By Margot/Clement Ip
Dominic/Cecilia Chan and Clement/Margot Ip traveled together on the Viking Elbe River cruise in September of 2015. The journey began in Berlin, then headed southward through Saxony in former East Germany, and ended in Prague of Czech Republic. The following narrative describes, in chronological order, the places we visited in the 2-week itinerary.
Berlin
Viking provided us with a guided city tour of Berlin in a company coach. We passed by a string of attractions, including the Bundestag, Reichstag, Berlin Cathedral, Chancellery, Templehof, a section of the original Wall, Holocaust Memorial, Kurfurstedam shopping area, Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Chapel, Charlottenburg Palace, Brandenburg Gate ......... and more. Due to time constraints, we were able to stop at only a few selective spots. Berlin has so much history and so many historic landmarks that our guide had no trouble talking continuously for 4 hours.
Once we got our bearing from the bus tour, we decided to venture out on our own. Aided by Dominic's built-in GPS in his head, we took off on a sweeping loop around the central part of the metropolis. Along the way, we lingered for a brief moment at the Tiergarten (a large public park), Victory Column (commemorating the Prussian defeat of Denmark), and Soviet Memorial (where thousands of Red Army soldiers who died in the battle of Berlin were buried). Lunchtime found us at the KaDeWe department store, which has a footprint the size of a soccer field. It is a paradise for high-end shoppers. One floor is devoted entirely to gourmet food from all over the world. After fortifying ourselves with a delicious snack at the rooftop cafe, we proceeded to Checkpoint Charlie. This iconic guard station, once the gateway to the American sector from East Berlin, now stands in the middle of a busy intersection. One corner of the intersection is occupied by a photo gallery showing old images of the same location during the Cold War era. It was time to head back to the hotel. We followed Unter den Linden to the Brandenburg Gate (the Nazi parade used to march on this wide boulevard), then cut in front of the Reichstag to admire its elegant architecture. The Reichstag, which was rebuilt after WWII, is now capped with a glass dome to symbolize transparency of the government.
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We also managed to find time for two of the top museums in Berlin. The Pergamon is famous for the Ishtar Gate from Babylon, the Market Gate from Miletus, Mesopotamian antiquities and Islamic art. The Neues has an extensive Egyptian collection, including an exquisite bust of Nefertiti. Artifacts from the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age are also on display. Incidentally Angela Merkel's modest apartment building is across the street from the museums, with a single policeman standing guard outside the front door.
Potsdam
Potsdam, a suburb of Berlin, was our next destination. Entrance to the town center is by the Glienicke Bridge, the so-called Bridge of Spies because the exchange of spies between East and West took place on this span during the Cold War. We made two stops in Potsdam. The first was at Cecilienhof, the private residence of Crown Prince Wilhelm and his family. The Potsdam Conference of 1945 was held here in which Stalin, Churchill, and Truman met to discuss the post-war fate of Germany and the partition of Berlin into 4 administrative zones. Too bad that we were not permitted to see the conference room! The second stop was at the rococo Sansouci Palace, built by Frederick the Great as his summer retreat. He relished in this sanctuary to escape from his royal duties and to relax with his beloved dogs. His final resting place on the palace grounds is marked by a simple gravestone. Later in the afternoon, we were driven to Wittenberg to board the ship.
Wittenberg
Wittenberg is indelibly linked to Martin Luther, the theologian who championed Reformation in the early 1500’s to challenge the Catholic Church. Led by a local guide (who is a theology teacher himself), we toured the house where Luther had lived, worked and lectured for nearly 40 years. Our guide told a fascinating story about Luther's commitment to becoming a priest, his religious philosophy, his marriage to Katharina (a former nun), and his confrontation with the Catholic establishment. After the house tour, we walked to two nearby churches: St. Mary's where Luther preached his "heretic ideology", and Castle Church where he nailed his 95 Theses of Contention to the front door in 1517. Luther was not the only activist in town. A colleague from the university by the name of Melanchthon was also an advocate of Reformation. The statues of these two individuals stand side by side in the market square.
Another warm and sunny day brought us to Worlitz Park, Germany's first landscaped park built in the 18th century. It was designed along the motif of English-style gardens. Amidst an expansive and serene surrounding, palaces and temples are hidden behind luxuriant trees and grottos. A series of man-made lakes, bordered by footpaths and connected by canals, are set in the center of the park. We had a gondola ride on the lake, and enjoyed a very pleasant time lost in the beautiful scenery.
Torgau
At the end of WWII, Torgau was the place where Soviet and American troops joined up on the Elbe River bridge. A monument on the riverbank commemorates the epic event. Across the street from the monument is Hartenfels Castle. Inside is a small museum where photos of the rendezvous are shown. The Castle also houses a chapel in which Martin Luther performed his first baptism. On the way to the market square, we walked by the home of Katharina Luther. She moved to Torgau to live out her life after the death of her husband. The big market square, lined with shops on three sides, is dominated by the richly decorated Town Hall on the fourth. Behind it is the Church of Nicholas, dedicated to the patron saint of merchants. St. Nick must have been very generous in his blessing to the Torgau citizens. The oldest toy store in Germany is still open for business in one corner of the square. Back to the Castle to climb the 160-step spiral staircase so we could get a bird's eye view of the countryside. Our effort was rewarded by looking over a panorama of verdant fields and the shimmering Elbe slicing through the landscape.
Meissen
Meissen is the next town on the river and is home to the world famous porcelain bearing its name. Our first stop was the factory to see demonstrations of hand-crafting porcelain pieces. An important raw material for white Meissen porcelain is kaolin clay, which can be fired to 1,400 C to give it a glossy appearance. The upper floors of the factory contain a large collection of porcelain art objects, some of which are very elaborate and exotic. After the factory visit, we went on a guided walk of the old town, ending up at the hilltop Albrechsburg Castle, a Gothic structure built in the 15th century. In 1710, the Castle became the founding place of commercial porcelain production and remained in this capacity for 150 years. The Castle is protected by a tall rampart that looms over the residential area below. Some of the houses in the old town date back nearly 600 years. Adjacent to the Castle is the Church of Our Lady. It has a spectacular tower adorned with a set of porcelain bells (don't forget we were in Meissen!) which play at certain hours of the day.
Dresden
If Meissen is the cradle of Saxony, then Dresden is the jewel on the Elbe. A little history is in order as a backdrop to the character of Dresden. The city became a cultural mecca during the reign of Augustus the Strong at the turn of the 18th century. As a ruler of Saxony, he was a fervent supporter of art and architecture. The many lavish palaces, museums and churches in Dresden were constructed in that period. Disaster struck at the end of WWII, when in February of 1945 massive air strikes by Allied forces completely destroyed the town center. Today Dresden is like Phoenix rising out of the ashes. The old architectural gems have been restored to their original form. Since treasures from the various museums were stowed away in the nearby mountain hideouts before the bombing, they were preserved in their entirety.
In a half-day guided walking tour of Dresden, we made the first stop at the royal residence to see its jaw-dropping collection of decorative art. Another eye-popping feature of the palace is a porcelain-tiled mural measuring about 30 feet x 400 feet in dimension. It depicts a procession of 30 dukes and princes who had ruled Saxony. Other points of interest on the walk were the Church of Our Lady, Semper Opera House and Zwinger Palace (a huge complex of buildings now turned into 3 different museums). The tour gave us plenty of ideas of what to do in our free time. Since the boat dock was very close to the town center, it was quite convenient to explore on our own.
We decided to head back to the Zwinger museums. With a single admission price, we breezed through all three in an afternoon. The Picture Gallery exhibits an impressive trove of paintings by old masters, including that of Raphael, Titian, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Tintoretto, etc. The Porcelain Museum contains 20,000 pieces of Chinese, Japanese and Meissen art objects. The Physics and Mathematics Museum displays some very interesting antique scientific instruments. No luck in laying a hand on a mechanical calculator made in the 16th century.
The world renowned Semper Opera House was reduced to rubble in the 1945 bombing attack. It has since been rebuilt. We did not want to pass up an opportunity to take a look at the interior. Much to our surprise, all that glitters is not gold. The staircases, columns and balustrades, all of which appear to be genuine marble, are actually made of a synthetic marble-like veneer. Although everything may not be the real McCoy, seeing the grandeur of the theater itself was still a treat.
The Volkswagen glass factory was next on our agenda. The factory produces the luxury Phaeton sedan, which costs about 150,000 euros before tax. The glass walls throughout the factory allow customers to see the entire process while their cars are being built. The assembly line is only about 20 feet from the glass wall. Unfortunately we were there on a weekend, so the line was not operating. At one corner of the factory is a glass tower where the finished vehicles are stored ready for pickup by buyers. We were told that many customers do come to watch and that they are given VIP treatment when their purchase is transferred to them. The factory is one of a kind, the glass design is meant to convey the corporate motto of transparency (remember the Reichstag in Berlin?). It is ironic that two days after our visit, the story broke about VW's emission-rigging scandal. So much for transparency!!
Land Excursions
Not far from Dresden is the hilltop fortress of Konigstein, one of the largest in Europe. It was originally erected in the 13th century as a border post of the Kingdom of Bohemia. The territory was conquered by Saxony in the 15th century. Subsequent Saxon rulers greatly expanded the fortification to its present size of more than 50 buildings, a self-sufficient community with its own well. The massive compound, surrounded by high thick walls, towers over the Elbe. Konigstein has never been under siege, so all the structures remain in fairly good condition. When the fortress lost its strategic importance in the 19th century, it was used as an internment camp. Prisoners of war from both World Wars were kept here. We were given a couple of hours to walk through some of the buildings and grounds of the fortress. It was a leisurely outing to recharge our battery following the busy schedule of the previous two days.
As the crow flies, Konigstein is only a few miles away from the Bastei Rock Formation, which is an ideal place to view the picturesque woodland of the Elbe valley. In Bastei National Park, we hiked on a trail along the hillside, winding our way across ravines which are flanked by giant column-like sandstone. This is a gorgeous part of Saxony known as Saxon-Switzerland. The name was given by two Swiss painters who came to this area to work. The hyphenated moniker was meant to express the love they had towards their adopted and native homelands. Geographically we were a long way from Switzerland, but we were close to the Czech Republic, and that's where we were going.
Czech Republic: Litomerice, Prague and Kutna Hora
Our first stop in the Czech Republic was Litomerice, in Sudetenland. This region, with its heavy industrial base, was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938. There were 3 million ethnic Germans living there at the time. When WWII ended in 1945, Sudetenland was returned to Czechoslovakia and the Germans were summarily expelled. The loss of 3 million people from a total of 13 million nationwide had a devastating effect on the economy. From what we could see on the surface, full recovery may not have been reached 70 years later. Our stop in the small town of Litomerice was for the sole purpose of visiting a brewery pub. Beer drinking is a favorite pastime of Czechs. We felt obliged to follow the dictum that "when in Rome, do what the Romans do." We thus sampled several kinds of very fresh beer and had a roaring time with our fellow travelers. It was a Sunday morning. Not even Czechs start drinking so early in the day, let alone on a holy day. And here we were reveling in a pub. Checkmate to the Czechs!!
Our journey was coming to an end in Prague, which we reached by coach after disembarking the ship. Prague is a very charming city filled with ornate architecture. Old Town Square is the gravitational point for tourists at all times of the day. Our guide took us there via the Powder Tower route because it is one of the historic entrances to the Old Town. Among the attention grabbers on the Square are the Gothic spire of the Church of Our Lady (it seems every European city has a church by that name), the statue of Jan Hus (he pre-dated Martin Luther as a reformist), and the Astronomical Clock. We also had fun exploring the many side streets branching off from the Square. After a walk through the old Jewish Quarter, we were bused to the Prague Castle, which sits on a hilltop across the Vltava River.
The Prague Castle has a very long history, dating to its founding in the 9th century. The Castle has been expanded many times in the past millennium. It now consists of a conglomeration of buildings and serves as the seat of the President. Standing next to the Castle is the magnificent St. Vitus Cathedral. It also began as a more humble church back in the 10th century.
Nobody leaves Prague without seeing the Charles Bridge. We followed the crowd from Old Town Square, and after a short walk on a crooked cobblestone street, we found the Bridge suddenly appear in front of us. The Gothic stone bridge was commissioned by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV in the 14th century. A massive tower anchors the span at both ends, and the pedestrian-only walkway is flanked by a row of 18 statues on each side. While standing in the middle of the bridge, we could see Prague Castle ahead up on the hill, stately buildings along the riverbank, and large flocks of swans gliding on the water. What a wonderful sight.
Across the bridge and below Prague Castle is an area known as Lesser Town. It is populated by many government institutions, including the Parliament, Senate and a number of ministries. Some of these places have beautiful gardens attached to them. We strolled around Lesser Town for a while before heading back to Old Town Square to go off in another direction.
Wenceslas Square, named after the patron saint of Bohemia, is actually a wide boulevard several blocks in length. It is therefore rectangular in shape, with a grassy promenade down the middle. The National Museum straddles the south end of the rectangle to separate Old Town from New Town. Because of its size, Wenceslas Square has traditionally served as the gathering place for Prague citizens. The Prague Uprising against Nazi occupation in 1945 and the student demonstration of Czech Spring in 1968 took place here.
Our final stop in the Czech Republic was in nearby Kutna Hora, an old silver mining town in the center of Bohemia, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The mines were said to be the deepest in the world, and entrances to the mines were located throughout the town. The silver is long gone, but the elegant St. Barbara’s cathedral, with its magnificent vaulted ceiling and stained glass windows, is one of the most prominent features of this town. The church, which is named after the patron saint of miners, is one of the most famous Gothic churches in central Europe. Construction of the church was begun in 1388 and completed in 1905. Next to the church is the Jesuit Institute; the priests were sent there by the Pope to convert the Lutherans back to Catholicism. After visiting the Cathedral and the Old Town of Kutna Hora, we were taken to a most unusual site: the Sedlec Ossuary, located beneath the All Saints Church. Legend has it that in the 13th century, sacred soil from Golgotha (the site where Jesus was crucified) was sprinkled on the nearby cemetery, and it was believed that a corpse buried here would decompose in just 3 days, thus avoiding the lengthy process of gradual decomposition. This sparked great interest in burial therein, and with the building of the All Saints Church over the cemetery in the 14th century, all the bones (of an estimated 40,000 people) were brought into the Ossuary, and artistically arranged into decorations, including a large chandelier, coat of arms, bells, candleholders, pyramids, etc. The chandelier is said to include all the bones of the human body. An unbelievable site!
Time to go home
After a final meal of Czech food (beef cheek goulash, roast beef in creamy cranberry sauce, both served with bread dumplings), accompanied of course by Czech beer, we headed back to our hotel to pack for the trip home, ending a very enjoyable vacation.
