I read an article of a 6 hour canal trip from Berlin to Cottbus. Can't find on the web to book. Would like boat trips for a vacation I am planning to take Dad on. Unfortunately, I only know pleasantries in German.

I'm not expecting any English in Cottbus, but don't know about Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig and Frankfurt. These are areas that I would want to find day tours and need transporation (bus, train, cab or something) and don't know if I will be able to get around without speaking German.

Appreciate ANY advice.

Also hoping to take a side trip to Prague and back for a couple days. Train back and forth. My Dad loves train and boat travel so I would prefer it over flying.

There is a river that flows between Berlin and Cottbus - River Spree - but the only boat trips that I'm aware of are of the non-motorised variety as most of the area along the Spree is a nature reserve. A Google search on "Spreewald" (the name of the region) should find you plenty of information in both German and English - I found quite an interesting article here

English is now widely spoken among the younger generation in former East Germany - anybody who started high school after 1989 will have studied English as their first foreign language. Also, you will nearly always find English-speaking staff at tourist information offices and at ticket counters at the main railway stations.

The best place to research your public transport options is www.bahn.de, the web site of the German Railways - which has information about all modes of public transport including local buses. Just type in where you want to go and it will tell you everything you need to know including the platform your train will depart from and how long it will take you to walk from the train station to the nearest bus stop!

I'm afraid I can't help you with the canal trip to Cottbus. However, with respect to getting around without knowing German, in Frankfurt (former West Germany, where English has been taught in the public schools for at least the past 30 years - my best friend is an English teacher there) and in Berlin, you will have no problem with English. It is very widespread. Also, public transportation in Germany is excellent and is well-marked.

As Aviatrix mentioned, the website for the German train system, www.bahn.de , is very good and if you click the British flag, you can read it in English. The announcements in the trains themselves are in German, but if you know the name of your destination, you will be able to figure things out OK. The stations themselves are well-marked.

Many Germans are friendly and helpful, so don't be afraid to ask for directions or help. In fact, at the train station in Berlin we were approached by an elderly gentleman who was apparently a type of "concierge". I guess we looked confused, but he kept an eye on us and helped us to get on the correct train (all this with pantomime, as he did not speak English!).

Don't worry, you should do fine in Germany. It sounds as though you and your Dad will have an excellent adventure.

Yes it is a non motorized trip down the canal. Not exactly a sightseer's type of boat. I just can't find any details on how to get on it. I don't want to use the word that was a small "barge" according to the article because I can't quite remember.

Thanks for the info on transportation and the English aspect. At one time I was emailing a Spreewald sight and was given a reply of no English. That concerned me a bit.

The starting point for Spreewald boat trips is a little town called L�bbenau - between an hour and 90 minutes from Berlin by train. There are at least two trains an hour during the day.

I don't know how you go about getting tickets for the boat (the one time I did the trip I was part of a group and it was all organised for us), but knowing Germany I suspect you can probably buy them on the spot.

Thanks for the town name. Excellent. So you were on it? Any opinions? Yes, it was a group I had read about. Do you happen to know of any other nice boat trips around the general area?

I really appreciate the info. ^

Yes, I have been on a Spreewald boat trip... but it was a long time ago. June 1996. I was at a convention in Berlin, and the boat trip (from L�bbenau to some museum village and back) was part of a day-long excursion that was laid on for us by the organisers. I remember that the scenery was very very pretty. But I also remember that the whole thing was very touristy. There were LOTS of boats - it was almost like a convoy. And we had all the touristy trappings - they took our photos as we departed and tried to flog them to us when we came back, and we stopped at a stall where they were selling pickled gherkins and other local produce, and there was some gentle encouragement to make us part with our money.

It seems that L�bbenau isn't the only place from which you can take boat trips - I've just done some more googling and found a list of boat operators here .
Unfortunately the site is in German only - PM me if you need any help. One of the operators has a web site with lots of pretty pictures which will give you some idea of what to expect.