Berlin, Dresden, Meissen & Colditz

On the strength of previous tours with Riviera,  it was time to do Berlin, Dresden, Meissen & Colditz.
The tour was another great success.
Day 1 - arrived at Berlin from Edinburgh - met immediately and transferred to the bus as expected. Arrival at Dresden late afternoon. Keith, our guide offered us a short orientation walk to the nearby city centre- this was very helpful as the evening was free to all participants and it was where the restaurants were located.
Day 2 - an excellent walking tour of the city centre during the morning - Keith clearly knew his stuff and shared it with great clarity and enthusiasm. The rest of the day was free to focus on those things which had caught our eye during the morning. this was an amazing city with a glorious past; its recovery and rebuilding in recent times has restored it to its past glory…..but the work continues to this day.
Day 3 - visit to Meissen - famous for porcelain production. I thoroughly (surprisingly) enjoyed the visit. In the afternoon we visited Colditz Castle - this was a true highlight - the guide (a Yorkshireman living in the Colditz area) was interesting and very engaging through his clear love for the place.
Day 4 - in Berlin - a 3-hour accompanied coach-trip stopping a couple of times to focus on specific areas of interest. Later in the day we were free to explore and focus in depth on those areas we had passed through the morning.
Day 5 - for those lucky enough to stay until the evening flight to Edinburgh, we had all day to further explore before being taken back to the airport for onward flights.

The hotels in Dresden and Berlin were excellent.
In Dresden, the Maritim Hotel is housed in a former warehouse and is located overlooking the river….it was beautifully appointed, and in an excellent position, on the edge of the city centre.
In Berlin, the pro-Arte Maritim hotel was ideally situated two blocks from Unter den Linden, just off Friedrichstraße. This hotel promoted modern and contemporary art. Again, this was a very impressive hotel -walking distance to Museum Island, the Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie, the River Spree, etc.
Breakfasts at the hotels were excellent.
In both Berlin and Dresden there were a great range of restaurants for all tastes and budgets - all within walking distance of the hotels.
The Riviera guide, Keith, was enthusiastic throughout, knowledgeable, well organised and friendly.
Well done Riviera for providing another great experience. The venues were great tasters for possible return visits in the future.