Mike and Sandy went on two back-to-back river boat trips during June
and July of 2012. The first trip was on the Elbe River, from Berlin to Prague, on
a Viking River Cruises boat, while the second was on the Danube River, from Prague
to Budapest, traveling with AMA-Waterways.
This page covers the first trip.
(NOTE: Just click on any of the smalaler images to enlarge it in a new window
-- click the "back" button to return to this page.)
Here's a map of their route.
Flying to Berlin was more exciting than the usual fight, due to an airport being
closed. The Hilton Hotel in the old East German part of the city was their base. Near the
hotel was "Check Point Charlie," famous from Cold War Days. To their surprise, they stumbled
onto a large gay parade.
The next day the entire group headed by coach to Magdeburg,
the town on the river where their Viking River boat was waiting. As they left Berlin, they
walked across the Glienicke Bridge, the spot where U-2 pilot Gary Powers was exchanged for a
Russian spy in 1962. They also stopped at Potsdam, started by early Dutch settlers, and home
to the Sanssouci Palace, built by Prussian King Frederick in the 18th Century. Also in Potsdam,
they visited the palace that was the site of a fateful summit meeting (Truman, Churchill, Stalin)
after WW II - this is the meeting that divided Berlin and Germany into sectors, setting the
stage for the Cold War over the next 50 years. Also while in Potsdam, Truman gave the OK for
the use of atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Then it was time to board the ms Schumann. This 112 passenger river boat, has a quite shallow
draft (less than 3 feet) and pump jet propulsion, especially for use on smaller European
rivers, like the Elbe, which may not always have a large water flow. This size ship facilitates
getting to know the crew quickly, and them to know you. The Elbe had only a few locks to
navigate, sometimes with "hitch-hiking" smaller boats.
The next morning we arrived at Dessau, Germany, where we saw Worlitz Park, an enormous
landscape park with a large lake, English-style gardens, and a family of baby swans, whose
mother was not too keen on our walking on a nearby path. this was one of the first "public
parks" in Europe, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. We enjoyed lunch on the ship, and
We enjoyed lunch on the ship, and after an afternoon of cruising down the river,
had a traditional German dinner on board. We reached Wittenberg before dark.
Mike and Sandy visited the monastery where Martin Luther lived in the town of
Wittenberg -- it's now called Luther House, and is a museum devoted to Martin Luther's life.
They saw the old church where he posted his 95 Theses, including a bronze door with the 95 on
it -- the original wooden door burned in a fire years ago. Wittenburg also had some pictures
and displays of what life was like during the 40 years of Communist rule, including a picture
in a court yard, which can be compared with the same courtyard today.
Leaving Wittenberg, we continued down the river, arriving at Torgau for an evening walking
tour, seeing a monument marking the spot where in 1945 U.S. Army troops coming into Germany
from the west met up with Soviet Army troops advancing from the east. They also saw a huge
castle-home, where one of the area rulers lived in the 1600's, and where Martin Luther's wife
is buried.
After cruising the river, we arrived at Meissen, with its famous porcelain
factory, which has made china since the early 1700's. A tour, and the obligatory peek
into the "factory outlet" store (thankfully, Sandy didn't buy anything!), followed by
a walking tour of the Old Town (including seeing the water marks from the Elbe River
flood in 2002), and we were off again, heading for Dresden.
Dresden is one of the German cities almost totally destroyed during WW II. We saw
Dresden Castle, Zwinger Palace, the Opera House, and several churches. The largest, The Church
of Our Lady, is unusually constructed in a theatre style, with 3 balconies. It was destroyed
during the war, but now is fully restored, just as it was originally built in the 1500's.
A museum in the castle has an enormous treasure collection, with gold, porcelain,
jewelry, and precious stones, including a 41-carat green diamond. Sandy had time to visit
several shoe stores in the nearby shopping mall, as she has enjoyed several German brands in
the past, but didn't find any that were "just right."
A morning of cruising along the river brought all sorts of sights. This part of
the Elbe has both steep slopes with almost 1000-year old vineyards and beautiful flat
meadows. We stopped at the Elbe Sandstone Mountain range, with forests and huge sandstone
rock formations, known locally as the Saxon Switzerland. Docking at the town of Bad Schandau,
we went up to a rocky promenade for a panoramic view down to the river way below, and of the
rocky cliffs frequented by serious rock climbers.
Now the Czech Republic border was reached, and we stop at the little town of Litomerice,
where we had a brewery tour and sampled local Czech beer. (Factoid: Czechs hold the world
record for most per-capita beer consumption per year.)
The next morning we said goodbye to the ship, and made a short drive into Prague. The huge castle
and cathedral on top of the hill, the Charles Bridge crossing the river (pedestrians only), and
the "Old Town" were highlights. Mike and Sandy joined their church group the next morning for a
litle more time in Prague, and their next riverboat trip on the Danube.
