Sailing the Elbe

Float from Berlin to Prague on one of the most mysterious rivers in Europe

By Tim Johnson

European river cruises have never been more popular. Across the continent, these long, low, luxurious ships ply some famous waterways. But the Elbe remains less known, which makes it a rare and special place to discover.

There’s a certain cachet to sailing a river that most ships can’t navigate, through beautiful countryside and ancient fortresses and famous cities—ones seen by very few river cruisers.

Discovering the Elbe

The Elbe River runs a little less than 700 miles from the Giant Mountains in the Czech Republic down through Germany to the North Sea. It’s famously shallow, meaning that most major cruise lines don’t offer itineraries here. But one—a French company called CroisiEurope— has built ships specifically tailored to this task. I rode the elegant Elbe Princesse for nine days from Berlin all the way down to Prague.

The Elbe was once a delineator of empires, between East and West. The Romans fought to push east as far as this river, and its flow later marked the outer edge of Charlemagne’s power. For centuries, it’s also been a key waterway for Central European trade, helping, for one, the Hanseatic League extend its economic influence all over Northern Europe in the late Middle Ages.

While it remains an important lifeblood for the communities built on its banks, the Elbe remains almost unknown to North American travelers. And that’s probably because, while everyone knows its bookends—Berlin and Prague—few other cities along the way will ring a bell. The course winds through the former Eastern Europe and the northwestern reaches of Bohemia.

Riverboat

This made it a journey of discovery for me: My first visit to most of the ports along the way—a very exciting thing. Setting sail the next morning, we made our way across Lake Tegel, passing pleasant little islands, summer cottages lining the edges, and small marinas filled with sailboats, tucked in behind. The ship, which carries as many as 81 guests, slid easily across the water, with people on board snapping photos from the sun deck up top, or just lingering over one last coffee in the bright, Euro-stylish lounge.

On a visit to the wheelhouse, the Czech captain, David, explained how a ship this large can navigate waters that have long bedeviled sailors. “The depth, it chang-

The

At 724 Miles

long, is a major river that spans four European nations.

Elbe

es all the time,” he explained, noting that while they use GPS, captains also communicate with one another to constantly update the river’s conditions.

He grew up here—his father also worked on the Elbe. And while he has also piloted ships on the Rhine and the Danube, he told me this river is a whole different beast. “It’s smaller,” he said. “You must always know exactly where you are.”

The ship’s paddle wheels were specially built for the Elbe, allowing this relatively large vessel to navigate in even 2 1/2 feet of water.

Leaving Berlin, we spent the rest of the voyage in territory that was, until 1989, behind the Iron Curtain. In Potsdam, we visited a handsome neighborhood once filled with dachas, and where apparatchiks spent pleasant vacations. We toured Sanssouci, a grand rococo palace built by Prussian King Frederick the Great, where works by masters including Caravaggio and Peter Paul Rubens still hang on the wall.

Plus, a stop at Cecilienhof, where we saw the exact spot where Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, U.S. President Harry Truman, and British Prime Minister Clement Attlee sat to carve up the postwar world.

Back on the ship, we passed under the famous “Bridge of Spies,” the site of Cold War prisoner exchanges.

The Princesse continued upriver, to cities that I’d only previously seen on a map or the pages of a history book. In Wittenberg, I learned about the life of Martin Luther and his wife, Katharina—how they rented quarters to students, kept pigs, and made their own beer. We saw the door where he nailed his 95 Theses and the pulpit he preached from. “This is the mother church of the Reformation,” a guide explained.

In Dresden, I took a guided tour of the rambling, fascinating Zwinger, a palace, gardens, and museum complex. At the Königstein Fortress nearby, I walked the soaring walls of the “Saxon Bastille,” the views stretching over the tops of clouds.

The captain expertly piloted us through 17 locks, passing across the border into Bohemia. Mountains rose around us, and the river grew narrower—in some places, I swore I could reach out and touch both shores. Not long after, we awoke, safe and sound, moored on the Vltava River in the heart of the Czech capital.

Of the small handful of other cruise ships that navigate the Elbe, few, if any, go all the way to Prague. But from the Princesse, Old Town Square is just steps away. The city’s famous spires and towers were all around us, the Hrad castle complex staring imperiously down from a nearby promontory. The Elbe was truly an adventure. And now, a whole city awaited for me to explore.

If You Go

Fly: Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport Willy Brandt (BER) opened in late 2020. A handful of nonstops fly from North America.

Stay: The Hotel Bristol Berlin has long welcomed celebrities and heads of state.

Getting Around: CroisiEurope sails its nine-day voyage on the Elbe and Vltava with two ships, both specially built for shallow water: the Elbe Princesse and the Elbe Princesse II.

Take Note: Both Germany and the Czech Republic are within Europe’s borderless Schengen Area.