Just returned Elegant Elbe Clara Schumann

[Jesterscourt]

OK, I'll stick my neck out and tell you that this was the highlight of the trip (one of the best-kept secrets in Europe). This is the capital of Saxony and all its Baroque architecture is lit up as you glide into the city at night. The Elbe River cuts right through the city for miles and when you sail under the bridges passing museums, the opera house and the Frauenkirche Church you easily see why it is called "Florence on the Elbe". My only fault with the experience was that I was surprised that the boat docked further downriver from the center of town so it wasn't as convenient as other towns, but still only a 15-20 minute walk. The next morning there is a motorcoach tour of the town which includes a stop in the Zwinger Palace grounds and a guided tour of the dazzling treasures of the Green Vault. This place will blow you away, and with the ticket you are given you can gain entrance later on your own as well as other museums. After this tour, you are given the choice of staying in town, or going back to the boat for lunch. After lunch, you have a choice of going on a tour of Pillnitz' gardens and palace on the Elbe or joining Christian for a walk into town where he will show you where all the important sights are. If you do go on the Pillnitz tour, which I heard was absolutely stunning, don't worry, you will have time to walk into town in the evening since you are docked overnight. There is usually an opera or ballet at the Semper Opera House, and you should try to get tickets ahead of time, but if you don't, they usually invite a local chamber ensemble to come aboard to give a baroque concert, which is very classy. Even if you don't go to the opera or even if you don't even like opera, make sure you take a tour of the Semperoper (in German except for the 2 PM tour which is in english.) This has got to be one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world. Some passengers shared a cab and went to the Volkswagen Transparent Factory where Phaetons are built. Don't worry if you don't have a reservation. There was no problem getting in.

[Jesterscourt]

I would be remiss if I didn't mention visiting the famous Frauenkirche, the church that was severely damaged during the war and meticulously restored to reopen in 2004. It is worth it to take the elevator and winding stairs to the top for an incredible view of the city and interior of the church.

[Jesterscourt]

Ok, this will be the last stop in Germany as tonight we will dock in Decin, Czech Republic! Don't miss the scenery as you pull away from Dresden in the morning, heading toward the rugged landscape of Saxon Switzerland (dramatic cliffs and sandstone formations). We arrived in the town of Bad Schandau after lunch and were taken by bus for the 30 minute ride to the 656 foot high Bastei. There is a fair amount of walking once you get up here, but you can go at your own pace once the guided tour is over for free time. Bring your zoom lenses for great photos from the Bastei of the pillars and cliffs and Elbe River far down below.There is a great outdoor snackshop to get an icecream and enjoy the view, or better yet, there is a great indoor restaurant where we had great coffee and strudel with icecream and whipped cream (the way it's supposed to be made!) which hit the spot since it was cold out in October! No profound history on this day--just scenery! We were back on the ship by late afternoon ready to set sail for the Czech Republic......

[Jesterscourt]

We arrived in Decin in the evening and docked overnight. There is nothing planned here as it is dark and after supper around 8 PM. However, don't let that deter you. You can take a pleasant walk into town and across the bridge the boat is docked next to. More importantly, there is an ATM machine in town so you can get Czech currency to use for the remainder of your trip. I found this extremely convenient as there are not ATM's everywhere and you don't have as much time as you think during tours in Litomerice and Prague in the coming days as you think in order to get currency. There is an imposing castle dominating the town that you can barely see lit up at night and it is too far away and high up to walk to. The town itself has a bar, billiard hall and a supermarket, and I'm told sometimes the crew hangs out at a disco that is also in town. While I didn't feel unsafe here, there were a few characters hanging around town that I did not let my guard down and also felt much smarter walking with a few fellow passengers. This is the real world and definitely not a touristy town, and I got the feeling that the cruise director and staff were just as happy not to have anyone leave the boat. It was clear that they were just using Decin as a place to dock overnight before they headed to Litomerice the next morning....

[Jesterscourt]

Early the next morning, we slipped away from Decin and cruised through the area of "Porta Bohemia" and arrived at Litomerice in the early afternoon. Litomerice is a pretty town with a nice Market Square, the elegant St. Stephen's Cathedral, and many baroque, Biedermeier, and Rennaissance-style townhouses, etc. However you do not need the entire afternoon to see it on the walking tour. There is plenty of time to take the optional Terezin Fortress tour and be dropped off in town at the end(with the guide) and walk back to the ship which is 10 minutes away. It was amazing to me that we could barely muster up the required minimum 40 people to go on this tour. I know we were on vacation, but we were already exposed to the horrors of the war as seen in Berlin and Eastern Germany and it was incredibly important to see the Terezin Memorial which epitomizes **** terror ("the pernicious consequences of the suppression of freedom, democracy, and human rights"). It was interesting to learn how the ****s created this "model Jewish town" complete with an orchestra, magazines, soccer team, etc. to fool Jews into coming here and mostly to fool the Red Cross when they inspected. In fact, 155,000 people perished here from disease, exposure and execution even though technically this wasn't an extermination camp like Auschwitz for example. I urge you not to miss this important aspect of your trip.

[Jesterscourt]

Our cruise critic board keeps deleting the "N" word that stands for Hitler's cohorts. I apologize for the confusion. I also hope I am not boring everyone to death with history. If you would like to hear about the conditions of the Clara Schumann (food, rooms, service, etc.) I would be happy to do so and will to a degree when I am done with the Ports of Call. Will also be happy to answer any questions or hear others' opinions. Steve

[Bowie MeMe]

We did this trip in 2003 and though we did not get to cruise (busses were provided for excursions) because of low water it was still a wonderful trip. We extended our trip from Prague to Budapest on our own and it was wonderful. One of my favorite sites was the Green Door where the King of the Saxon's jewels were displayed. I have never seen jewels this grand --not even the Queen of England's!! The town square in Dresden was wonderful scene also. I have enjoyed this review and the good memories.

 

Laundry was done on the ship but it was expensive. On this trip there were several laundry memories (I have this laundry thing going on according to our travelmates). We went to a German laundermat that was new and very technical -- embarrassed when we managed to have all 3 washers erupt in soap bubbles because we added soap 5 times over! {Couldn't read the sign that told us the soap was dispensed into the washer and we kept pushing}

In Prague we found a laundry two blocks from the hotel and the attendant did the wash/fold for about $15 and another place we took a cab to a laundermat (didn't speak the language but I think he could smell the dirty laundry and got the idea). Laundry stories --ah my vacation memories.

[Jesterscourt]

Bowie MeMe, I understand you have some severe weather going on so stay safe and dream of your next trip. Laundry was indeed prohibitively expensive onboard; glad you had fun discovering the local culture in the laudromats; sort of like using public transportation and mingling with the local population.

[Bowie MeMe]

Well we still have power so we are better off than about 300,000 folks around here. My daughter had an accident and smashed her car but thankfully she was not hurt -- she is in Raleigh, NC and they had 2 1/2 inches of rain -- hit standing water and could not stop. All transportation is completely stopped, no mail, no school until WEDNESDAY. A hanger collapsed at Dulles airport. Really bad for folks trying to get to their cruises the Super Bowl or just for business. Thanks for asking.

 

For a long time after the visit to the Green Vault we would refer to anything expensive as "fit for the King of the Saxons".

[Jesterscourt]

Bowie, I too was so taken with the Green Vault, that I bought a coffee table book of the museum to bring home (great gift shop there). By the way, we used to live about 5 miles from Dulles in Northern VA, but I never remember experiencing such a storm as you are going through now. I am glad you have power and will be able to enjoy the superbowl and glad you don't have a flight to catch to a European river cruise this week!

[Jesterscourt]

We left Litomerice around dinnertime and arrived late at night at Melnik (but don't ask me why). It seems to me we could have remained in Litomerice and traveled to Prague from there, but there must be a good reason (perhaps financial, and Melnik, afterall, is located right where the Elbe meets the Vltava River just 20 miles upstream from Prague). But it was like Decin where we had docked the night before. We were moored there overnight with little or no opportunity to actually see Melnik, which I understand is a neat Czecch town. These are not complaints; just observations. My "complaint" however, is the fact that in Prague, Viking used the Corinthia Towers Hotel, a Communist-era hotel, located well outside of town in the suburb of Vysehrad. It would have been infinitely more charming to stay where they used to stay which is the Hilton from which you could walk to Old Town, the Jewish Quarter, Charles Bridge, Mala Strana and numerous cafes and restaurants etc. The Corinthia was a nice hotel but I felt like I was in New Jersey, near a highway in a very dark area and right next to the Congress Center (would have been perfect if we were attending a conference). The one thing I did like about the Corinthia is that the Vysehrad Metro entrance is right next to the hotel making it fairly easy to get into town. Unfortunately many of my fellow travelers did not avail themselves of the Metro (subway) and did not even venture out except for the tour. Let's hope that on future trips, Viking will stay at a hotel from which their guests could stroll through cobblestone alleys to Stare Mesto (Old Town) and sit outside and sip a cappuccino! Next I will describe the Viking tour and what we did on our free day.

[superoma]

Steve, I am thoroughly enjoying your reports. Looking forward to the ship info. We figured that this trip was OK to do in October since a jacket and an umbrella would protect us from the weather and you have confirmed that for me. This river cruise will finish a longer trip for us that actually starts in Venice in September.

[Jesterscourt]

Eva, I see you found the Elegant Elbe Clara Schumann review. October is a glorious month to visit Europe, but I can't emphasize enough that there will be an occasional cold, windy night where you will want to take a walk and would be wise to bring a turtleneck, scarf, and ear muffs (hey, what am I telling you for? Aren't you from Canada?) Toronto, maybe?...with the greatest Chinatown and ethnic restaurants AND FILM FESTIVAL). And congratulations on Canada hosting a phenomenal Winter Olympics which we are enjoying. Will write a few comments on Prague later this week since you will be spending a few days there. Do you know if they will still be using Corinthia Hotel? And is Viking now only providing one night instead of two in Prague?

[superoma]

Eva, I see you found the Elegant Elbe Clara Schumann review. October is a glorious month to visit Europe, but I can't emphasize enough that there will be an occasional cold, windy night where you will want to take a walk and would be wise to bring a turtleneck, scarf, and ear muffs (hey, what am I telling you for? Aren't you from Canada?) Toronto, maybe?...with the greatest Chinatown and ethnic restaurants AND FILM FESTIVAL). And congratulations on Canada hosting a phenomenal Winter Olympics which we are enjoying. Will write a few comments on Prague later this week since you will be spending a few days there. Do you know if they will still be using Corinthia Hotel? And is Viking now only providing one night instead of two in Prague?

 

Well, we know less about cold than Toronto. We live in Windsor and have had very little snow this year!! My relatives in Germany keep calling to ask about snow and we keep saying we don't have any. We do now, but very little. Also, FYI, Windsor also has a film festival in November each year and a casino run by Caesar's!!

 

We have only one day in Prague from Viking and when I emailed to find the hotel, they told me probably the Hilton. So, we booked not too far away since we are spending two extra days in Prague and our friends will join us there. We have one day in Berlin as well and will fly straight home from there since we spent 3 days in Berlin and Postdam in 2008 on another Europe trip. If they don't use the Hilton, it will be a cab ride, otherwise we are close enough to walk from our hotel.

[cadreamer]

Jestercourt -thank you so much for your excellent and in depth reviews. I am eager to hear your review of the ship. We are looking at a 2011 Elbe River cruise. I am especially interested in the bed configuration since I was told there are now two twins and not pull down beds. What is the window situation? Thanks in advance.

[DonfromNC]

We're going on this cruise in 6 weeks, will fill you in when we get back.

 

Jesterscourt, I've been printing out all your entries and will take them with us as a reference.

 

Don & Kay

[dwcsk8]

We are going on this trip March 2011, and looking forward to it. Your posts have been great. I especially appreciate the ATM locations. I am looking forward to your room descriptions.

 

I am curious about the Elbe's waterlevel that you had, since I read a post about a disasterous too-low level trip last year. Also, I saw the room diagram, and the very small closet caught my eye. Is there room under the beds to put a rollaboard? I limit myself to a rollaboard and a totebag, but still this closet looks to be tiny.

 

Thank you

[Jesterscourt]

I will tell you right off the bat, that the closets were not large, but big enough for most passengers' purposes. That being said, it doesn't matter how big or how much luggage you bring, as they take it away and store it for you and give it back to you at the end (if you want). The Clara Schumann is an older boat but very comfortable, smoothe AND quiet (sometimes you don't even know you're moving). Water level was never a problem and there were a few locks, but not to the extent of other rivers. More to follow.

[westusa]

:rolleyes:

We returned last month from an enjoyable and extremely informative trip that started in Berlin and ended up in Prague including a week aboard Viking's Clara Schumann sailing from Magdeburg, Germany to Decin, Czech Republic down the Elbe River in former East Germany (GDR). I have not gathered my thoughts yet for a detailed synopsis of each day but hope to soon and certainly before next year as future trips approach. However, if anyone has any burning questions about this itinerary, it will be fun to discuss it. Steve

[Jesterscourt]

Don and Kay, I used to live in Asheville (probably the prettiest place with the mildest weather we've ever lived in) so I am familiar with Gastonia. A bit about the Viking Schumann. It was built in 1991 and refurbished in '02 and holds only about 124 passengers.

There is no doubt that the Clara Schumann is a dated boat in need of another makeover or retirement, but that said, I thought it was very comfortable in the dining room and lounge, and it was nice up on the top deck on the rare occasion when it wasn't too cold and windy. One night, they served mulled wine up there, which was a memorable evening. I also liked the fact that the ship was small enough that you would get to know the staff especially if they were taking their breaks up on the deck. For example, one afternoon we chatted up the head chef (a lovely fellow from Poland). We joked that we wanted more bratwurst and spatzle, and damned if we didn't have it made just for our table that night and at other meals. One elderly guy complained about not being able to sleep with his wife as the beds are single fold-downs and the rooms are cramped for 2 people and absoulutely perfect for single travelers. I found that if you put your beds down during the day, you could sit on one acting as a sofa and put your feet up on the other one and use your pillows to get very comfortable to read or watch TV, etc. Yes, I know the tv channels were limited and mostly in German, but they did show reasonably good movies at various times of the day. Again, because of the intimacy of a small ship, the front desk staff would have no problem putting the movie in earlier in an evening and being flexible. And then there was Vladimir, our Czech musician, who became like family by the end of the trip (of course we bought his CD!). So don't worry about the "negative" reviews of this boat. If you are touring a war-torn struggling region of the world, it is more fitting to have an older, yet sturdy vessel, rather than a sleek, modern ship that would take away from the Old World atmosphere of a town like Dresden for example. AND now for a very important observation: the showers had very good pressure and plenty of hot water! Need I say more?

[DonfromNC]

Jesterscourt,

 

Thanks for your comments about the ship. We're not expecting 5-star accommodations. We don't live a 5-star lifestyle at home and are even uncomfortable in too posh surroundings. We're sort of relaxed people and the slow pace is one thing we really enjoy about the river cruises. That and visiting the non-touristy areas.

 

re. beds: We're not excited about them, but we've slept in far worse (a lot of tent camping with our children in our younger days). The ship is necessarily small to navigate the Elbe.

 

re. chef: On one of our previous Viking cruises we observed that one table of four had custom meals prepared every night. We commented to the chef about it and he said as long as they have the ingredients available they will try to prepare whatever a passenger requests. We thought that was too much to reasonably expect from the very limited kitchen facility, and I certainly hope the folks gave him a very generous tip -- what are the odds?

 

Don & Kay

[Jesterscourt]

So now we have determined that you will be staying at the Hilton going from a small intimate ship to an 800 room convention-style hotel on the edge of central Prague and just outside the historic area. So again, they haven't exactly picked the most ideal location, but the point remains that you can still walk from here to the Jewish Quarter and Old Town and perhaps a bit further to the Charles Bridge and Mala Strana (Little Quarter) areas. You will also be close to the Florenc Metro Stop where you can catch both the Red or Yellow Line. If you only have one day there, you will probably go on the combined bus/walking tour that Viking provides and which also includes the extensive Prague Castle District and St. Vitus' Cathedral located right there on the castle hill. This will be a long and exhausting day, but you don't have a choice if you really want to see the city. Hopefully, most of you are spending an extra day or two and I will tell you what we did on our free day on a future post.

[cadreamer]

I have learned that the Schumann will be refuribshed before the 2011 season on the Elbe and it will be like the Fontanne. It will have twin beds - not pull-down- and it will have some rooms that will be 180 sq. ft. and have two beds pushed together making a hotel style bed. I think this is good news for folks who want to cruise the Elbe but were not happy about the pull down beds. Viking is booking these cruises now.

[Jesterscourt]

The ship docked at Melnik Rybare below the bridge and we were bussed after breakfast to Prague. It was too early to check into your room and most passengers went on the tour of the city, and were able to go to their rooms upon return from the tour. It was a comprehensive walk including Old Town, New Town, the Jewish Quarter, witnessing the famous Astronomical Clock at Town Hall, and then up to the Castle District and a guided tour inside St. Vitus Cathedral. Actually going inside St. Vitus Cathedral is not always included in many tours so this was a real treat. Dinner will then be on your own. My suggestion would be to avoid the overpricing and crowds of Old Town and walk over the Charles Bridge to the more laid back Mala Strana (Little Quarter) where you can sit outside at many Czech Restaurants and get good goulash, pork hochs, excellent beer, and people-watch (locals and tourists). While you are there (even if it is at night), stroll over to the famous John Lennon Peace Wall. We could start a whole forum on recommended things to do in Prague so I can just give my bias and hope others will chime in. Another thing to remember is that just walking through the Jewish Quarter is not sufficient. You should really go back and take an elaborate tour of the various Synagogues particularly the Pinkas Synagogue with its pictures drawn by the children of Terezin Concentration Camp and the Old Jewish Cemetery with 12,000 crooked tombstones crammed into a small area. Also, just walking by the Astronomical Clock in Old Town Square is also insufficient. You should go back and take a tour of the inner workings of the clock on the inside of the Old Town Hall; you can also climb to the top of the tower and take the most incredible photos of the square below and the spires and cobblestone streets throughout the city. This can be done at the end of the day after the tour and is within walking distance of the Hilton. If you are staying an extra night, I will tell you about our day trip and some of the options on my next post.

[Jesterscourt]

So the question remains: do you stay in Prague for your extra day or do you go out to the Bohemian countryside? Afterall, Prague is right in the center of Bohemia, and there are countless tour companies offerring similar excursions. Cesky-Krumlov is probably the most popular day trip and has been compared to Rothenburg with a castle that rivals Prague's and lots of cobblestone streets, steps and alleys and a nice town square, etc. The difficulty with C-K is that it makes for a very long, rushed day and most guide books even recommend staying overnight. We settled for a morning trip to Kutna Hora, only about 40 miles away, which absolutely blew us away. What a charming town starting with the stunning St. Barbara's Cathedral with a path down through the village to the Italian Court with a flower-filled town square. And, of course no one comes to this place without visiting the Sedlec Bone Church where the bones of 40,000 poor souls decorate every aspect of the interior including ceilings, crosses, chalices, coats of arms, and even the chandeliers! It is quite a sight. As mentioned before, it was nice to still have most of the day left after this trip. In the afternoon we went back up to the Castle District where they host a baroque concert everyday at 3PM in the Lobkowicz Palace. We discovered that the most beautiful view of this "city of one hundred spires" below, was to be had from the Lobkowicz Palace Cafe, where we had the thickest white hot chocolate we ever drank! My best photographs of the city below were taken from here, and it was so glorious, we didn't want to leave. It was a very fitting thing to do on our final afternoon............we could take up another post about all the recommended things to do and see like the Synagogues of the Jewish Quarter or a tour to the top of Town Hall in Old Town Square which also gives you stunning views as well as the inner-workings of that impossibly complex Astronomical Clock! So, I hope this helps you make an informed decision about what to do with your free day in Prague! Good luck and enjoy! Steve