Krakow was the favorite stop of our December 2022 trip. Following our Elbe River cruise with Viking that took us from Berlin to Prague, we continued on a land extension into Poland that started in Krakow. Upon arriving at our hotel there, our guide Ivan urged everyone on the extension to join him on a … Continue reading Krakow
It was tough leaving the comforts of the Viking Astrild that we had enjoyed for the past five nights. On our last morning, we were docked in Decin, which is just inside the Czech Republic. As our bus drove away, we were able to look back across the Elbe to take the photo above. We … Continue reading Prague & Olomouc
During our time in Dresden we embarked on a wide-ranging tour of the surrounding Elbe Valley with a wonderful guide, a driver, and just one other couple from our cruise, making for a cozy, personalized excursion. Our small bus first wound around central Dresden and some of the surrounding suburbs and then headed out to … Continue reading Dresden & the Elbe Valley
Our ship departed Torgau in the middle of the night, but we woke up to much clearer skies with this sunrise to help get us going: We spent the morning sailing through a scenic stretch of the Elbe where bridges were few and far between. Along the way we passed the dock for a pedestrian … Continue reading Elbe & Meißen
Our time in Wittenberg during our Elbe cruise with Viking was all about Martin Luther and the start of the Protestant Reformation,which was kicked off by the posting of his Ninety-five Theses on the door of All Saints’ Church. Our excursion to the town began at the Lutherhaus museum. Luther lived there as a monk … Continue reading Wittenberg, the Elbe & Torgau
After five days in Berlin, we headed through the leafier and more spread out western suburbs of the city on our way to Potsdam, a town perhaps best known for serving as the site of the 1945 Potsdam Conference where the U.S., Great Britain, and the Soviet Union met to plan the post-war peace. Just … Continue reading Sans Souci Palace & Potsdam
In December 2022 we went on Viking River Cruise’s “Christmas Along the Elbe” cruise from Berlin to Prague, along with a post-cruise extension into Poland. This was our first river cruise since our trip to Spain and Portugal in December 2019. We extended our time in Berlin by arriving three days early to tour on … Continue reading Holiday Season in Berlin
On this Throw Back Thursday (#TBT) posting, we travel back nearly six years to our December 2015 “Heart of Germany” Christmas market cruise with Viking from Nuremberg to Frankfurt, Germany. This was our third time with Viking, but it was our first winter-time cruise. Our first two trips had been in the spring, but the … Continue reading #TBT: Foggy Wertheim
Colmar is a medieval village in the Alsace region of France, not far from Strasbourg. Its ancient buildings and winding streets provide a fairy tale-like experience year-round, but it takes on a special charm for the holidays with Christmas Market stalls erected around the church, in front of shops, and by the old Custom House. … Continue reading The Enchanting Village of Colmar
Rothenburg ob der Tauber (on the Tauber river) is a Bavarian village where it feels like time has stood still. Undamaged in WW2, this village is surrounded by an ancient wall punctuated with towers. The village embraces the German Christmas experience in a huge way. The head office of the famous Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas decoration … Continue reading Rothenburg Christmas
Halfway There Travelers 