On Saturday, we went to Saxon
Switzerland national park to see Bastei Bridge. It was absolutely gorgeous and
also quite the adventure. Watch this video of our adventure before reading the rest of the post:
We rode a train to Wehlen Stadt to start our
hike. We found a map and hiked in what we thought was the right direction, only
to change our minds and turn around shortly thereafter. Then, we walked down to
the Elbe River. Obviously bridges cross rivers, right? Wrong. We hiked to the
next town on the river. On the way, we saw the bridge! It was just on the
opposite side of the river and high up the side of a mountain. Lesson learned:
not all bridges cross rivers.
We found a ferry to take us across so that we
could really start our hike. We found another map, this time with clear hiking
trails. I was convinced that we just needed to start hiking up. So that is what
we did. We had a great time hiking into the forest. We were the only people
there, and it was so peaceful and beautiful. The trail we were on went through
some pretty rocky areas. After scrambling over boulders for a while, we
suddenly realized that we were a bit too far from other people for comfort. Had
we been in a bigger group, I'm sure we would have felt confident, but as it
was, we decided to turn around, especially since it looked like an area that
bears would really like. So, we headed back to civilization, singing to scare
the (ahem, non-existent) bears away.
Once we got back to the main road, we had a
snack and tried to figure out how to get to the bridge. Eventually, we found
the path we had intended to hike from the start. The hike to the bridge was
gorgeous, and it was nothing compared to the bridge itself. Wow. It was simply
amazing. I understand why the trail we hiked is called “the Painters’ Way.”
I wouldn't have traded anything about this day.
Sure, we turned an hour and a half hike into a nearly seven-hour adventure, but
it was amazing. We saw so many different landscapes, and had a wonderful
adventure. And, after hiking close to 15 miles, we found some delicious gluten
free pasta for dinner. On the way back to the hotel, we passed some opera
singers performing under a bridge. This was the finishing touches to what was
probably the best day I have had in Germany so far.
I think one of the best parts about our visit to
Dresden and Bastei was that they were not overrun with tourists. We found where
Germans go for weekend trips rather than where Americans go on vacation. It was
lovely, and a stark contrast from Prague. It made me glad that I do not live in
a city that people visit for vacation.
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