Even while traveling, I need to find a way to be somewhere with a lot of green space or by the water. After spending time in Amsterdam, Berlin and Zurich, I side-tripped it to Gruyères, Morges and Tolochenaz. After a few weeks of traveling and only one day in Dresden, I escaped again to the country to see the Bastei at the Saxon Switzerland National Park.
Known as Germany’s version of the Grand Canyon, the picturesque Bastei are jagged rock formations that tower nearly 200 metres above the Elbe River, making it one of the most prominent, as well as, popular lookout points in Saxon Switzerland.
And to see it, I had to do the hike up the trail made up of stairs. (around 900 steps!) At various outcrops along the way, I was able to take a look out and down at the little town and the Elbe River. And it is high. I’m not going to lie, I had to hold on to the railing when looking out, as that’s all that’s preventing you from plummeting to your death. For the look outs with no railing, I kept my back touching the rock face the entire time.
The Bastei Bridge is the main attraction and the hike takes around 45 minutes. The hike is steep in spots, but generally easy to do and the pristine forest provides much needed shade. The Bastei Bridge was originally a wooden bridge, but was replaced by a sandstone one in 1851, which is perfect because it now blends in with the surroundings.
And the view of all the rock formations from the Bastei Bridge is absolutely worth the climb!
Just try not to let the swarm of tourists with selfie sticks and inappropriate footwear distract from the experience. And of course, these tourists came by tour bus and obviously didn’t do the hike up. High heeled shoes were the dead giveaway.
The Bastei rocks are also popular with rock climbers. I spied on a father and son team, just sitting on top of one, having lunch, after having made the climb up. Wow.
The hike down was much easier (‘natch!). By the time I got back to the river for the ferry, I was a sweaty, hot mess – but happy that I did the hike to the the Bastei Bridge and been thrilled by the rock formations. Because, nature!
The Saxon Switzerland National Park and Bastei are the perfect city escape from Dresden and easy to get to. From Dresden, take the s-bahn train towards Bad Schandau. The ride to Kurort Rathen takes about 40 minutes. From there, walk down towards the Elbe River where you would jump a ferry to take you to the other side. Then start walking! You can also opt to drive or take a paddle steamer down the river too.
View more photos of my trip on my Flickr album.
No Comments