I’d seen photos of Saxon-Switzerland National Park at least five or six years ago, maybe more, and had added it to my list of places I might someday want to visit. When I was planning this trip, Berlin was one place I wanted to get back to so figured I’d add this national park to the list as well. (I also wanted to see the Black Forest but couldn’t make it work. Next time.)

Saxon-Switzerland National Park is east of Dresden, close to the border with Czechia. The national park is known for its giant rocky outcrops and the medieval Bastei Bridge, and the mountains are contrasted beautifully with the Elbe River below.

I took a very early flight from Luxembourg to Frankfurt, then another flight to Dresden and finally a train to Bad Schandau, arriving around noon. I grabbed some lunch then checked in early to my accommodation, a cute top floor apartment close to the centre of town. Next to the apartment was a hill with a forest path that led up to turret ruins. It was a short walk but nice to get moving and the turret was pretty cool as you could climb to the top and get a bit of an elevated view.

Bad Schandau isn’t the biggest of places so there wasn’t a lot to do in the evening, but there was a big swimming pool/public baths down in the town. I wanted to soak my legs in some hot water after the previous day’s hike in Luxembourg. Toskana Therme had various sizes of pools at slightly different temperatures, including one that was outdoors with a great view of the forest.

While it was nice to have a dip, none of the pools were really hot enough so I went into the sauna area. I’d been prewarned by reviews that you couldn’t wear anything while in any of the saunas, steam rooms or spas in this area, but even so, at first I wondered if I was doing the right thing as I took off my bathers.

Being naked in front of women and children is really not something I’m used to so it took a long time for me to feel anywhere close to relaxed. Fortunately, it wasn’t very busy and I had some of the sauna/steam rooms to myself so the heat could work on my sore legs. Australian sensibilities aside, it was a good place to spend a few hours in the evening.

Bastei Bridge so good I did it twice

The next morning I caught the train to Stadt Wehlen then took the little ferry across the river to start a roughly 16km-hike through the national park. I’d been a little apprehensive about choosing this particular route on AllTrails as it was listed as “hard” but in reality it was pretty easy, some inclines but the paths were good. From the river it heads straight up the mountain then it’s mostly flat for the rest of the way or a gentle decline.

Soon after starting, I got chatting to a guy who was doing the same walk. He lives in Dresden and had done the hike many times. He recommended checking out the “Swedish holes” (LOL!) elsewhere in the park, which turned out to be rock caverns that you go through anyway so it didn’t require a detour. After a quick chat, I continued ahead, stopped for a coffee at a remote cafe, then arrived at Bastei Bridge.

It was HEAVING with people. Turns out there are many quicker ways of getting there than the way I went. You can either take the shorter walk from Rathen or even just drive to the top. Because it has such beautiful views and the bridge itself is really cool, it’s also a bit of a tourist Mecca with lots of restaurants and bars.

There are multiple viewpoints to visit while in the area and first I checked out the newer walkway they’ve constructed which juts out with a view of the Elbe valley below. Here I bumped into my walking buddy again. I commented on how busy it was – it was school holidays, the weather was beautiful, it’s a popular spot – and he said that he’d been up to the bridge for sunset at about 10pm during summer and it was empty. I filed that away for later.

After the walkway, I checked out the bridge which was really cool and had awesome views of the rock formations on the opposite side of the canyon. I couldn’t stop smiling. The whole place was more beautiful than I’d been expecting and I felt so overjoyed to be there.

I continued my hike, ducking in and out of viewing spots, before descending into the Swedish holes down many, many steps. The pathway was well maintained but it was absolutely teeming with people, children too! How dare they! And the rocks were really nice, though not the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Fun to traverse though.

I then got to the bottom and headed to the left to do the dog leg that AllTrails recommended. When I got to the end, I checked the map and realised there was a whole path I’d missed. Right back at the top of the Swedish holes. About 3km uphill.

Not wanting to miss out – honestly, it’s a problem – and thinking that I really enjoyed the view from up there and would have liked to see even more of it, I jogged back up all those bloody steps, dodging children all the way. SLOW moving children who can’t stick to one side of a path.

When I got to the top, I found the path indicated on the map…but it looked a little blocked off. I tried my luck though only to get stopped shortly after by a ranger who said that the path was only accessible if you were on a guided rock-climbing tour so I’d have to go back.

Brilliant. Went all that way for nothing.

So back down the Swedish holes I went. I was much less jubilant the third time. From that point it was mostly a decline to Rathen where I stopped for an Aperol spritz and apple strudel. I could have then called it quits, caught the ferry over to the train station and gone home, but the route suggested going all the way back to Wehlen, and to be honest it was quite a nice gentle 45-minute walk along the river. In the end, the 16km hike turned out to be closer to 20.

Hike done, I caught the ferry then the train back to Bad Schandau and was at home for about an hour before setting off again. I’d figured that I really would like to see the Bastei Bridge at sunset with fewer people around. I could have gone the next day but the weather was meant to be crap so this was really my only chance.

I took the short route this time though, catching the train to Rathen, then the ferry, and taking the much shorter path up the side of the mountain to the top. The trail was practically deserted so I was already off to a good start, and when I arrived at Bastei Bridge I could have hollered with joy at how empty it was. There were moments where I was the only one on there. Such a contrast from earlier in the day.

I also went over to a platform that I had completely missed previously, which gave an excellent view back of the bridge itself. Again, I had the whole place to myself much of the time so I got to take a lot of photos and feel incredibly grateful, almost to the point of tears, that I was there and could experience this, even if it was by myself.

I then went to the other big walkway overlooking the Elbe, again having the place to myself at times, and caught part of the sunset. It was about 8:30pm when I was there and the sun wasn’t due to set for another half hour at least, but with the way everything was positioned, I wouldn’t be able to see the sun go down, even if I stayed. It was also disappearing behind clouds, so I took myself back down the mountain in the dusk, caught the ferry and the train home for a well deserved rest.

Große Schrammsteinrunde in the rain

The weather the next day wasn’t that great but I didn’t have any other opportunity to see more of what the national park had to offer. I also wanted to try out some of the wet weather gear I’d brought with me for Iceland and see how good it was. The rain never got really hard but it was enough to get a feel for it.

My feet were blistered as all hell from the new boots but I plastered up what I could, took some ibuprofen, and set off. This hike went through Große Schrammsteinrunde and started in Bad Schandau, which was convenient. To start with, I got to take the old-timey Gothic looking elevator up the mountain, which in the gloom was extremely atmospheric and something Tim Burton would love.

The next bit of the hike went through forest before going through a town and some fields, which weren’t all that exciting. The main feature of this hike though are the giant bobbly rock formations in the middle. There were two main outcrops, both with opportunities to explore in and around them. They were pretty cool, though I didn’t explore too much as my feet were killing me and the rain was coming in.

The wet weather gear worked well, though it was so hot, effectively being wrapped in plastic that I ended up wearing just the jacket with nothing underneath. The rain pants were so sweaty by the end of it too. But at least I stayed dry from the rain. The hike was about 13.5km and took threeish hours.

I finished up at one of the towns, got a giant piece of plum tart (so good), had a drink, and chatted to the two older British couples at the table next to me. Friends for 30 years, they go on holiday together each year with two other couples. The ones I was talking with were the more adventurous/hiking types. Was great to see.

Took the bus back to Bad Schandau with them, then returned to the apartment, cooked up the rest of my food for dinner, and packed for moving on the next day to Berlin.

I am so glad I made the effort to check out this national park. Bastei was such a highlight – clearly, because I did it twice – and the whole surrounding area is beautiful. I’m sure there’d be plenty more to see with more time, but the two-and-a-half days I spent there were a great experience and highly recommended.