This morning we woke up in Wurzburg surrounded by hills covered by vineyards.

After breakfast we boarded a bus for a short 30 minute trip to the medieval town of "Rothenburg ob der Tauber" meaning, in German, "Red fortress above the Tauber". The town is located on a plateau overlooking the Tauber River in Bavaria. Again, this medieval walled-town has been untouched by war and it is generally in good condition and almost all the buildings remain functional.

We visited Käthe Wohlfahrt's Christmas Store and Germany's only permanent Christmas Museum. The museum houses many exhibits - some dating from the early 1800's. We were particularly interested to learn about the Christmas Pyramids - carousels depicting the story of Christmas. There are candles surrounding the pyramid and when lit, the heat from the flames rise and turns a propeller which turns the carousel. Some pyramids were over a metre high.

Some further sight seeing and then back on the bus to return to the ship in time for lunch. After lunch we enjoyed a leisurely afternoon on the ship as we sailed to Kitzingen.

After dinner we took a short walking trip with the town Mayor and the current Wine Queen through the village to one of Germany's largest and oldest wine cellars. The dimensions are enormous at approx 100(L) x 30 (W) x 10 (H) metres. It was built approx 750 years ago. The cellar is beneath what is now St Johns Catholic Church built in the 1400s. Having arrived at the wine cellar we had a wine tasting followed by a leisurely stagger back to the ship.

Kitzingen is a town in the German state of Bavaria, capital of the district Kitzingen. It is part of the Franconia geographical region and has around 21,000 inhabitants. Surrounded by vineyards, Kitzingen County is the largest wine producer in Bavaria. It is said to be Franconia's wine trade center.

Kitzingen was established by the Counts of Comburg-Rothenburg in about 1070. However, a Benedictine cloister was founded in the 8th century on the site. The retailers are a mix of international labels and local traders.

• Today's insights:
• When Elvis was posted to Germany with the US Army he spent much of his leave in Kitzingen with his army buddies.
• 
  The rounded and flattened Bocksbeutel (billy-goat bottle) held upside down resembles a well endowed billy-goat. It is typical and well known bottle originally used only for the best Franconian wines.
• Since 1989 the use of the Bocksbeutel is protected by European Union regulations. The only other company permitted to use this shaped bottle is Mateus as it had been using the shape for over 140 years.
• All livestock are farmed in barns. The land is cultivated extensively for growing fodder for the cattle and sugar-beet. The tops are used for fodder and the bulbs sold to the local sugar mill to be processed into sugar for the Coca Cola company.