ONBOARD ELBE PRINCESS II — After two stopovers as splendid as Dresden and Meissen, the bar was high to compete with these two cities.

Next up on our cruise, Wittenberg was fascinating for its history, and delightful for the blossoming of the flowers of its fruit trees.

Renowned as the cradle of Protestantism, Wittenberg sees a large number of pilgrims flocking each year to follow in the footsteps of Martin Luther, reformer of the Church.

Four sites in the city are on the UNESCO World Heritage List, including the castle church and its impressive Gothic tower, where Luther (and also Melanchthon, another reformer) rests.

Back on the Elbe, we organize visits to the wheelhouse of the Elbe Princess II, to see how the captain manages on this ever-changing river.

Each year, water levels can vary to the extremes, in both directions: sometimes the Elbe overflows its banks, sometimes the river is so low that it compromises navigation.

Along the water, we come across contemporary sites such as a grain silo which could be mistaken for a medieval castle, while the sky becomes threatening. Industrial installations regularly return along the route, a sign of the economic activity that prevails along the Elbe. This river has long served as the main route of communication between cities.

Before the next stopover, you can either take advantage of the comfortable public spaces, such as the living room…

…or choose to settle into bed to let the landscape pass by in front of the large window of your cabin, in complete peace and quiet.

At lunch, the chef continues to honour CroisiEurope’s reputation for good food, with a cod fillet in white butter sauce and his mushroom risotto.

In the evening, two days before the end of the cruise, the meal ended with a Baked Alaska. This succulent dessert flambéed with Grand Marnier was served with great pomp and ceremony.

 

After a good night’s sleep, the sailors open the cover of the paddle wheels in the early morning to lubricate them – as they do every day.

After breakfast, we head for Magdeburg. The Saxon capital preserves much of its more than one thousand years of history, despite intense bombings during the WWII.

Magdeburg’s imposing Saint-Maurice-et-Sainte-Catherine Cathedral is considered the first major German Gothic building.

In a completely different register, there’s the astonishing Green Citadel, the work of the Austrian artist Hundertwasser. Originally designed to be ‘an oasis for man and nature in an ocean of rational houses, it now houses apartments and a hotel.

Following the visit to Magdeburg, the Elbe Princess II casts off for Berlin. It soon leaves the Elbe to take the Elbe-Havel canal, then the Havel, which leads to the German capital. The ship anchors in the Tegel district.

An immense city, Berlin covers nearly 900 square kilometres, as we learn on our three hour guided Motorcoach tour, in the company of a French-speaking (as always) and funny guide. On the program: Kurfürstendamm Avenue, Checkpoint Charlie, the architectural icons of Potsdamer Platz, and large-scale frescoes …

Visible from almost everywhere, Berlin’s Fernsehturm, the TV tower, is one of the most emblematic buildings in the city. The Reichstag, seat of the German Parliament, is also an icon with its dome rebuilt according to the plans of the British architect Norman Foster.

Of the infamous wall that divided the city from 1961 to 1989, little remains, except the East Side Gallery.

We soon arrive at the Brandenburg Gate, symbol of the city, walled for a long time and now synonymous with freedom between east and west.

On a building to its left the Fleurdelysé proudly flies. This is where the Quebec Branch in Berlin is located, one of the two representations of the Quebec state in Germany. No doubt this is the sign that it is time to come home…

Profession Voyages (part of The Travelweek Group) recently sailed on CroisiEurope’s Elbe Princess II from the Czech Republic to Germany, and shared the experience visually, with photos of the port cities, the scenery along the way, and of course, the onboard experience. To read part 1 of this CroisiEurope coverage, click here. For part 2, click here. This story was originally published in Profession Voyages, part of The Travelweek Group.