Schmilka-Hirschmühle

Although our enforced stay in Dresden gave us some extra time to explore the city and its surrounds, I was a little disappointed that we would not get to ride the spectacular section of the Elbe upstream from Dresden. This is the section that is most famous for its towering, almost vertical sandstone cliffs. Today was our chance to partially address this omission.

Leaving the hotel around 9 am, we formed a walking peloton to make our way to the nearby Dresden Mitte Railway Station. We then spent some time gathered round the ticket machine, trying to work out which ticket to buy. Most of us ended up paying 8 Euro 60 cents for our tickets, but Mei seemed to have found a way to get hers at a significant discount. She is like that.

The trip to Konigstein took about 40 minutes, during which Mei entertained us with a nonstop commentary about everything inside and outside the carriage. It was only when the conductor came to check the tickets that we found out why her ticket was so cheap.

"You have a children's ticket", the conductor told her. We thought that this might be worthy of a significant jail term, but the conductor was lenient and allowed her to purchase a new ticket for not much more than she could have paid at the station.

When we arrived at Konigstein Station we climbed from the train to a small bus to transport us to the fort itself. You cannot appreciate just what a commanding position the fort occupies, until you see it yourself. It is little wonder that it was never conquered in battle, but it is a pure wonder how they managed to build the structure in the first place.

The views from the fort are simply breathtaking, especially from the side that faces the Elbe River. We also noticed that, at least this far upstream, the river has passed its peak and has started to recede.

After wondering the fort for a couple of hours, we were ready to make our way back to Dresden. At least we all got a glimpse of what this part of the river looks like.

Tomorrow morning, we finally say goodbye to Dresden and make our way to Prague, where we will resume our original itinerary.Meer informatie