Crusin the Elb River

One of my favorite trips was just a few years ago with a high school buddy, Mark Walker and his very special wife, Ligia.

Prior to that, I had always wanted to go on some sort of a cruise, but Patty was afraid she might get sea sick, so whenever the conversation came up she found some skillful way to change the subject.

Then one time Mark suggested we join him and Ligia on a river cruise. They were very well traveled and they were thinking of a trip down the Elb River from Berlin, Germany and ending up in the Czech Republic in Prague. The Walkers pointed out that river cruises are much calmer than the ocean cruises and after some minor arm-twisting, Patty agreed to give it a try.

We flew nonstop to Munich then took another plane to Berlin where a Mercedes van picked us up at the airport and delivered us to our boat. The cruise lasted about 5 days. We ate like kings and visited all sorts of river towns that were struggling for survival by catering to the tourists. There were quite a few memories along the way, but my favorite part was a giant fortress in Konigstein that was over 300 years old. When we stood on the top of the wall it was fascinating to imagine what the original occupants must have lived like so many decades earlier. The picture above is part of the main wall. Notice how small the people are on top of that wall and ask yourself how they could have built such an incredible structure.

Eventually, we landed in Prague which was our final destination. It is a beautiful town but man oh man is it crowded, even though we were there near the end of the tourist season. I bought a coffee cup in one of the gift shops there. One of the highlights was a 400 year old Catholic church that was about 6 stories tall. The stained glass windows and open ceilings made a person gawk in awe and wonder how they could have built such an incredible building way back then. There was also the popular Charles Bridge that is over 600 years old. It still carries hundreds of people a day from one side of the river to the other. Our second day there, I had back problems and never got out of my room, but I only missed a few sites.

After we were back and had a chance to reflect on the trip, I thought it was certainly worth it, but I knew I would probably never go on another cruise. Fortunately, Patty never did get sick and she enjoyed the entire experience. But as far as I was concerned, it was an awfully long boat ride for relatively few sights.

Next time, I would just fly to a particular destination, say Berlin, and stay there for a few days. Then, I would fly to another city, perhaps London, and enjoy that place on a more thorough basis. At least I found out what a cruise was like. But we have boats, restaurants, relaxation and other cruise benefits right here in Colorado. I will pass on the boat ride next time and fly instead.

Now I am going to go have a cup of coffee in my Prague cup, thanks to Mark, Ligia and Patty.

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