On Board Entertainment – European River Cruise

After a great visit of Wertheim, we set sail and for the rest of the afternoon we cruised through the sunny valleys of the meandering Main.  This afternoon, the tour director gave an educational talk about the Lock system on the Main.  In our newsletter, we were warned that tonight the boat passes through about seven locks and to expect ‘possible disturbance’. ‘Possible disturbance’ was putting it politely that the rumbles will wake you, and you’ll probably have a bad night’s sleep. However, if you happen to be fortunate like Tony, you’d sleep through anything!

Tonight’s onboard entertainment included a “vanillkipferl” demonstration. This crescent-shaped biscuit is a typical local German speciality and resembles shortbread. Our guest chef was aided by two passengers and it was quite hilarious. Jim, who claims never to have stepped into his kitchen back home, was a great sport and took his part very seriously. After making up the biscuits, they were sent to the kitchen to be baked and were served the next morning at breakfast.  Meanwhile, we got to taste the commercially made up ones and they were very nice. You could also buy some as gifts as they were very nicely packed in decorative tin cans.

If you fancy trying it yourself, the recipe includes :  1-1/2 cups flour, 1/8th teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 cup sugar, 3 egg yolks, 7 oz butter, 1 cup ground peeled almonds, icing sugar for decoration, a few drops vanilla extract.  Bake for 10 minutes at 200C.  Good luck!

Helen