Welcome to the vibrant city of Frankfurt!
Upon arrival, we’ll transfer you to the Advance by Transcend. This afternoon, relax, recharge on arrival. This evening, join your fellow travelers for our Welcome Reception onboard, followed by the first of many incredible dinners curated by our LGTBQ+ resident Guest Chef, Todd Erickson. Following, enjoy an incredible evening of fun on board, setting the tone for a fantastic journey ahead.
Get a taste of life in the Middle Ages at a remarkably well-preserved German village on a guided walking tour this morning. Be sure to fortify yourself with a mug of mulled wine and a slice of delicious stollen before visiting the town’s charming Christmas market. Located at the confluence of the Tauber and Main rivers, Wertheim (or Wertheim am Main) is a lovely village dating back over a thousand years. It epitomizes the friendly, slow-paced, small-town atmosphere of many German villages; here, residents greet each other by name as they do their daily shopping for fresh bread and sausage in tiny shops. On your guided walking tour of the village, you’ll hear a lot about daily life in Wertheim, as well as facts about the town and its history.
One of the best ways to embrace a different culture is through encounters with local residents, which you’ll experience today in a typical Franconian village. Make new friends over hot drinks and homemade seasonal treats; see the Würzburg Residence, a baroque-style palace famous for its gigantic ceiling fresco. And visit the town’s renowned Christmas market for some one-of-a-kind gifts for friends back home (or yourself!). The town of Würzburg owes many of its most notable monuments to the ambitious building programs of the wealthy prince-bishops of the Schönborn family, who controlled the town in the 17th and 18th centuries. Their spectacular episcopal residence is on your schedule for today, as is a delightful encounter with the residents of a Franconian village.
Rothenburg looks like something straight out of the pages of a storybook, with its medieval walls, cobbled streets, Gothic churches, and Hansel-and-Gretel houses. Join a local expert for an insightful walking discovery tour, then wander amongst the stalls at one of Germany’s oldest Christmas markets. Your ship docks in the Bavarian town of Kitzingen in the morning, and after breakfast you’ll take a ride along the Romantic Road, once a medieval trade route, to Rothenburg. The minute you arrive, you’ll know why the route, which links picturesque and well-preserved old towns, is called the Romantic Road. Rothenburg is right out of a storybook: Wide medieval walls still enclose its charming core of Gothic churches and gabled houses.
The fact that Bamberg still exists today is something of a miracle, given that it survived WWII bombing virtually unscathed. It’s a superb example of a medieval German city compact enough to explore on foot with a local expert. You’ll also have free time to visit not just one but four Christmas markets. The UNESCO World Heritage city of Bamberg, unlike most German cities, was largely undamaged by bombing during WWII. This fact, combined with the city’s prosperous thousand-year history, means that Bamberg has one of the largest intact old-town centers in Europe, so the medieval layout and architecture that was a model for other towns throughout Central Europe remains for you to see and experience.
For an over-the-top, old-world holiday extravaganza, look no further than Nuremberg, which boasts the most extensive and grandest Christmas market in all of Germany—and that’s saying something. The “Gingerbread Capital of the World” pulls out all the stops during the holidays, as you’ll see for yourself on a panoramic tour guaranteed to put you in a festive mood. You could not ask for a more perfect place to begin an exploration of Christmas traditions than Nuremberg. The people of Nuremberg hold their Christkindlesmarkt very close to their hearts. The iconic Christkindl, with her white-and-gold dress, long blond curls, and golden crown, has been the symbol for the Christmas Market for many decades. During Advent, she is the most important representative of the city; every year, she opens the Christmas Market by declaring: “Welcome, young and old, to my little community of wood and cloth. While this market’s splendor is fleeting, the joy it brings is eternal.” And with that declaration, the market festivities begin in a town famous for its gingerbread and long toy-making tradition.
Today, we must bid you farewell, but never goodbye. Private transfers have been arranged for your departure.
