River Cruise, how about sailing the Elbe.

Over the last few weeks I have spoken to a number of people about European River Cruises, most have some knowledge about the Rhine and the Danube, but less about the Elbe and Portugals Douro.

So I thought I'd do a little review on the Elbe, with your holiday starting in Berlin and ending in the Beautiful city of Prague.

You will discover the natural beauty of former East Germany’s dramatic landscape, tour the opulent palaces of Saxon monarchs and stroll through beautifully landscaped gardens; sail between the dramatic sandstone cliffs of Germany’s “Saxon Switzerland.” Marvel at the baroque splendour of Dresden and see how Meissenware porcelain is produced. Walk in the footsteps of Martin Luther in historic Wittenberg and learn about the Protestant Reformation.

 

This trip is a Viking River Cruises itinerary on Viking Schumann, and there are a number of sailings during the year. As with all river cruises some of them operate in the reverse direction.

Viking Schumann

Day 1 Berlin, enjoy free time to get acquainted with the city—or join an organised tour.

Brandenburg Gate Berlin

Day 2 Potsdam & Magdeburg, tour either Sanssouci Palace, a perfect example of German rococo architecture, or the nearby New Chambers—both built by Prussian King Frederick the Great in the 18th century. Later that day transfer to Magdeburg to embark your ship

Magdeburg Cathedral

Day 3 Dessau, visit Wörlitz Park, Germany’s first landscaped park with English-style gardens and tour the castle.

Day 4 Wittenberg & Torgau, follow in Martin Luther’s footsteps to view many of Wittenberg’s historic landmarks. Later that day have an evening stroll to see fortified Hartenfels Castle, Market Square and the riverside monument commemorating the historic 1945 meeting between Russian and American troops.

Day 5 Meissen, visit the Meissenware factory, which has produced fine porcelain since the early 1700s. Later enjoy a short cruise to a glorious evening arrival in Dresden.  

Albrechtsburg Castle, Meissen

Day 6 Dresden, nicknamed “Florence on the Elbe.” See the the 19th-century residential area to the Dresden Castle complex; enter the Green Vault to see a comprehensive collection of the Saxon monarchs’ crown jewels; and of course the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) with its distinctive bell-shaped dome, which survived the World War II bombings but collapsed the following day and was later rebuilt.

Day 7 Saxon Switzerland, stunning scenery from the ship as you cruise through the magnificent, soaring rock formations of the Saxon Switzerland region. You will also see  the famous rock tower known as the Bastei (bastion), formed by water a million years ago, to enjoy stunning panoramic views of the Elbe. 

Saxon Switzerland from the Bastei

Day 8 Litomerice, one of the prettiest towns in the Czech Republic. See St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the Jesuit Church, historic Market Square and many residential buildings from the baroque, Renaissance and Gothic periods.

Day 9 Melnik & Prague, disembark for transfer to Prague were you will have a guided walk through Old Town  and be able to take some free time to explore on your own. Then ride to Hradcany Castle for a tour through the castle’s interior, before heading to your overnight hotel.

Day 10 Prague, check out and proceed to the airport for your return flight.

As you may be aware I did a River Cruise on the Main/Danube Canal a couple of years ago, why not read my review. If you have never done a River cruise, they are great for seeing the scenery and travelling along at a leisurely pace, so why not give it a try and give me a call.

A Travel Agents diary...

So thought I'd write this as a little diary, 3 days on a River Cruise on the Main/Danube Canal in Germany on an Ama Waterways ship.

To set the scene this was a short 3 day familiarisation trip on AMADante, which was doing a 14 day trip which started in Budapest and ended in Amsterdam on 1st May. My colleague Faz and I were doing 3 nights of this trip from Nuremberg to Wertheim, then flights back from Frankfurt.

Day 1 - Sunday 24th April (Easter Sunday)

Long day today, early start for me in Redditch at 6.30am to drive to Heathrow picking up Faz on the way to get a Lufthansa flight to Munich.

Once in Munich, a private transfer to Nuremberg to the ship. My first experience of the German Autobann, unlimited speed limits in places, the 7 series BMW made light work of the 180 kilometres - could I add this car to list of ones I'm looking at - sorry don't think the bank manager would allow!

Nuremberg

There we joined the end of an excursion around Nuremberg before a transfer to the ship by coach.

Reception

First time on a River cruise, so we took a quick tour of the ship given by our host Neil. Now the ships are not the prettyest externally, but they are limited by size of bridges and locks but internally its a bit different. A boutique hotel would be a good description, and as a bonus there are also some single cabins.

Treatment room 

Gym

There is only 1 sitting for dining, so at 7 everyone headed to the dining room were the meal came came with complementary wine or beer. We then headed to the bar and eventually to our cabins.

Day 2 - Monday 25th April

The ship had travelled over night to Bamberg, Germany going through a number of locks on the way. Be careful when looking out in a lock or you could bang your head!

View down the lock!

All the excursions are included and on some days there is a choice, but not today, so a guided tour of Bamberg and our first change to use the Vox boxes, so everyone in that group can hear the guide and not have to strain. Thought that was excellent.

'The gruesome twosome' with Faz modelling the Vox Box

In the afternoon, we had a day sailing the river, first chance to see the locks and bridges. The bridge moves up and down depending on the clearence, now this next picture is interesting - nice if its fine but otherwise the captain may get wet!

The Captain looking out from the bridge!

Day 3 - Tuesday 26th April

Again the ship has travelled overnight and we are now berthed in Kitzingen for a morning tour, before returning to the ship for lunch and then an afternoon stop and excursions further down the river.

Kitzingen

Now, we have all heard about traffic jams on the M6 well that's what happend to us, the ship was stuck in a queue for a lock and we could not get back for lunch. So the Cruise Director organised coaches to Wurtzburg for lunch and then follow the afternoon excursion, which could have been Wurtzburg or Rothenberg, we chose Rothenberg in the mountains.

Rothenberg

Back to the ship and then thye evening entertainment. Now if you were expecting big shows like Cunard, Royal et al, forget it the ships are not big enough, but tonight we had a glass blower on board, what a laugh and relevant because tomorrow the ship will be in Wertheim, a large glass blowing area. (Found his picture on the web)

Glass blower

Last night, back to travelling in the morning so an early night.

Day 4 - Wednesday 27th April

Up early for breakfast, the usual, excellent omlette made by the chef in front of me. But there is a wide variety of other choices for breakfast.

Transfer back to the airport, Frankfurt this time, for a flight back to blighty. Walking through arrivals at about midday back to my family.

So it was a long trip for a few days but it certainly gave me an insight into River cruising. If you are looking to be entartained with a Broadway or London show or want to have relaxing days at sea, then this is not for you, but if you want to take a leisurely trip down one of the main rivers of Europe seeing churches, cathederals and castles on the way this may well be for you.