world's writ has run to Nuremberg and justice waits. 1, 2, 3. We're doing a tour of the castle. Yeah.
I can feel the oils from that fried potato just blocking my arteries. My heart as we speak.
We were at the Nuremberg Christmas market last year. We were there again last night. So we Decided today. While the rest of the group is back there, we'd hike up to the highest point in the city and do a quick tour of the castle before we head back to the ship.
Working off that fried breakfast.
Way to go, missy.
This castle was originally built over 2, 000 years ago, but Nuremberg was heavily bombed during World War II because it was basically the epicenter of the Nazi party. So 70% of the castle was destroyed during World War II. So most of what we're seeing today has actually been rebuilt. And whether you're into history or not, it's worth coming up here just for the views over the city. The Christmas market that we were at last night is right there.
While we were in Nuremberg, our boat made its way here to Roth. Lunch is buffet style. I got a little bit of everything. Also, I'm not really sure how this is supposed to work because we have so much food on board, breakfast, lunch and dinner, yet we're getting off and going to Christmas markets where we also have to eat. So I think my biggest problem this week is going to be creating more stomach space. It's gonna be a good week. Okay. Even though we just finished lunch, we only have around an hour left of daylight because it gets dark around 3:45 here in the winter. So before it gets dark, I'm going to give you a full tour of our home for the week. Starting up here on the roof. There are technically five floors on this ship, including the roof. So we'll start up here, we'll make our way down, and then we'll end in our room. I think when it's not winter time, you can choose to hang out up here. Clearly no one is here, cuz it is cold and wet.
So there are actually a couple things that I find fascinating about the ship. One of them being this is the captain's area and this is actually on hydraulics because some of the bridges that we're going underneath are so low that they actually have to lower this all the way down. And this boat will only have a foot of clearance as we're going under some of the bridges on this trip.
Where did you learn that?
Did you not listen during the briefing last night? I guess.
Down to floor four. Wait, is this the fourth floor?
Yeah, I think so.
Technically, I think it might be the third. Stay tuned.
Another cool thing about this trip is we're going to be passing through 23 locks on our way to Vienna. And since Kevin stayed on the ship earlier this morning, he actually got to watch us pass through our first Lock right here from the front of the boat. Going through the channel locks. On this rainy day on this ship.
I thought we were locked outside.
So I think everyone's taking a little midday nap, which is great because our family is the only one in the lounge right now. Welcome to the dance floor. Pretty sure this is a dance floor. And this is mistletoe.
I'm still a little under the weather.
They've made some very bold design choices on the ship, and I absolutely love it. We've got this checkered floor and then there's this white and black and green carpet. We have cheetah chairs. What a vibe. There's Christmas lights and wreaths and decorations. They're playing Christmas music. So this is just where anyone can come sit at any time of day. And they are very attentive to your needs. Every time you walk even close to this room, they're like, can I get you a beverage? What would you like? Coffee, bar, water, snack? It's amazing.
So piano over here. Lots of seating. You can look at the views as you go down the river.
As far as I know, the bar is open all the time. You can get whatever you want whenever you want. It's all included and it's pretty. But just wait. You can go inside to make pictures, do everything you want. I love it here. You gotta work for Cockerella.
We're getting a job currently. Free water always set out here.
They just set this area up. We now have fresh, hot mulled wine right here on tap. These are all local Nuremberg gingerbread cookies. All different flavors. And they just have them all set out. I'm so full, I can't even think about eating or drinking anything right now. But we'll be back this afternoon.
You basically don't even have to go to the Christmas market. It's all set up here for you.
Welcome to the main lobby. This is where we boarded the ship last night. Once again, super bold. Ceilings are striped. They're also.
Fluffy at the entrance. There's one of the more beautiful genderbred homes I've ever seen.
Hand sanitizer everywhere, which is great on a winter cruise.
I think we are on floor three. And now we're going back up to floor four.
