Bastei Bridge, Sachsen Switzerland

Long day today, just like most of them have been. Part one, a brief sojourn into what they call Saxon Switzerland, a national park along the Elbe in both Germany and Czech Republic. Here you find the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, famous for interesting rock formations, narrow passages, forested gorges, and really beautiful scenery. The area was popularized by numerous painters, most notably Caspar David Friedrich, who also made the chalk cliffs of Rugen Island famous (another place on my extensive and ever-expanding Germany visit agenda).

It's not the season for hiking, or rather, we didn't really plan on hiking. I know people hike the park in the winter, and if I lived in Germany, I'd surely do it. Unfortunately, we're on a tight time budget, and only had time to do the most touristy thing here in the park, which is go to the Bastei Bridge.

So early morning S-train from Dresden Mitte out to Kurtort Rathen, ferry across the Elbe (not included in our Deutschland Ticket), then up the trail to the bridge. Sounds simple...Read more