eating our way through germany on our viking river cruise

Christmas markets food booth

One thing our Viking River Cruise through Germany had in common with the Christmas Markets we visited along the way was that they both gave food a starring role.

In case you missed it — or just to get in the right mood for what you’re about to see — you may want to take a minute to go back to yesterday’s post and look at my pictures from some of our favorite Christmas Markets.

On the cruise itself, we had a delicious dinner one night celebrating the country’s cuisine. These were all dishes we would get to taste often during our trip, especially at the Christmas Markets.

Viking Germany night

Now, I didn’t think I was a bratwurst kind of girl but somehow I found myself on our first night in Cologne with a slab of meat on a stick.

And I finished the entire thing.

Christmas markets meat

I felt kind of bad because the amazing smell was testing Michael’s vegetarianism big time but we quickly discovered potato pancakes — a staple of the Cologne markets — which were fried to perfection and served with a generous helping of applesauce.

Christmas markets potato pancakes

Everywhere we looked, there were sweets, from candy

Christmas markets candy

to crepes

Christmas markets nutella

to pastries of all kinds.

Christmas markets pastries

And pretzels! The real kind of pretzels!

Christmas markets pretzels

It was so much fun trying to figure out what the signs meant

Christmas markets dampfnudeln

and what the people were actually making.

Christmas markets hat guy

We easily recognized frankfurters

Christmas markets frankfurter sign

and quickly got used to seeing this sign (remember the mugs I loved yesterday?)

Christmas markets gluhwein

and we figured out pretty quickly that Schneeballen meant Snowballs!

Schneeballen store

Note: These, sadly, don’t taste nearly as good as they look although if you go in knowing to expect a cookie-like inside rather than something soft and creamy, they do grow on you.

We didn’t expect to find Mexican food at the Christmas Markets

Christmas markets Mexican food

and we certainly didn’t expect to turn a corner and see this in Nuremberg:

Germany Dunkin' Donuts

My favorite! And look at the nice blankets they have outside so you can sit and enjoy a donut. Or two. How do you say Boston Cream in German?

Dunkin' Donuts Germany

I had to have one even though it was not exactly local cuisine.

Yes, I march to the beat of my own drum. But that’s okay because, to quote my can of Coke Light,

Germany Coke Light

Or, according to Google Translate, “You’re really sexy because you go your own way.”

Ha ha! I’m going anywhere Viking River Cruises will take me!

31 thoughts on “eating our way through germany on our viking river cruise

  1. I would really love to experience Germany through its food. Everything looked so delicious and I really like the coca cola message.

  2. I’m not a vegetarian but, other than potato pancakes and pastry, I think I might starve in Germany. Although I’m sure no one has ever starved on a Viking Cruise. I once went on a press trip to Southern Moravia (Czech Republic’s Austrian border) and quickly learned that almost every menu item OINKED! It was the wurst!Then again, how many upscale, gourmet German restaurants do we have in the US?

  3. Sie sind ein schönes Mädchen, Donuts und Bratwurst liebt. (Okay, I had to look up donuts and was pleasantly surprised!) This looks amazing. Did you leave any food untouched? I wouldn’t! YUM.

  4. You are hitting some of the same spots that we visited this year in Germany and eating many of the same foods. How fun! I just had to try a pretzel everywhere we went. They were amazing!

  5. I’m never surprised to see a Dunkin Donuts. But I’d definitely be surprised to find one here in the states that provided blankets for customers sitting outside. What a great idea.

  6. This is so very cool. Germany is on my bucket list and I have always been fascinated by their cuisine, traditions, the people. Oh my gosh, I can’t stop looking at these beautiful pictures. Thank you so much for sharing your journey!

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