Bored with Gothic-or-Baroc-styled old and historical buildings in Germany? Want to go hiking but don’t want to be extremely tired? Want to have incedible shots of sunset or sunrise but not ready to climb a mountain? This place may be suited for you who likes wandering or easy rock climbing.
Located in the Nationalpark of Sächsische Schweiz (+ 800 ha), Bastei (read: Bastai) is one of Elbsandsteingebirge rocky hills. It takes 45 minutes- 1 hour from Dresden, this place is a kind of bonus for those who happen to visit Dresden. It can be reached by cars, motorbikes or buses coordinated by the local tourist bureau. The typical view of farms and fields will spoil our eyes until the parking lot in Bastei. And here is the final stop of our car, and we should let a special bus do the job by taking us to the national park area. Only bicycles and those buses are allowed to get there. Of course we can choose to walk. But one of reasons you visit this place is because you don’t want to be extremely tired. Right?
There are two kinds of bus; one level bus and the double-decker. They come and go every fifteen minutes.There is no time limit to stay in the park, but if you don’t plan to stay overnight in a hotel or in a hill, you better remember that the last bus will leave the park area at six in the afternoon. The bus driver also takes a role as a guide. He explains about places you are passing by, gives some tips about the starting point to wander and interesting places to visit. His explanation is as clear as mud if you don’t understand German. We reach the bus stop in fifteen minutes, and then we take a walk into the mouth of Bastei. For the sake of romantism, you surely can take a horse wagon for a couple of Euro.
The mouth of Bastei is a stone balcony called Kurort Rathen, as high as 194 m above Elbe river, where the first view of rocky hills are around. From Lilienstein (415 m) to Königstein. Königstein was a citadele but also served as a jail hundreds years ago. Kurort Rathen balcony is one of starting points, and from there we follow the one and only path-way, up and down on rocky hills, mostly with the help of metal stairways). These stairways keep our hands clean. So, no need to crawl to climb up the hills. Metal bridges also connect us from one hill to anothers. Yes, it feels like doing window shopping in a mall. This is a kind of organized hiking with minimal risk of getting lost. The best season to come here is summer, of course, unless you like slippery ways. It may be warm above but be prepared to bring a jacket just in case it becomes too windy suddenly.
Bastei bridge is the end of the first route. We can choose to walk out to another wander areas, or continue to the next route. We must pay another more Euro here but it is worth it. This route can make our camera dances. We can shoot the famous Bastei bridge from various angles, including from above. We witness how the sun sets in the horizon and how the clouds hide rocky hills in the distance.
The route ends up in a sloppy hill where there is an open stage made by nature on its valley. This stage is an open theater accomodating about two thousands audiences. The seats are ordered around the stage. This theater was opened for the first time in 1936. Several famous plays played here were works of Karl May, Schiller, Shakespeare, and many more. If you are interested, make sure to check the schedule because they don’t play everyday.
Still interested to have a romantical moment, without a horse wagon and a theater? Go to Amsel lake nearby and rent a boat. Be a hero by rowing it for your lovely one.
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