Roadtrip Around Germany – Part 2 (D) (CZ) Saxonian-Bohemian Switzerland

Wild Gorges And Lonely Places

Wednesday, 29.07.2015

The night was cold, Bohemia just is not Balaton. 😉 The morning starts unusually early for a holiday, we have breakfast at eight because we want to catch the local bus to Hřensko (German: Herrnskretschen) at nine o’clock.

A large queue is already waiting at the busstop, the bus itself is a fair twenty minutes late and is already filled with passengers from Jetřichovice (Ger.: Dittersbach). The half an hour journey to Hřensko costs about one Euro per person, and noone is able to move a single inch inside that bus. Why do they not operate a larger bus or, a more frequent service than every two hours?

Hřensko is a tranquil town at the Kamenice Estuary into the Elbe River and the Czech border town to Germany. Thus many travelling salesmen with cheap counterfeit products from the Far East populate this place, what is really a pity.

Our plans for today are to walk through the two Kamenice gorges (Wild Gorge and Edmund Gorge) back to Visoká Lípa. Unlike the gorges around Garmisch-Partenkirchen (see The Alps 2014) these gorges are way more gentle apart from two spots where it is that narrow that it was not possible to set up a walking path besides it. There visitors are taken to the other side by small boats while the tourguides are telling them some interesting and fun anccdotes.

In between the two gorges lies a footpath of about two kilometers, partly through tunnels dug through the rocks, partly over adventurously rudted bridges.

Halfway there is a small tavern where you can get some snacks and beverages for amazingly low prices despite this place having always been a tourist attraction.

If you look carefully on your way use your imagination to make out figures, faces and animals in some rock formations or fallen trees.

At the end of the gorges there is the possibility to walk to Mezní Louka and take the bus from there. Since the bus runs rather seldom we decide to walk all the way back to the campsite.

“Hotel Zámeček“must once have been an elegant manor. Today it seems to be closed and gives a kind of derelict impression, giving the scenery a great atmosphere between purity and horror film.

Back in our hamlet we still have some time until dinner, so we go for a beer to “Hotel Lípa”, where the pint is nearly 30% more expensive than at the campsite (0,90€). After this nice little refreshment we decide to climb down to the abandoned Dolský Mlýn (Ground Mill). This historic site was abandoned after World War II and has since been left deteriorating. In former times it had hosted several inns and was even linked to the two gorges by boat service.

The ascend is very exhausting, but in return our “all inclusive” dinner is waiting at the campground including a pint of ice cold beer for 0,70€. 🙂

Kuhstall – Cow Stable

Thursday, 30.07.2015

What a difference sunshine makes. Today we get up at eight o’clock, hoping for the shower to come up with at least one warm waterjet out of three. Unfortunately it does not.

Hotel Lípa looks much more friendly and welcoming in sunshine, but we shall encounter a completely different problem in a minute. Today we want to go to Kuhstall (“Cow Stable”) in the middle of Saxonian Switzerland. In order to get there we need to catch a connecting bus at Hřensko. Unfortunately, the bus at Vysoká Lípa is not only way too late today, but also helplessly overcrowded on its arrival. All thrity people waiting at the busstop will never ever fit in there anymore, and the driver insists that there was only space for a single passenger left. Luckily a waiting Czech realizes our problem and starts a discussion with the busdriver until he allows us both to squeeze in. The rest of the waiting passengers – including our hero – has to stay back and wait for the next bus in two hours.

By the way, the Czech word for Busstop” is “Zastávka!”, which we immediately adopted into a swear word in our vocabulary.

Fortunately we have enough time for changing buses, and even in Bad Schandau we do not have to wait long for the Kirnitzschtalbahn (who actually makes up with those names?). This interurban tramway runs alongside the eponymous river Kirnitzsch and takes about half an hour to reach the Lichtenhain Waterfall, a restaurant with an adjacent waterfall. The special gadget about the waterfall is that it is held tiny by an artificial barrier which is opened every half an hour in order for the waterfall to unfold its full splendour.

A steep uphil hiking trail leads from the waterfall to Kuhstall, an impressive rocky outcrop which is forming a natural tunnel at the same time, probably hence the name Kuhstall (Cow Stable).

The view “out of the Cow Stable” offers a view far over Saxonian Switzerland National Park with its pine woods and rugged rock formations.

Via a narrow staircase inside a rock fissure called Himmelsleiter (stairway to heaven) the visitor can climb atop the Cow Stable. The descend follows a staircase on the opposite side so that there is no oncoming traffic on the approximately 60 steps.

On the top great round views over Saxon and Bohemian Switzerlands are offered.

Around Kuhstall there are great possibilities to climb the rocks even for the completely unexperienced. Those who dare may find some hidden corners which make up for brilliant photo spots.

For the descent we chose an other route along a small ravine on the opposite side of our ascend and along unspectacular service roads back to Kirnitzschtalbahn. The return journey is without any problems so that we are still having some time to relax in the Didimobile before dinner.

Pravčická brána

Friday, 31.07.2015

Finally sleeping late. Today we are going to hike to Pravčická brána (Pravčická Gate), Europe’s largest natural sandstone arch. Taking the 11-o’clock-bus seems to be sufficient.

The approximately 1.5-hour ascent to Prebisch Gate is very scenic. From Mezní Louka it continuously leads along the mountain edge and offers great views of Bohemian Switzerland.

At Prebish Gate itself there is a restaurant. By means of a goods cable car all the groceries have to be brought up here from the valley, while the employees have to allow for a fair extra hour walk to their place of work from the nearest publicly accessible road.

After a strengthening meal with goulash and dumplings (somehow Czech dumplings are comparatively dry and bland …) we walk around on a small circular route with some great views of Prebisch Gate. The stone arch itself has not been allowed to be walked on for several years.

In the other direction, you can see interesting rock formations and the vastness of Bohemian Switzerland again.

For the way down we chose a somehow shorter but therefore steeper path, wait half an hour for the bus and go back home for dinner.

After dinner we take the Didimobile for a nightly excursion to the famous Bastei rock formation at sunset. At this time of day there are hardly any other tourists still here high above the small spa town of Rathen.

Around 11pm we are back at the campsite and grant ourselves a beer before going to bed.