Eric’s family had a surprise destination in store for me this morning, one hour’s drive to the east! The scenery along the way was pretty darn bleak, but we passed a bunch of trucks with Polish and Romanian company names on the sides, which I thought was magcical! Back home, trucks pass through many different states, but in Europe, they pass through many different countries!
At last, we pulled up at our destination: Sächsische Schweiz National Park! Wow! After missing Las Médulas in Spain, I’d been wondering what European national parks are like! One big difference is that it cost a grand total of €3 to enter the park! Compare that to the $20 to $25 back in the States!
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Sächsische Schweiz (“Saxon Switzerland”) takes its name from two painters named Antonio Graff and Adrian Zingg, who lived and taught in the Dresden area and compared this mountainous region to Switzerland. The name stuck! I’ve never been to Switzerland before, but I thought this area, with its sandstone spires towering above the Elbe River, looked more like Pinnacles National Monument! Every single spire is open to climbing, and, in fact, free-climbing (i.e. hammering as you go) originated here! However, after looking down from the first overlook toward the Bastei bridge, I decided to stick to bouldering!
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Much of the interest in this park (as well as its name) dates back to the Romantic period, which grew from German Sturm und Drang. Consequently, many Romantic ideas, particularly the back-to-nature philosophies of Jean Jacques Rousseau, appealed to German folks and sparked more widespread interest in exploring the outdoors! In short, the park was awfully crowded for such a chilly, gloomy morning! That may have been due to the narrow walkways over the Bastei Bridge, which had to be rebuilt in 1850 to accommodate the traffic, or, as Eric suggested, Germans are just hardier than most folks!
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The Bastei bridge, as its name suggests, leads across the Bastei, a huge, rocky outcropping that once housed the Neurathen castle. Yup, there was a castle all the way up here in the 14th century! No doubt, it was the perfect location for defense, but I had to wonder, who took a look at these huge spires and thought, “We should put a castle up there?” This spot provides some spectacular views of the Elbe, and some days, you can see as far as the Czech Republic. Today, though, I could scarcely see the monk weather vane of the Mönchstein pinnacle!
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We descended several thousand steps, past a man singing for change (in a national park?), and on to lunch next to the Amselfall, a man-made waterfall that was diverted from a cave in the 19th century. Now, it runs on a timer, surging and receding at intervals. When it surges, oh boy, the tourists rush to snap a photo! I, however, preferred its less crowded cousin, Amselsee! This lake is also artificial, but it has boats for rent, fewer people, and a really great view of the Lokomotive pinnacle! It also doesn’t spray mist all over your lunch!
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There wasn’t a whole lot of room for exploring, as we had to get home in time for a Good Friday barbecue. That meant we had to ascend another couple thousand stairs to complete our loop! I’m not too used to long staircases in national parks, but maybe this is more common than I’ve experienced yet. Then again, Sächsische-Schweiz, with a history of pinnacle-top castles, is a heavily engineered park. For example, to reach the park from the town of Bad Schandau, there are at least two options: the world’s only national park tram, the Kirnitzschtalbahn, which runs on 40% solar energy, or the Ostrauer Fahrstuhl, an elevator that runs from the Elbe all the way up to the Ostraus Plateau!
Our destination, however, was not Bad Schandau, so we got quite a workout on the stairs instead! I was actually very surprised that my feet weren’t killing me on this ascent. Maybe it’s because they’ve been liberated from my Camino shoes!
So, today’s excursion ended up being just a taste of Europe’s national parks, but now I’m intrigued. The next time I cross the Atlantic, wherever that may lead, I will surely have to visit some more! Though I have enjoyed spending time here with my friend and his family, today’s crowds and the quick pacing of our excursion reminded me how nice it will be to return to setting my own pace. I wonder if there is a way to balance the two. Maybe I’ll find out once I return home and resume my landmark hunt. After a month away, home seems like a pretty good destination right now!
Ahoi!
