Dresden and the Elbe Valley

---

Dresden is only two hours south of Berlin by train. Once I got to Dresden I found my hotel and checked in. I stayed in an Ibis hotel of about 300 rooms. And this was just one of their three exactly similar hotels which stand side by side right near the train station. After I found out that I was staying for five nights instead of four (I forgot to count), my planning became a little easier. First thing to do was the usual walk around town, checking out the main sights and getting my bearings. There is quite a bit of construction happening in the city, and I assume they are trying to recapture the beauty that was around before the Second World War. Mind you there are still plenty of reminders of the Communist era and the square box buildings that seemed so prominent.

Dresden lies on the Elbe River, and many of the towns around it can be reached by boat ride on the river or a train ride through the valley. Down by the river I came across a place call Festung Dresden. Festung is the German word for fortress. It is a few hundred years old and was built as part of the defenses of the city. There were many underground rooms that were origninally built for military purposes, but where later used for things such as wine barrel storage. The handheld audio guide I took around with me was really useful too, and it was free. The staff were really friendly and it was a good, cheap way to start my visit. I then went over to the Zwinger, an old building which has a few museum pieces in it. I didn't bother to go inside, but there was a nice central courtyard to walk around in.

The next day I found my way over to the Deutsches Hygiene Museum. It was founded in 1912 as a way to promote better, cleaner living and to prevent diseases. There are displays on anatomy, medicine, senses, motion and reproduction. Most of the signs were in German so I couldn't really get a full appreciation of it. They did have The Transparent Woman, a plastic model containing internal organs and used for many years to educate people on the human body. I went to the Museum because I had read about it, but I don't think it lived up to what I was hoping for.

One of the main reasons I went to Dresden was for the surrounding countryside, an area called Saxony Switzerland. I caught the train out of the city and headed south down the Elbe Valley. It was about 9am and there was a moderate mist hanging about, but you could still make out the steep mountains and amazing colours of the trees. There were a few groups of older people on the train who were going for a day of hiking, carrying their ski poles for a bit of Nordic walking. I figured they must know where they were going, so I followed their lead and got off at the last stop of the train, Schona. You then had to get a boat to ferry you to the town on the other side of the river. After I crossed the river, I read the signs and realised I had crossed the border into the Czech Republicand the small town of Hrensko. There were a few Asians selling tacky towels and backpacks, so I headed up a road and into the mountains. After an hours of climbing one of the hills, I came back down and headed back across the river, happy with the fact I had just added another country to my list of visited places.

I caught the train back to the north and got off at Konigstein, a place famous for a massive fortress on the hill overlooking the town. This was where I had originally planned to go, but there was still plenty of time left to look around. The fortress (or festung) was built in about the 1200's, but I think lots of things have been addd since. It was amazing to see how they laid the blocks in between the natural rocks of the cliffs, and how high up you were. The buildings inside the walls make up a sort of mini-town, and they had all the things needed to live life. But the one thing about going up there were the views. Absolutely astounding pictures looking down the valley and back towards Dresden. One of the things that surprised me was the number a large trees growing so close to the edge of the cliff. Now I'm no geologist, but do the trees roots eventually make there way through the stones and rock and work them apart. Just something to think about. Another thing to consider was the audio guide on offer before I went in. I was prepared to pay a few Euro for it, but not hand over my passport while I had it. The lady at the ticket office couldn't understand why I wasn't willing to do it, but then again she wasn't the one who needed it to travel back home.

The next day I caught the same train south again, but only as far as Kurort Rathen, a town famous for the Bastei cliffs. Once again, the scenery from the train was spectacular, and the weather was also on my side. On was there on a Saturday and there seemd to be a three-day fair happening. There were lots of families checking out the stalls and climbing the tracks into the mountains. On the way up, there was a man singing classical-type songs in the middle of the tracks, and it was so cool I decided to give him some coins. (I am very picky as to which performers I give to.) All along the track are lookouts that give fantastic views of the valleys and the sandstone cliffs. You could make out the rowers in the river and the (crazy) rock climbers on the cliffs. Near the top you have to cross the Bastei bridge, a sandstone bridge build in 1851. It is a very safe bridge, but if you went over the sides it is a long way down. Further up the track is a hotel with some shops, and therefore no better place than to get an icecream. (Now, if I'm not keeping track of the number of icecreams I've had, neither should anyone else.) After a few more stops at some lookouts, it was time to go back down, get the boat across the river and then the train back to Dresden. One of the main reasons I came to this part of Germany was for the mountains of Saxony Switzerland, and what I saw today was exactly what I had hoped for. It was absolutely stunning.

My last day in Dresden was spent walking around the botanical garden, a palace ground, around past the zoo and back to the hotel. The botanical garden had a small section of Australian trees, which included a gum tree. It was the first gum tree I had seen since I left home, and made me feel very warm and fuzzy. There were also some squirrel-like animals in some other trees, running around searching for food. Very cute.

The traffic in Dresden (and Berlin) was a welcome change to that of France and Amsterdam. We were told that people in Germany obey the signals on pedestrian crossings, usually to set a good example to children. The former East Germany had a set of green and red pedestrian traffic lights devised to make it more personable, and to make people think more about traffic safety. These lights were a silhouette of a man wearing a hat. After reunification, the (not as creative) West German style of lights were to be adopted. People weren't happy with their favourite little green and red men disappearing, so they were eventually brought back, and you can now buy cups, bags and shirts with the Ampelmannchen (little traffic light man) symbols on them.

I enjoyed my stay in and around Dresden, despite some parts of the city being a bit gloomy. Next on the itinerary is Munich.

---

Photos

A Dresden Statue
A black statue with no bird droppings on it. How do they do it?

The Zwinger
I did ask the man to put me at the side of this pic, but maybe the message was lost in the different languages.

Me in the Czech Republic
Yeah, now that I look at the picture, I probably could have smiled a bit.

Festung Konigstein
It's the thing on top of the hill.

Looking down the Elbe Valley
The scenery looking out from Festung Konigstein was spectacular.

The Bastei bridge.
There are much better photos of this bridge on the internet that show just how spectacular it is.

A Singing Man
On the way up to Bastei. He was pretty good.