Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023 at 9:30 p.m. on KPBS TV (not in the PBS App)
"Christmas on the Danube" is a companion to "European Christmas Markets." It is true holiday treat that will fill your senses with warmth, touch your heart, and provide your mind with geography and history, as well. Traveling the majestic Danube river as it passes through stunning European landscape, history and culture, Christmas on the Danube visits cities along the Danube, which are particularly spectacular at Christmas.
Our Danube journey starts in Passau, with lovely buildings constructed along the Danube and a commanding cathedral in front of which we find its charming Christmas Market. Here we visit the Simon bakery to see how the traditional gingerbread is made.
Next we visit the magical town of Salzburg at the base of the alps on a snowy day, and enjoy the many Christmas activities there. We also visit the commemorative site of the church where the most famous of Christmas carols, "Silent Night," was composed and first performed on Christmas Eve.
Then off to fabulous Vienna, brightly lit for the holidays and with its many Christmas Markets, including the Christmas Market that sits in front of its Gothic Town Hall, decorated as an advent calendar. We complete the Austrian portion of or trip with a visit to a lovely abbey situated right on the Danube river. We make a stop at Bratislava, one of eight country capitals located right on the Danube river, and see a country reclaiming its culture.
A finally, the impressive Budapest, revealing its magnificence as we approach from a bend in the river and view its imposing Parlimanet building. Budapest is filled with history and a folk-filled Christmas Market.
© 2019 Barbara Cray Entertainment
