Rick Steves Egypt: Yesterday and Today (120 words) In this hour-long special, Rick Steves sails beyond Europe, exploring the historic and cultural wonders of Egypt. With the crew double-parked in the dark, I ran in, found the director, pleaded my case…and he said, “Ya, sure.” We finished setting up just minutes before show time. Our goal: to give our viewers a look at European Christmas through the eyes of a child, a parent, and a pilgrim. Once upon a time, for the 12 days of Christmas, we had two busy television crews a-filming: 12 carol concerts, 11 mugs of Glühwein, 10 living mangers, 9 happy families, 8 Christmas feasts, 7 Euro-cultures, 6 mistletoe kisses, 5 alternative Santas, 4 pounds of weight gain, 3 midnight Masses, 2 exhausted cameramen, and a festive hour of great new public television. The Bavarian family the German Tourist Board lined up for us tried hard. We finished setting up just minutes before show time. Bavaria and Tirol are bursting with holiday traditions — home of those famous Christmas markets, "O Tannenbaum," and "Silent Night." Gimmelwald was a folk festival of Christmas traditions. When we were making our Rick Steves' European Christmas special, we knew that filming an intimate family Christmas feast would not necessarily come out natural and fun-loving on TV, so we filmed two and picked the best. We joined Romans cooking up female eels, Parisians slurping oysters, Tuscans tossing fruit cakes, and Norwegian kids winning marzipan pigs. When we were making our Rick Steves' European Christmas special, we knew that filming an intimate family Christmas feast would not necessarily come out natural and fun-loving on TV, so we filmed two and picked the best. No European traditions except we make homemade pizza on Christmas Day. To celebrate the season, I’m sharing clips, extras and behind-the-scenes notes from Rick Steves’ European Christmas. Like the region's children, we were mesmerized with Nürnberg's quirky Christmas angel. Norway happened to be wet and warm when we visited, and the secular Norwegians don’t really do Christmas with the gusto I had imagined. We learned how Martin Luther, the local reformer, wanted to shift the focus from St. Nicholas back to the Christ child…who somehow has morphed into a sweet teenage girl. In an auditorium with several hundred lovingly wonderstruck grade-schoolers, the Christkind held court. Europe - Rick Steves European Christmas - Rick Steves has a new special to be aired on PBS stations beginning shortly after Thanksgiving. We had a lot of fun last night at our Monday Night Travel event! Season 11 of Rick Steves' Europe debuts this October and features eight all-new episodes. Filming the children mob her after she said, "If you're very, very gentle, you can touch my wings," was great TV. After producing more than 100 travel shows, Rick Steves and his film crew finally celebrate Christmas in Europe. A highlight for our crew was filming the Midnight Mass at the Vatican on Christmas Eve in 2004 — which happened to be Pope John Paul II’s last Christmas. 60 S00E02: Viva la France March 4, 2006. When our cameraman smiles as he films, I know we're getting good footage. From England to Wales, France, Norway, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, you'll see the bright Christmas markets, hear local choirs, share holiday traditions with … Published by: Gabe (Rick Steves' Europe) To learn more about European Christmas celebrations and how many contemporary Christmas traditions came to be, please join Rick in an exploration of Christmas in Europe by following along with this playlist. My key support person was Olle, the village schoolteacher. First — like a video Advent calendar — we have lots more windows to open, peeking in on families and cultures and countries as Christmas approaches. PBS. Her crew ended up with the hardest schedule (England, France, Italy) and they did more then just cover the script. So our sound man carefully set up the microphone stand to the side of the altar facing the choir of nuns (as I sat in the back happily humming "Climb Ev'ry Mountain"). To celebrate the season, I’m sharing clips, extras and behind-the-scenes notes from Rick Steves’ European Christmas. Writing the script was a fascinating challenge. But when we started filming, it looked like Norway would be a weak segment…so I needed to scramble. To celebrate the season, I’m sharing clips, extras, and behind-the-scenes notes from Rick Steves’ European Christmas. This is the first year in 30+ that we are cancelling our annual Pizza Party. Several days before that, we had been in the Swiss Alps, our one last hope for snow. Monday, December 21 at 9 pm on KRCB TV in the North Bay. We drove there and arrived just half an hour before the concert began. The festive swirl of heartwarming sights, sounds, and smells of Christmas abound in the land where the season's most-loved carol, "Silent Night," was first performed over 200 years ago: Austria. And the Burgundy countryside surprised us with its rustic, small-town enthusiasm for the spirit of Christmas. This is where the season’s most-loved carol, “Silent Night,” was first performed over 200 years ago. For coronavirus (COVID-19) travel information, From England to Wales, France, Norway, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy, you'll see the bright Christmas markets, hear local choirs, share holiday traditions with families…and even play in the snow. Experience the fun, conviviality, intimacy, and spontaneity of joining Rick in his living room as he shares his personal, inspirational, and … But I’m getting ahead of myself — that clip is on its way. 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