Day 3 - Dessau

Following breakfast, we boarded buses to travel to Dessau, a small city on the Elbe, to visit the Worlitz Park.  The park is the first English-style garden in Germany, created by Prince Franz Anhalt-Dessau and modeled after the gardens he saw while visiting England.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage site covering more than 17 square miles.  A highlight of the visit was a gondola tour across one small lake and around an island in the lake, with fifteen people in the boat, propelled by one man with oars.  The park and gardens were lush, with rhododendron of several colors in full bloom.

On the way back to the ship we had the opportunity to drive past the original Bauhaus School which had been founded in the 1930's in Dessau.  The school produced such as Walter Groupius and Mies Vander Rhohe, but was closed by the Nazis and later by the Communists.  Only now are its buildings being restored and its importance to the world of art and architecture being recognized again.

In the afternoon, the weather turned nice -- the sun came out, the breeze was gentle.  It was time to go up on the sun deck to watch the river unfold ahead of us as we made our way toward Wittenberg.

In preparation for our visit tomorrow to Wittenberg, the city associated with Martin Luther, our Viking Program Director gave a short lecture on Luther and the impact of the Reformation in this immediate area.  In the evening, local performers provided a musical skit with actresses impersonating Martin Luther's wife, Katrina, and a fictional neighbor.  It was a charming way to make personal this theological giant.

We are warned that Wittenberg is making capital as the home of Luther, including souvenirs and kitsch, including socks embroidered with Luther's famous words "Here I stand, I can do no other."  It ought to be interesting...