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Explore your heritage - by boat

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A new, one time only, Jewish Heritage river cruise is due to set sail next May. The boat will amble along the River Elbe visiting Berlin, Dresden and Prague.

These three cities are replete with Jewish history that dates back over a thousand years. Incidentally, the Jewish community in Berlin is the fastest growing in Europe, despite the Holocaust.

The on-board experience on the five star Peter Deilmann MV Frederick Chopin ship promises to be an intimate one as the ship only carries 79 guests in 41 staterooms.

The 11-day get-away kicks off with a three-night stay in Prague with a walking tour of the city from a Jewish perspective and taking in the Renaissance, Baroque and art nouveau architectural styles that define the landscape.

The ship sails to Dresden, the capital of the Kings for Saxony to see the city's historic sites and the Pfund's Dairy founded in 1879. Astonishingly, the dairy is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the "most beautiful dairy shop in the world".

The ship sails from Prague on May 4, 2011 for 11 nights and costs from £2,495. Flights with British Airways from London to Prague, and from Berlin to London for the return home. Mundy Cruising, 020 7399 7670

The itinerary includes a whirlwind tour of Saxony and its spa town of Bad Schandau in the southern Free State of Saxony. There is also an opportunity to visit the UNESCO site of Wittenberg, the birthplace of Reformation and the place where Martin Luther preached in the 16 century. This is where he confronted the Pope and lived under ex-communication.

The cruise ends with a one-night stopover in Berlin where you can visit the golden-domed New Synagogue and the controversial yet moving Holocaust Memorial, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

Soldiers still stand guard at the now comic-looking Checkpoint Charlie. This was the spot that served as the gate in the Berlin Wall that once separated East and West Berlin. Amusingly, you can still get your passport stamped as you pass through.

There are small swathes of the Wall still standing and a visit to East Side that hosts the East Side Gallery can be squeezed in before catching a flight back to London

Mundy Cruising

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