Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1534779
were walking a bit slower so they didn't hurry us up. You had the time to stop and look at the things you wanted to look at. Did you pick up any Christmas gifts, if so what? Jo: Many people had glühwein mugs because they bought so many and it's part of the culture there during Christmas time. We also got some lovely things, candle holders and carved wooden hanging decorations. e food at the stalls was amazing as well. ere were all these wonderful glazed nuts that you could eat hot, but they were also good enough to take home as gifts for friends and family. In Mannheim there was an amazing art gallery there, which was right on the square, which we went into for a cup of coffee. at had a fabulous shop in it. We got some really cracking little gifts there. My nephews are studying German at school, so we got little German postcards with cartoons on them in the local language, but you could still make out what they were supposed to be saying. So we gave them that for Christmas and they were like, 'Oh, we know what that's saying'. And they were taking them to school to show to their friends. We got them some German kids' magazines too, the sort of stuff you can't really get at home. What activities did you take part in on board the ship? Jo: We did Christmas carols and we had a cookery demo, which was great. ere were lots of things going on. Oh, we also decorated the tree. ere was also a great guitar and violin duo, and some singers came on board one night too. If something was going on we would usually take part and if Mum went to bed early I didn't feel awkward staying on by myself because there were enough people to go and sit with and chat away to. What kind of food did you enjoy most on board? Jo: e meals were lovely. ere was a nice choice of local or classic dishes and the staff were great at recommending things. Jennie: e food was just excellent. Really, really excellent. It was typical Viking food. It was very difficult to pick out one thing that we enjoyed above anything else because it was all so good. 16 VIKING 16