We spent a few days before our cruise in Berlin and found it a very interesting city. The Pergamon Museum was exceptional and well worth a visit. The former East Germany was an area we had never explored and it did not disappoint. In many places you could still see how the years behind the Iron Curtain had affected the area.

The Elbe River is a very small river making for an intimate experience with the countryside passing by. The river can be difficult to navigate as it is quite shallow and after dry spells can become impassable. Luckily we had enough water to allow us to cruise the entire length of the cruise.

The Viking Schumann is one of the smaller ships, not a long ship, and it is a delightful little vessel. The cabins are a little smaller but certainly adequate and comfortable. The dining, as usual, was stellar. There was a great variety of shore excursions that took in both town and country. There was, of course, a lot of World War 2 history - Potsdam, Dresden, the concentration camp at Litomerice. The rebuilt Dresden is remarkable. Read more