Experienced Travelers Please Help.
I am planning a12-14 day trip to Berlin, Dresden and Prague for September. I had the idea that it would be nice to take an Elbe river cruise for part of the trip. Viking has a 10 day trip with little time in Dresden (1/2 day and perhaps another 1/2 day). I'd rather not cruise for 10 days. Does anyone have any suggestions? Also Berlin Air has a really nice fare from NY to Berlin. We thought of taking the train to Prague from the airport then working our way back and ending in Berlin. Has anyone flown Berlin air? Does anyone know anything about trains to Prague from Berlin. How many days would you give each city? We would like to sit and observe the passing parade as well as visit the sights and museums.

Any and all suggestions are really appreciated.

HMT

I flew Air Berlin from Munich to Berlin - good service.
Booked with them again Berlin-Paris this July.
I took a train from Prague to Berlin ( I sopped in Dresden) in July 2009.

take a look at
http://www.bahn.com/i/view/index.shtml
I stayed in Prague 4 days . It is rather compact, no big museums, but a lovely city to walk around. I stopped in Dresden for 2 days - was enough to see the major attractions.
Berlin has so much history , great museums and galleries that the first stay of 5 days left me wanting to visit again( 4 days in 2010, a booked trip for July 2011 - six days).
Berlin is not a beautiful city, none of that old Europe charm, but if you have interest in history , modern architecture and art, you will enjoy it.

I'd say 5 nights in Berlin are a given if you are interested in that kind of (more recent) history and modern architecture in particular, the museums etc.

4 days in Prague are rather much IMO. As the previous poster said it doesn't have the really great museums and after a while the walking around tires you out (especially with the crowds). And it's more of the same then. An option is to make a day trip outside the city (Kutna Hora, Karlstejn castle e.g.)

You could do day trips with the paddle steamers on the Elbe river - very scenic. Base yourself in Dresden or in a picturesque small town like Pirna where you can hop on/off the paddle steamers. www.saechsische-dampfschifffahrt.de

The steamers go upstream as far as Bad Schandau in the National Park Saxon Switzerland and downstream to Diesbar-Seußlitz beyond Meißen. The National Park is very beautiful with the sandstone patches that tower up above the river, cute villages like Wehlen, Rathen etc. And it's fun to see the bikers along the river, the kayakers on the river, the climbers on the sandstone rocks ...

From Dresden downstream to Meißen (and Diesbar-Seußlitz) it is more rolling hills with vineyards and cute villages. Plus the beautiful silhouette of Meißen with the castle and cathedral on the hill.

As you see there's quite a lot to see and do around Dresden. See this website also: www.schloesserland-sachsen.de with a list of the most beautiful palaces, castles and gardens in and around Dresden. Pick your number of days ...

Air Berlin started as a low-cost carrier. They only began flying across the Atlantic recently. Don't expect much service (a friend of mine works as stewardess there, not that I've flown with them).

Trains between Prague - Dresden - Berlin are easy to use. Relatively comfortable, not always spotless clean. Fares are low (especially the pre-booked fares for fix trains).

Ingo

Ingo has a point about Prague..
I stayed 4 days ( was jet-lagged , stayed in a residential area )
If you are in a hotel in the center of town 3 nights would do it.

For Berlin, Peter Fritzsche and Karen Hewitt's <u>Berlinwalks</u>, 1994 is still valid.

From one of my trip reports:

<i>We also recommend the 3.5 hour round trip on the Landwehr Kanal and the Spree which gives a good view of Berlin old and new. The tour starts near the Jannowitzbrücke U & S-Bahn station. We had no reservations, and got the last seats on the boat. The commentaries are all in German, but we could have received a hand-out in English if necessary. The Landwehr Kanal goes through the old neighborhoods with their 19th century houses--although there are exceptions--while the ride up the Spree showcases all the brand new buildings around the government center. </i>

For pictures of Berlin:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623174831107/

You might be interested in my trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...arch-17-24.cfm

Thanks to all for your great suggestions. I love the idea of day trips on the Elbe from Dresden.

About Air Berlin - Since I always bring my own food, service doesn't worry me as much as LEG room. I'm concerned that it is a sardine can. Since you have a friend who is a flight attendant on Air berlin perhaps they can give you an idea how they compare to the other airlines.

Many thanks to all
Helen

Thanks to all for the great suggestions.

Ingo, perhaps you can give me a better idea of lack of sservice on Berlin Air. I always bring my own food but LEG room is of aprticular concern on a long flight. Some of the smaller airlines are sardine cans. I'd love to know what your friend, who works for them thinks.

Thanks to all
Helen

Leg room is max. 79 cm (Economy) on transatlantic flights which is less than most other airlines have. They have a few new planes where it is slightly more - so you can be lucky or not. Food and drinks are ok, btw.

We spent 3-1/2 days in Prague--4 full days would have been perfect. Without that extra 1/2 day we did miss a couple of sights we were looking forward to visiting. We also had 3-1/2 days in Berlin, and it was not nearly enough time. But we enjoyed every minute in both cities.

Wow, all really good destinations. Berlin 5 days, Dresden 3 days, Prague 4 days. Air Berlin is fine intracontinentally. Expect to really like visiting Berlin, especially if you like good museums.

I did a 10 day cruise from St. Petersburg to Moscow on Viking, only because it was the most sensible way to see the area. They stop a lot, the guides are excellent, and it's fairly relaxing. However your three cities are close enough together, and so full of things to do, I wouldn't do a cruise. Besides, you'll only have to change hotels twice. I like the idea of flying to Prague and working your way back on the train.