Day 2: Cottbus to Dresden

Day 2: From Pyramids to Palaces — A Journey Through Time and Borderlands

Our second day in Germany was packed with history, nature, and a few unexpected scents. After a hearty breakfast with our wonderful hosts, Thomas and Negar, we packed sandwiches and hit the road, beginning our adventure in Branitz Park near Cottbus. Designed in the mid-19th century by the eccentric landscape artist Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau, the park is a masterpiece of English landscape design. Its most curious features? Two grass-covered pyramids—one of which serves as Pückler’s final resting place, floating serenely in a lake. The air was thick with the pungent aroma of Japanese chestnut trees, adding a strange sensory twist to the morning stroll.

Next, we headed to Weißwasser, where we climbed the “Turm am Schweren Berg,” a 32-meter-high lookout tower overlooking the vast Nochten open-pit lignite mine. Once a symbol of East Germany’s energy ambitions, the mine is now a stark reminder of the environmental cost of progress. From the top, we could see both the scars of industry and the slow, hopeful process of reforestation.

After a quick stop at Netto for picnic supplies, we crossed into Poland and explored Dawna Kopalnia Babina, a former brown coal mine turned geotourism trail in the Łuk Mużakowa Landscape Park. The area, once riddled with underground shafts and open pits, is now a peaceful network of trails and lakes. We hiked to a wooden lookout tower and soaked in the surreal view of Lake “Afryka,” a turquoise basin formed in a former excavation site.

A Polish grocery store provided the perfect opportunity to stock up on souvenir sweets before we returned to Germany and visited Bad Muskau. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is home to Muskau Park, another of Pückler’s visionary creations. The park straddles the German-Polish border and features sweeping meadows, romantic bridges (see photo of Sebastian with one foot in Poland and one in Germany), and the Neo-Renaissance Neues Schloss, rebuilt after WWII.

From there, we drove to Bautzen, a city steeped in over a thousand years of history. Once known as Budissin, it was a key member of the medieval Lusatian League and remains a cultural hub for the Sorbian minority. We revisited a charming beer garden Lisa and discovered in 2022 on our bicycle tour, and the three of us wandered through the old town’s cobbled streets, past medieval towers and pastel facades.

We ended the day in Dresden, dining at a riverside Biergarten along the Elbe. With traditional bratwurst. 🌭 The city center, once devastated by WWII bombings, has been beautifully restored—especially the iconic Frauenkirche and the surrounding Neumarkt square. After dinner, we strolled through the illuminated Altstadt before heading to Nico and Sabine’s for the night. Nico, a fellow traveler we hosted through Warmshowers.org during his global cycling journey, welcomed us warmly into their home.

From pyramids to palaces, coal mines to castles, today was a vivid tapestry of landscapes and legacies.Read more