HAMBURG TO DRESDEN  EXCURSIONS

$190.00 PER PERSON

MAGDEBURG
SIGHTSEEING TOUR

Magdeburg is a city of architectural contrasts. Hardly in any other city, will you find such a striking contrast of precious Middle-Age monuments next to modern buildings. During a brief orientation tour through the city center, you will see Middle-Age churches, beautifully renovated Baroque buildings as well as buildings dating back to Communist times and modern architecture after the reunification. You will make a stop at the historical Old Market. Here, you will see the Baroque city hall, the famous ‘Magdeburger Reiter’ (Horseman of Magdeburg) (1240 A.D.), the oldest post-Antique freestanding equestrian statue in Germany. Here, you will also find the Otto-von-Guericke Monument, which commemorates one of Magdeburg’s celebrities. Otto von Guericke became famous with his scientific experiments with vacuums and his famous hemispherical experiments. Your next destination is the Romanesque monastery ‘Unser Lieben Frauen’ (‘Our Dear Ladies’) for an external visit. It is the oldest preserved building of the city dating back to the 11th century. Near the monastery, you will also see the cathedral of Magdeburg (1209), the first Gothic sacred building on German soil. During an extensive tour of the interior of the cathedral, you will see the famous display of the ‘Foolish and the Wise Virgins’, the tomb of emperor Otto as well as the remains of the crypt of the cathedral dating back to Ottonian times which was built in the 10th century at the same location. Before you will return to the vessel, you will drive to the city park on an island in the middle of the Elbe River where you will have a wonderful view onto the monastery and the cathedral. Note that during Christian holidays or worship services, a visit to the cathedral is not possible. Alternatively, you will have the opportunity for an interior visit of the monastery.

Excursion lasts about 3 hours.



WITTENBURG
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF MARTIN LUTHER

After a brief bus ride from the pier to the historic city center you will get to know the ‘Luther City’, Wittenberg. Martin Luther lived and preached here. You first visit the newly renovated Luther house, where the reformer lived and worked for 38 years (1508 - 1546). During the tour through the recently completely revised exhibition you can view more than 1000 original exhibits and thus experience the most important highlights of his life and work. During the following city tour, you visit the church of St. Marien featuring the famous Reformation altar of Lukas Cranach the Elder and the castle church. On its door, on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther allegedly posted his 95 Theses, ‘Against the Abuse of the Indulgence Trade’. Unfortunately the original ‘Thesis Door’ no longer exists. It was destroyed in the disastrous fire of 1760 along with all but half of the foundation of the church. The present door is cast in bronze and weighs 2,200 pounds. It was dedicated in 1858 and is overlaid with the original Latin version of the 95 theses. Worth seeing are also the market square with the historical city hall, that Cranach houses, the Beyerhof and the Melanchthon house.

Excursion lasts about 3 hours.



MEISSEN
PORCELAIN FACTORY & CASTLE

Since the founding of the first porcelain factory, Meissen has enjoyed a worldwide reputation as the ‘City of the Blue Swords’. In order to keep the secret of production well protected, August the Strong decided to build the plant within the strong walls of Castle Albrechtsburg. From 1710 – 1863, the Meissen porcelain was produced at this location. In 1864, the production was moved to the State Porcelain factory in Triebischtal where it remained to this day. You will learn about the production of the manufactured ‘White Gold’. Afterwards, there is enough time to see some beautiful pieces of art in the showroom, which were produced during the centuries of traditional crafting. Afterwards, you will visit the cathedral hill to view the Gothic cathedral from the outside as well as Castle Albrechtsburg. Then, enjoy a walk past the attractive Baroque and Renaissance style houses to the market place and back to the ship.

Excursion lasts about 4 hours.



DRESDEN
SIGHTSEEING TOUR

Florence of the Elbe’ and ‘Venice of the East’ are two of the poetic names for the city of Dresden. A coach tour leads around the Great Garden, Dresden’s largest park facility, before you pass the VW plant and reach the bridge ‘Blue Wonder’. From the bridge you can see the so-called Elbe castles located beautifully on the hillside of the Elbe bend, Eckberg Castle, Lingner Castle and Albrechtsberg Castle. Afterwards you explore the enchanting old town during a one-hour guided walk. Directly at the Theatre Square, you find the Semper Opera House. The Zwinger Palace (Zwinger means outer ward in German) is located right next to it. It is one of the most beautiful Baroque era buildings of Europe and is considered the most famous architectural masterpiece in Dresden. After visiting the inner courtyard of the Zwinger Palace you proceed to the Royal Mews, which was once the scene of chivalrous games and tournaments. Probably one of the most famous Dresden sights is the ‘Procession of Princes’ on the north wall of the Royal Mews. Over a length of 102 meters, a parade of 35 Saxon princes and kings is depicted on 24,000 tiles of Meissen porcelain. You continue your walk to the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). For decades it stood in ruins as a memorial of the bombings during WWII. Today, the reconstruction is finished and the church can be seen in an advanced building stage. Before returning to the vessel, you pass through the modern part of Dresden where you see the Golden Horseman and drive along the famous Koenigstrasse.

Excursion lasts about 3 hours.

KLEINSCHACHWITZ
THE PARK OF PILLNITZ PALACE

The castle facility of Pillnitz essentially consists of three parts: the Water Palace, the Mountain Palace and the New Palace. The Water and Mountain Palace are mirror images of each other built from 1720 - 1723 according to plans by Poeppelmann and Longuelune under August the Strong. His love for the exotic and the first wave of Chinoiserie were the reason to build the castle in this Chinese pagoda style. The pleasure grounds located between these two palaces was designed as an ornamental park in the 19th century. During a guided walk through the gorgeous park, you will see the Water and the Mountain Palaces, the pleasure grounds, the pleasure gondola and the cameliahouse, among other things.

Excursion lasts about 1.5 hours.