Christmas Market River Cruise Along the Elbe - Part 2

Join LO as she continues to take us through her amazing Christmas Market River Cruise Along the Elbe - 10 days going from Prague to Berlin.

Dec 2, 2025

 
Welcome back! We are continuing the blog takeover with more of my favorite highlights from our Christmas Market Cruise.  

Bad Schandau/Pirna

Once on the riverboat, we made our way to our first port and our adventurous excursion to Saxon Switzerland, near Dresden, Germany. Saxon Switzerland? On the border between The Czech Republic and Germany? Yes! It’s called Saxon Switzerland because two 18th-century Swiss artists, Adrian Zingg and Anton Graff, were struck by how much the area's rock formations reminded them of their native Switzerland. They began referring to the region as Saxon Switzerland and the name stuck. It’s a stunningly beautiful national park with forested hiking paths, sandstone mountains, and the remnants of a castle fortress dating back to the 13th century. 



That evening, we visited the Christmas market in Pirna.

 
Dresden

Next stop? Dresden, Germany and a visit to the Green Vault. Dresden was heavily bombed in 1945 during WWII, destroying the Green Vault. Today, it stands rebuilt and is a proud reminder of Saxon history. 



We spent the afternoon and evening enjoying the Christmas market. As mentioned in the podcast episode, most of the merchandise sold at the Saxon Christmas markets is the same, although each market has its own local flavor.



All of the Christmas markets in Saxony featured nutcrackers, Schibbogen (intricately crafted, illuminated winter scenes), incense smokers, and Christmas pyramids (a traditional German, multi-tiered, carousel-like decoration that features figures that rotate. They are “powered” by candles.)

Credit: the following five photos are all sourced from Käthe Wohlfahrt | Weihnachtsdeko vom Spezialisten. 

 
  
Berlin

We stopped at a few other places on our way to Berlin. One of my favorite stops at the Berlin Christmas market was Kathe Wohlfahrt’s chalet where I purchased some ornaments to add to my little German tree pictured below. (If you’re a “culture purist” you’ll note the tree ornaments are mostly German ornaments and the little gnomes are Scandinavian.)



During our time in the Christmas markets, another symbol kept catching my eye: the Moravian stars. This final touch of Saxon culture appeared in market stalls, storefronts, and even private homes. (See the one perched atop the poinsettia tree above.) Intrigued by the red and white variations, I did a bit of digging and discovered that white stars symbolize purity, while red stars represent the blood of Christ. 

Learning the meaning behind the Moravian stars felt like the perfect final touch to our time in Saxony—two simple colors carrying centuries of symbolism and faith. It was a reminder that travel isn’t just about seeing new places, but about discovering the stories woven into each tradition. With that, we wrapped up our time in Saxony feeling a little more connected to the culture and the season. Thanks for traveling with me and stay tuned! MO and Joy’s holiday sleigh ride is just getting started. 

Photo Credit: All photos in this blog are credited to Lynn Orr, except where noted otherwise.