Day 7 - The last cruise day :(

Today we docked in Breisach. We had to choose this morning between three separate excursions: Freiburg, the Black Forest, or Colmar. Freiburg is a medieval town in Germany, and has a Christmas Market. The Black Forest is a forest, and has Black Forest Cake and a historical farming museum. Colmar is in France and has a Christmas Market and wine. We chose the Black Forest because cake and also history.

Another early day, with an 8:30 departure. Nick keeps waking up at 4, probably because jet lag but we also suspiciously go through locks or do heavy maneuvering at 4 every day too. The boat shakes a lot and I think we're behind schedule because the captain has been flooring it since we left Koln.

Have we talked about Breakfast yet? It's buffet, but you get coffee and sparking wine (or a mimosa) and that's a highlight. It is also the least populated meal because old people can't hang. We always get the smoked salmon and make a fake-bagel (fagel) with lox. Depending on the rotating buffet stuffs, we'll also get beans, toast, vegemite, hash browns, eggs benedict, or soft boiled eggs. Sorry we havent taken a lot of pictures of the breakfast food. But its causing Lauren to consider eating lox at home every day.... ($$$)

The Black Forest was a good decision. We drove through the forest and went to a museum showcasing farm houses (Schwarzwaldhaus) that are as old as the 1600s but still in use today (mostly as AirBnBs).

They didn't believe in smokestacks so the entire kitchen is black and covered in smelly soot! Also, since the house backs into a hill, the attic is the entire barn where you store tractors and crops, (with the other floors having normal house stuff). We also got to learn about the Black Forest attire (which is dying out due to a loss of fabric supplies) and butter making. By the way, family, Lauren is making butter for Christmas. You will not be able to avoid it. "Butter for ALL" -Lauren

We actually played hookie for a bit and left the group to walk around the museum for a while. During that time, we met THIS GUY:

The NICEST donkey we ever met. We did the boops and pets. At the same time, we also saw lambs being born. It was crazy! We were the only ones from our cruise to see this and it was amazing. Donkey was not phased. We are obsessed with Donkey.

For lunch we had a Black Forest lunch with the famous Black Forest cake! It was very good. We also got a demonstration in coo-coo clock making by one of the last ~4 authentic coo-coo clock makers. Lauren received a hand-carved (live!) ornament from the 80+ year old clock maker.

We made it back to the ship with an hour to spare for the local Christmas Market. Unfortunately, it was very tiny and lacked any non-food booths.

We had our Captain's farewell today and enjoyed going through the locks multiple times. The massive door/deck in the suite allows for great views of the concrete walls.

Tomorrow is our last morning on the ship :( But don't worry! We will be traveling to Lucerne, CH and will update you when we get there!

i said I was gonna do Q&A but honestly we're dog tired. (They really wring you out on these cruises.) Maybe tomorrow. If you have any questions, you can submit them to management.

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