Even from afar, a meter-high, colorful Berlin bear greets me at the ship's dock in Spandau, which is only a ten-minute walk from the train station. Starting today, the "MS Thurgau Chopin" will be my floating vacation home for a week. Just let your mind wander, is the motto on the boutique ship that will take me and 46 other guests from Berlin via Hamburg and other cities to Kiel. In between are plenty of sights and true marvels of technology.
Grand hotel style ship
Idleness is the order of the day on a small river cruise ship like the "MS Thurgau Chopin," which can accommodate a maximum of 80 passengers and should not be any larger because of the locks and ship's hoists. Years ago, researchers at Rotterdam's Erasmus University found that conscious idling is not only very productive for the brain, but also vital and can prevent burnout.
The Dutch call this trend "Niksen" (doing nothing), which by no means means boredom. In addition to all the sweet idleness and star culinary delights that chef Nemanja Tascovic and his team have in store for us, there are also plenty of interesting destinations and information on the 578-kilometer journey.
The former Deilmann ship is designed in grand hotel style. Built in 2002 and completely renovated in 2018, the tastefully furnished public area with reception, panorama salon and dining room impresses with Art Nouveau elements. The staircase railings are ornately forged, and the metal fittings and light fixtures are made of pure brass, which would hardly be affordable today.
Between the Havel and the sky
In the evening, the "MS Thurgau Chopin" sets course for Potsdam - across the Wannsee and past the Pfaueninsel. While passengers enjoy the first multi-course meal on board, the Havel River and the sky are bathed in a deep orange-red by a fantastic sunset. Two hours later, the ship docks in Brandenburg's capital near the city center. Guests can choose between piano music in the bar or nightlife in Potsdam, where the first excursion begins the next morning.
Potsdam's splendor and glory
When Frederick II had his summer residence Sanssouci (Without Worry) built in the 18th century, he probably never dreamed that a century later the smallest and most famous of his castles would attract millions of tourists and be named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The former "soldier town" with a population of 160,000 is embedded in a unique cultural landscape of the Havelland. For more than three centuries, the best architects, landscape planners and craftsmen built representative castles and parks on behalf of the Prussian rulers.
The showpiece of the historic state capital is certainly the large park of Sanssouci with countless palaces, temples, gardens, fountains, traffic circles, a Chinese teahouse and the Sanssouci Palace standing on a hill. Several parts of the city had to be demolished for this huge park. Almost as famous is the New Garden in the northeast, where, among other things, the Cecilienhof Palace is located. It was there that the division of Germany was negotiated at a meeting of the Allies after World War II. The Dutch Quarter and the Russian wooden house settlement Alexandrovna, where the descendants of Russian choristers live to this day, are also worth seeing. The Russian tsar had given the serfs to his friend Frederick William III.
Through "Berlin's orchard," as the fertile area of Havelland is also called, where Herr von Ribbeck's pear tree (Theodor Fontane) once stood, the boutique ship glides across Lake Plauer See to the Elbe-Havel Canal. The journey takes us westward under some low bridges, where it is often a case of "duck your head" on the sun deck. We spend the night in the small town of Burg on the Elbe-Havel Canal, which, together with the Mittelland Canal and the Havel River, forms a continuous waterway from the Ruhr region to Poland via Berlin.
Gigantic whirlpool
If you want to experience the Hohenwarthe double spar lock (18.5 m difference in elevation) and the Magdeburg waterway junction, you have to get up early the next morning. Since 2003, the waterway junction, where the Mittelland Canal crosses the Elbe River flowing below and the wide Elbe Valley on a trough bridge, connects the two canals. The Magdeburg Canal Bridge (918m long/32m wide) is not only the largest trough bridge in the world, it is also the largest whirlpool in the world. Only the bubbling water can keep the canal ice-free in cold winters.
Futuristic: Autostadt Wolfsburg
The bus excursion to the Autostadt in Wolfsburg, which impresses with its futuristic pavilions and the ZeitHaus of automotive history, starts in Calvörde. Those who stay on the ship also arrive three and a half hours later directly in the park of the VW Autostadt and then have plenty of time for a shore excursion. A large outlet center on the opposite side invites visitors to store.
Hundertwasser station in Uelzen
The next morning, we sail to Uelzen on the Elbe-Seitenkanal, also called the "Heide-Suez-Kanal" because it runs almost dead straight through the Lüneburg Heath. There is something deeply contemplative about the quiet pounding of the engines, the lapping of the waves, and the banks gliding by. A quick photo stop by bus at the Hundertwasser train station and it's on to the salt and Hanseatic city of Lüneburg.
Lüneburg's curse and blessing
In the 16th century, the picturesque town, which was spared in the Second World War, was one of the richest in northern Germany. To this day, this is reflected in the cityscape in countless late Gothic and Renaissance buildings in the style of brick architecture. The castle-like town hall, impressive stepped gables, the Nikolai Church and the Old Crane on the Ilmenau River are just a few of the architectural treasures. In the Hanseatic city, however, the division between rich and poor is still unmistakable today. In the working-class neighborhoods above the former salt works, streets and buildings have sunk considerably, and some houses along the cobblestone alleys are alarmingly crooked. Salt is both a curse and a blessing for Lüneburg.
Oversized elevator
Towards evening, things get exciting once again on board: the Lüneburg-Scharnebeck ship lift is the highest in Germany: in two parallel troughs filled with water, the ships are lowered vertically by 38 meters to the level of the Elbe. The actual lowering takes only five minutes, the entire lock process around 20 minutes - a unique experience, and we are allowed to ride in this oversized elevator.
Legendary floating ferry
The next day, Hamburg is on the agenda, where the "MS Thurgau Chopin" is berthed overnight before sailing on the Elbe, past Blankeneese, Oevelgönne, the Airbus factory and Schulauer Fährhaus via the Brunsbüttel lock into the Kiel Canal. The canal (98.6 km long, up to 162 m wide), which runs in several twists and turns, is the busiest artificial waterway in the world. Thanks to this canal, many ships can avoid the long and dangerous detour around Denmark via Skagerrak and Kattegat due to storms. The destination for the day is Rendsburg, where the "MS Thurgau Chopin" passes under the legendary floating ferry and moors in a small harbor for the night. From there, it is not far to the final stop in Kiel.
Travel info in brief
Arrival: By train to Berlin-Spandau.
The ship: The "MS Thurgau Chopin" sails under the Swiss flag. She is 83 m long, 9.50 m wide and offers for 80 guests 42 stylishly furnished outside cabins with mini-bar. Board language is German, board currency: Euro. On the upper deck all cabins have a French balcony.
Onboard facilities: panoramic restaurant, panoramic salon with bar, library, sun deck. The restaurant serves international specialties and regional dishes at table time. For dinner, neat clothing is desired. Smoking is allowed only on the sundeck. Free WLAN subject to availability.
Travel dates 2023 for "From the Spree to the Fjord": 01.04. to 08.04. 8 days, from 1249/pers. € VP; 04.09. to 11.09 and 18.09. to 25.09., 8 days from 1549 € VP/pers. Drinks and excursion package can be booked in addition. Bookable via https://www.thurgautravel.de/
