Elegant Elbe River Cruise

Browse the Photo Galleries of the 12 day tour from Hamburg to Prague, all centered on the Elbe River in Eastern Germany.

For me, this was an educational cruise. I never understood the implications of Eastern Germany and what happened to the people who lived in the EDR. All of my information came from the news and West Berlin. We heard many stories of people who lived at the time Eastern Germany was formed, at the time the Berlin Wall was built and of course, when the Berlin Wall was torn down. In all of those stories we heard from people who lived through the trauma, the lack of basic needs, the separation from family members, the Gestapo-like tactics, the lack of privacy and the police-like state they lived in throughout their lives. In addition, we saw the architecture, even with modern day facelifts, of the totalitarian style of blocks, lack of color and similarity throughout the area. We visited the places where history was made. When we visited Potsdam, where Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin forged an agreement on the governing of Germany after the war, I remember the feeling that Eastern Germany was “thrown under the bus” to use my terms. Much was promised, but little was delivered. The Allies gave and invested much in Western Germany. The same did not occur in Eastern Germany until the Berlin Wall came down.

Below are Photo Gallery links for the major stops along the Elegant Elbe River Cruise. The weather was cool, cloudy and a bit wet. The Elbe River was near flood stage but the Viking ship was able to sail under all bridges, just not able to dock at all stops. One site was under water. We got to visit a winery instead. Click on either the Name or the Photo to see the Gallery of images.

GALLERIES:

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