Berlin to Prague

The Millikans’ cruise ship moored at Wittenburg. Photo by Chris and Rick Millikan.

Our Elbe River cruise brims with new discoveries, beginning with three days in Berlin.

Hop-on-hop-off buses introduce us to city highlights. Symbolizing a reunited democracy, the neo-classical Reichstag’s new glass dome provides public views of working legislators and panoramic downtown. The Tiergarten’s Victory Column commemorates an 1860s Prussian triumph. The Holocaust Memorial’s 2,711 stark concrete slabs grieve Jewish deaths. And replacing two 18th-century customhouses, nearby Brandenburg Gate welcomes all.

Other memorials inspire contemplation and hope. Bomb-damaged, Kaiser Wilhelm Church emphasizes wars’ atrocities. An inner plaque recounts Nazi imprisonment and murder of its dissenting minister. Upbeat, vibrant graffiti covers remnants of the Berlin wall.

Charlottenburg palace evokes Germany’s glorious beginning. King Frederick I’s equestrian statue fronts his queen’s large baroque residence. Inside, Charlotte’s music room displays the harpsichord she expertly played and a portrait of Leibnitz, her tutor. Such renowned intellectuals convened regularly in her sumptuous Ballroom. Several rooms reflect descendants’ lives, including grandson Frederick the Great.

A scenic walk along River Spree includes Museum Island, where Berlin Cathedral towers above five neoclassical buildings. Four exhibit Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian and Greek art treasures. One museum, the German National Gallery, delights us with romantic period art: Wagnerian knights, damsels and dragons.

Three sunny days later, a motorcoach carries our cruise group across the river Havel, former East German border, into Potsdam. There, stylish neighbourhoods recall Dutch and French immigrants of 1685, who helped transform this former walled garrison into a royal city.

The home of Martin Luther in Wittenburg. Photo by Chris and Rick Millikan.

Nearby, Frederick the Great constructed a summer palace atop a terraced hillside. Bacchanal figures and grape clusters adorn golden-yellow walls. Below the central dome, the gilded French name Sans Souci means “without cares.” Excluding court responsibilities and women, this sanctuary provided joyful relaxation.

Statues of Venus and Apollo flank the foyer’s entrance. Goddess Flora drops flowers from the painted sky ceiling. Gilded swirls accentuate dining room walls and panels picturing pastoral bliss. One portrait shows Frederick, a gifted musician, playing his flute with an orchestra. Another presents this military genius in modest uniform.

In another neighbourhood stands Cecilienhof, the last palace built by German royalty and site of the post WWII Potsdam Conference. Red flowers forming a star amid the main courtyard recall the palace’s service as the Soviet’s East German headquarters.

Along the peaceful Elbe, our riverboat “home” moors outside Wittenberg. After breakfast, we visit Martin Luther’s Augustinian monastery. Guide Marta escorts us through rooms he shared with other friars and later his family, students and supporters. Our walk continues to Town Church.

“Luther preached sermons, married Katharina and baptized their six children here,” Marta reveals. “A local artist, Lucas Cranach painted that Last Supper… showing beer-loving friend Luther holding a mug.” At Wittenberg University, she mentions that Luther taught here… and earned his Doctor of Theology. Statues of fellow protestant Philip Melanchthon and Luther flank Town Hall. And at Castle Church, we behold the door upon which Luther nailed his revolutionary Ninety-five Theses. Back aboard the Astrild, costumed performers present medieval music and enact scenarios based on Luther’s life.

Two destinations today! At Wörlitz, neo-classical palaces, replicated Roman ruins, synagogue and artificial volcano border an enormous manmade lake. Duke Leopold III created this park-like estate to teach architecture, gardening and agriculture.

Our Torgau sojourn begins at a riverside monument celebrating the WWII meeting of Russian and American troops. Continuing into Hartenfel Castle, we see royal shields; resident brown bears frolic in the old moat. Passing Katharina’s childhood convent and town square, we investigate the church where Luther first preached in German.

Wittenburg’s town hall. Photo by Chris and Rick Millikan.

Though perfect for sightseeing, dry weather creates a shallow, unnavigable river requiring our transfer to another riverboat. In transit, we visit Meissen starting at its 1863 Porcelain Factory. Displayed prominently inside is red stoneware, precursor to fine porcelain. Artisans in workshops demonstrate the current use of clay molds and enamels introduced in the 1700s. Galleries exhibit arrays of stunning porcelain figurines, vases and tableware; a portrait acknowledges founder Augustus II.

Albrechtsburg and gothic 13th-century Meissen Cathedral share a hilltop. “This castle originally enclosed the porcelain factory,” explains our guide. “Augustus imprisoned its inventor here as production manager.” Descending a cobbled roadway into the historic district, we find a church’s surprising porcelain carillon.

Our new longship base, the Beyla, moors along Dresden’s historic district. The crew welcomes us all aboard with Oktoberfest… complete with German beer, bratwurst, strudel and oompah-pah music. Our morning walking tour skirts the Elbe, passing the domed Academy of Art, Dresden Cathedral, Semper Opera House and into Augustus’ Zwinger Palace. His Green Vault contains one of Europe’s largest art collections. We marvel at inventive old clocks, elaborate ivory sculptures, crafted stone inlays and bejeweled creations.

A magnificent 102-metre tile mural outside portrays 700 years of Saxon rulers, scientists, artisans, farmers and children. The Margrave of Meissen leads the Parade of Nobles. Augustus’ horse tramples the Luther Rose, signifying his Catholic conversion that was required to become Poland’s king.

A huge Luther statue rises amid an enormous cobblestone square. In front of 18th-century Our Lady Church, pianists play jazzy melodies. Around the corner stands a yellow palace, “Augustus built that for Countess Cosel, one of his many mistresses,” grins our guide. “He fathered over 300 children.” At dinner, shipmates toast Augustus and Dresden, his resplendent baroque creation.

Prague’s Town Hall Square. Photo by Chris and Rick Millikan.

Two morning excursions carry us through small villages and over rolling green hills into Saxon Switzerland. Our initial destination is 12th-century Königstein, a hilltop fortress so impregnable it also functioned as state treasury and prison. Beyond the barracks, officers’ quarters, armoury and chapel, a yellow hexagonal cottage catered royal parties. The second destination, the Bastei features even more sweeping Elbe Valley vistas and spectacular hike amid lofty sandstone pillars.

Motor coaching on into the Czech Republic, there’s opportunity to amble through medieval Litomerice and sample Bohemian beer. Resettled later in Prague, we enter the once flourishing, 14th-century walled city. Pastel buildings surround cobblestoned Market Square. Some boast “sgraffito”; others vibrant mosaics of medieval scenes. A central monument honours John Hus, a church reformer burned here at the stake a century before Luther’s time. At one corner, towering Town Hall features a working 15th-century astronomical clock.

A shuttle takes us to the castle district, home of Bohemian kings, Emperors and Czechoslovakian presidents. Adjacent to imposing Prague Castle, gothic St. Vitus Church displays an exterior mosaic of the last judgment, cleverly inducing attendance. One inner chapel entombs St. Wenceslaus; paintings reveal his 10th-century benevolence. In another, a ton of silver adorns St. John’s tomb.

Returning the next morning to Lobkowicz Palace, we enjoy ballroom lunches, chamber music and museum tour. In its galleries, paintings reveal ancestors achieving power during the Thirty Years War. Other rooms display portraits of beloved dogs and manuscripts given to family benefactors. These include Beethoven’s “Eroica,” dedicated to Prince Lobkowicz.

A visit to Charles Bridge concludes our stay. At the portal of this famous bridge stands a marble Charles IV, the Holy Roman Empire’s first elected Bohemian emperor. Thirty saints decorate its balustrade. Below St. John’s statue, a bronze plaque shows him receiving the queen’s confessions… then drowned in the river for keeping her secrets!

Comfy hotels, riverboats and local guides facilitated investigations of remarkable cities and attractions, including five World Heritage sites. Heading homeward, we pack Czech and German gifts… and countless treasured memories.