Viking Rivers Cruises – Christmas Along the Elbe (Germany, Czech Republic) 10 Days

Berlin, Germany
Arrive and check in to your hotel. After a decades-long postwar rift, Germany’s capital has been reunified and undergone a remarkable rebirth as a center of art, culture and great architecture. It is still riding the wave of its newfound energy, and exploring its streets feels akin to browsing a newly opened museum. Risen from the ashes of war, many of its buildings that once stood for division now embrace unity. Among them, the Reichstag parliament building embodies a new transparency with its glass dome, and the city’s Museum Island celebrates self-expression and creativity.

Berlin, Germany
Berlin is one of Europe’s most cosmopolitan and forward-thinking capitals. When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, a sweeping transformation took hold and is powerfully symbolized in the Reichstag, Germany’s parliament building. Monuments of wartime are everywhere here, from remnants of the wall to Checkpoint Charlie. Prewar treasures include the baroque Charlottenburg Palace and 13th-century St. Nicholas Church. Straddling the Spree River and peppered with grand theaters and more than 170 museums—many of them on Museum Island—today’s Berlin is a major cultural center.

Shore Excursions – Festive Berlin
Duration: 4 hours 
Immerse yourself in Berlin’s past and present as you tour the city’s sights and shop for festive treats. Meet your guide and embark on a scenic drive by motor coach along Unter den Linden, across the Schlossbrücke, or Palace Bridge, and past the breathtaking neo-Renaissance cathedral. Stop at the open air East Side Gallery and admire the paintings along a section of the Berlin Wall before heading to the Old Town. Witness the imposing Brandenburg Gate, an entry into the city through which Napoleon once marched and a former symbol of a city once divided. At Checkpoint Charlie, discover stories of brave Berliners who tried to pass between East and West Berlin. After your panoramic tour, take a stroll around one of Berlin’s yuletide markets and enjoy the festive aromas of spiced glühwein and cinnamon-filled treats as you browse the colorful market stalls.

Potsdam, Germany
After breakfast, check out of your hotel and begin your journey to your embarkation city. Potsdam straddles one of the Elbe’s main tributaries, the Havel River. It boasts a rich history that spans more than 1,000 years. From its humble beginning, Potsdam burgeoned into a royal city, hosting the residences of Prussian and German rulers until the early 1900s. A series of tumultuous events followed, but through it all, Potsdam maintained its prominent stature. And in 1990, with Germany’s reunification, Potsdam was named Brandenburg’s state capital. Today, the city’s regal past lives on in its 16 well-preserved palaces and three elegantly landscaped parks.

Shore Excursions – Sanssouci Palace & Potsdam Walk
Duration: 7 hours      
Marvel at one of Germany’s most magnificent palaces, elegant in design and rich in history. Drive from your hotel to Potsdam, home to no fewer than 16 castles, palaces and beautifully landscaped parks. Stop to explore the summer home of Frederick the Great, the magnificent rococo palace of Sanssouci. This yellow confection and its glorious garden were built to rival the palatial Château de Versailles. Designed to his ideal of “living without a care,” or sans souci, it became more than his residence for the warmer months—he retreated here in times of difficulty to relax in the company of his beloved dogs. Enjoy a guided tour of the elegant rooms and stroll through the stunning grounds and gardens. (On Mondays, you will visit the spectacular New Palace instead.) After your tour, enjoy lunch on your own before transferring to your ship in Wittenberg.

Wittenberg, Germany
Transfer to your ship and settle into your stateroom. Wittenberg is an important center of culture and learning, known mostly as the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation. It was here that the Augustinian monk Martin Luther famously nailed his “95 Theses” against the selling of indulgences to the door of the palace church in 1517, launching the spread of a new religious movement throughout Europe. Wittenberg’s incredibly preserved Old Town was spared destruction during World War II, and so its charming houses remain as they have for centuries, with those in the market square huddled around the beloved statue of Luther.

Wittenberg, Germany
In a city so central to the Protestant Reformation, it is well worth taking a closer look at Wittenberg’s churches. The most famous is the Lutheran All Saints’ Church, built around 1340. It later became the official church of the University of Wittenberg and provided a pulpit for Martin Luther and his colleague Philipp Melanchthon to preach Protestantism. Luther and Melanchthon are both entombed within the church. The Town Church of St. Mary is renowned as the first to have celebrated mass in German rather than in Latin. Here, also, bread and wine were offered to worshippers for the first time, earning it a place as the “Mother Church of the Reformation.”

Shore Excursions – Wittenberg City Walk & Christmas Market
Duration: 4 hours    
Stroll in the footsteps of Martin Luther, founder of the Protestant Reformation, and browse a festive market. Wittenberg’s history centers around the actions and teachings of Luther, the Augustinian monk who nailed his “95 Theses” to the door of All Saints’ Church, the palace’s castle church. Walk with your guide to this late Gothic gem, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Luther preached here, and you will see the “Theses Doors” to which he attached his historic message. Inside, see Luther’s grave, as well as that of his fellow reformer Melanchthon. Continue to the market square for a stroll around the festive stalls, exploring an array of seasonal goods and reveling in the joyous holiday atmosphere. After, visit St. Mary’s Church, a UNESCO Site where Luther was married and often preached. Then, briefly stop at the courtyard of his former private residence before returning to your ship.

Meissen, Germany
Surrounded by idyllic wine villages and set at a rocky spur on the Elbe, Meissen dates back more than a thousand years. The city is dominated by its 13th- and 14th-century Gothic cathedrals and Albrechtsburg Castle, perched on a low hill, considered one of the great achievements of German architecture. The introduction of porcelain here by Johann Friedrich Böttger in the early 18th century made Meissen world famous. Meissenware has been produced here ever since. Across the city, the chimes of the Gothic Church of Our Lady’s bells can be heard; they were the first church bells made of porcelain.

Shore Excursions – Christmas in Meissen & Porcelain Manufacturing
Duration: 4 hours    
Immerse yourself in the holiday season at the romantic Meissen winter market and visit a famous porcelain factory. Embark on a short drive to the famous Meissen porcelain factory, where fine pieces are still handmade despite today’s technology. Upon arrival, see firsthand how porcelain is made from china clay and potter’s earth and trademarked with the famous crossed swords. Continue to the center of Meissen and enjoy a walking tour past the beautiful 15th-century Albrechtsburg Castle as you head to the city’s historic main square and its winter market. During Advent, the square comes alive in a merry blaze of lights, fir trees, and yuletide aromas and music. Spend time exploring the festively decorated stalls selling an array of seasonal goods and reveling in the joyous holiday atmosphere. Stop to admire the guild hall, whose late Gothic facade turns into a gigantic Advent calendar with 24 Christmas surprises behind its large blue shutters.

Dresden, Germany
Dresden is awash in artistic treasures and baroque splendor. The city is blessed with water meadows and green parks near the center, giving it a wide-open feeling and making it easy to focus on the beautiful sandstone buildings that line the river. It took Dresden more than 50 years to rebuild after it was devastated during Allied bombing. Most agree it was certainly worth the wait. The city has been lovingly restored to its original glory, from the ornate Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) and grand Semper Opera House to the shining Zwinger Palace.

Shore Excursions – Dresden & the World’s Oldest Christmas Market
Duration: 4 hours      
Visit the gloriously restored city of Dresden and browse the stalls of the Striezelmarkt for a festive treat. Begin with a panoramic drive to the Neustadt district on the right bank of the Elbe to admire beautiful 19th-century residences and cultural institutions. Then, visit the Grünes Gewölbe, the Green Vault museum which houses what is said to be the largest collection of treasures in the world. Marvel at the magnificent Semper Opera House and see the spectacular Zwinger Palace, a rococo-style complex that was once an exhibition court for royalty. Get into the holiday spirit during a stop at the Striezelmarkt, the world’s oldest Christmas market; in 2019, the city celebrated its 585th anniversary. Enjoy free time to admire the stalls brimming with handmade yuletide ornaments, and savor a delicious warming helping of glühwein served in a themed decorative mug and spiced with cloves and cinnamon.

Scenic Sailing: Saxon Switzerland
Sail through the magnificent, soaring rock formations of Saxon Switzerland. This spectacular region earned its name from two Swiss painters who were reminded of their home while visiting. You will witness some of the wildest cliff formations imaginable, with nicknames such as Catapult, Locomotive and Wolf’s Ravine. As you pass through, marvel at the Bastei, a 1,000-foot spectacle of tooth-like rocks connected by a footbridge. Sailing past these iconic monoliths is sure to be a highlight of your journey.

Shore Excursions – The Bastei
Duration: 3 hours 30 minutes  
See the graceful path of the Elbe from the most dramatic lookout point. Journey with your guide to the breathtaking Bastei. These towering rocks soar above the river like jagged teeth and offer sweeping vistas from the footbridge that connects them. These massive walls once formed a natural defense around the adjacent rock castle of Neurathen—hence the name Bastei, meaning “Bastion.” The bridge that you will cross to reach the castle’s remains was originally built of wood in 1824 and replaced with a sandstone structure just 27 years later. It spans 250 feet and boasts seven arches. Throughout your visit, you will see evidence of Germany’s pride on the grounds of this natural wonder: rock tablets commemorate the first mention of Bastei by a travel writer in 1797, the first landscape photographs taken in 1853 and the first pioneers of tourism who introduced the world to this wondrous sight.

Bad Schandau, Germany
One of the oldest and most important spa resorts in Saxon Switzerland, the beautiful resort city of Bad Schandau has retained much of the splendor and charm of bygone ages. After iron-rich springs were discovered here in the mid-18th century, hotels and spa houses soon dotted the landscape. In 1920, the town (then Schandau) was awarded the right to use the prefix “Bad,” meaning “Spa.” For refugees and emigrants during World War II, this was a place of hope. Many were helped to safety by climbers who knew secret passes through the mountains and out of Germany.

Prague, Czech Republic
Prague is known as the “City of a Hundred Spires” and it is easy to see why. The towering twin steeples of Týn Church and the beautiful baroque Church of St. Nicholas are among some of the city’s most notable. Best explored on foot, Prague’s Old Town is a maze of ancient cobblestone lanes with the Old Town Square at its core. Here, the medieval Astronomical Clock still chimes today and provides for its viewers a little theater with the “Walk of the Apostles” on the hour, every hour.

Shore Excursions – Panoramic Prague & Christmas Market
Duration: 5 hours     
Get into the spirit of the season during a walk around Prague’s Old Town and visit to a charming Christmas market. Embark on a panoramic drive to the Old Town, an eclectic mix of well-preserved medieval constructions and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its main square was a major crossroads on 12th-century trade routes and the focal point of the city’s early development; today, it is a repository of Romanesque, baroque and Gothic architecture. Among the buildings you will see are the Týn Church and the 15th-century Astronomical Clock, which comes alive every hour with its “Walk of the Apostles.” Visit an exhibition of Bohemian Christmas decorations, then immerse yourself in the sights, sounds and aromas of a yuletide market in the main square. Browse the quaint stalls nestled around the Jan Hus statue for the perfect ornament with which to decorate your holiday tree back home before heading back to your hotel.

Prague, Czech Republic
Few cities embody the past as authentically as Prague, the Czech Republic’s atmospheric capital on the Vltava River that clings to its history with unwavering passion. Prague’s medieval architecture is its most prominent, but the city is also a rich repository of Romanesque, baroque and art nouveau buildings that stir the imagination. The city’s graceful, pedestrian-only Charles Bridge served as the coronation route of the kings of Bohemia across the river to Hradčany Castle and its rich complex of royal buildings.

Prague, Czech Republic
Bid farewell to your fellow guests and journey home. Or spend more time exploring, perhaps joining one of our extensions.