Tom`s travels: Western Elbe Sandstone Mountains & Eastern Ore Mountains (20-22/05/2022)

On another May weekend, we decided to do some hiking on the border between Germany and Czechia. We left Berlin on a Friday afternoon, after a few hours reached the Czech city of Děčín, right across the border from Germany. Here we got off the train station and headed to check in our accommodation for the night, the Hostel Děčín Na Skřivánce, just a couple minutes away. Once there, we checked in, left our bags, and then headed back out to explore the city. It was surprisingly very warm even though it was nearly sunset. We then decided to cross the Elbe river, as the city is split in two by it. Both sides have a historical part, but the eastern one is where the medieval core is located which we could already spot easily by the large castle standing on a rocky outcrop right above the Elbe. Once on the other side, we walked through the small yet pretty old town, with typical baroque and neoclassical architecture including the church of the Holy Cross. Behind it was an unusual yet quite impressive feature, a long, straight-walled road leading up to to the castle known as the Long Ride. After heading up it, we then reached the fortress, which originally dates to the 12th century and was later replaced by a stone structure in the following century. In the 16th century, a grand Renaissance palace was constructed on the site, to be renovated in the Baroque style from the 17th century onward, which is what can be seen today. We entered the courtyard just as it started raining, and saw that it was at that moment used for an event so we didn't linger for long. Once back out after a short while the rain stopped and we decided it was time to head to the accommodation and get some sleep for the next day.

In the morning, after a late rise, we left our accommodation and the city of Děčín, heading westwards. After a bit of walking through the suburbs, we then reached the forest; here we started a slight uphill climb which eventually led us to the top of a rocky plateau part of the Western Elbe Sandstone Mountains. This area, which is part of the smaller Bohemian Switzerland, is characterized by rocky outcrops overlooking the valleys below. We walked along the edge of the plateau having a beautiful view every time the forest gave way to rocky platforms facing south. After a bit of walking, we then reached Děčínský Sněžník, the highest point in the plateau standing at 722m above sea level, where a neogothic observation tower was built in the second half of the 19th century. Emperor Joseph II of Habsburg is said to have climbed the peak in September 1779. Next to the tower was also a small but nice restaurant, but as it was still early we decided to continue onwards and have a break later. From the plateau we descended back downhill, going through more forest until we passed through a nice little village, Sněžník. After the village, we walked through more forest until we reached another group of rock formations, the Ostrovské skály. We walked over some large boulders admiring the beautiful formations and the landscape surrounding them. Then we walked along a path that cuts through some rocks downhill to reach the small village of Ostrov. Here we decided to stop and eat at a restaurant called Hostinec pod Císařem, where I had goulash and bread dumplings Knedlíky, while Ania had a Mexican-styled dish with rice and beans tomato sauce. After lunch, a short walk through some more forest led us to yet another rocky formation, the Tiské stěny, probably the most famous and known in the area. Entrance to the area in fact required a ticket, around 2 euros, which to us sounded a bit stupid as we had hiked all day through similar rock formations and thought natural areas should not be paid. Nonetheless, the place was really nice and reminded us a lot of the Saxon Switzerland National Park, as we were also given a map of the trail around the rock formation and each boulder was numbered for easy recognition. We walked through some really cool rocks, with deep trenches, rocky walls, and low ridges. After walking the whole loop around the area, we descended back down to reach the village of Tisá. We had intended to stop and sleep there but unfortunately, all the accommodations had been booked and we had clearly seen why when visiting the rock formations above as they were filled with tourists and climbers alike. We thus walked through the village and through some flat countryside sided by green grass fields until we reached the next village, Petrovice. Here we arrived at our accommodation, the Orion pension, and restaurant. After checking in, we went to buy some food for the next day from a supermarket nearby and then headed back to our accommodation to have dinner. I had a goulash soup and breaded veal with mashed potatoes and red cabbage, and Ania had grilled vegetables, asparagus, mushrooms, and potatoes.

The following day, after an early rise we left the village of Petrovice on a cold yet sunny day. We headed through some low rolling hills with greenery all around which felt really nice and peaceful. It was a little chilly and windy for the end of May but still nice, and we warmed up as we went on. After walking through green fields we then reached a nice pine forest. After a bit of ups and downs, we then reached a small river crossing which also marked the border between Czechia and Germany. After crossing over, we walked further into some deep woods until we came out once again to more green fields. Far in the distance we also notice some bright yellow rapeseed fields which shone in contrast to the greenery around. We then reached the small village of Liebenau where we decided to stop on a bench and eat the lunch we had brought with us. After lunch, some more walking through fields then led us to Lauenstein, a small town with a lovely historic center. Once there we headed uphill and reached the picturesque main square, the Markt, surrounded by old buildings. On the northern side, a large gabled baroque gate led to a courtyard that heralded the Schloss Lauenstein, the town's castle. The building originated as a 13th-century castle, later turned into its current baroque appearance during the 16th century. We decided not to enter the building itself as it featured a museum and we didn't want to lose too much time inside. We toured the small courtyard and the elegant garden around it before heading back into town. We passed by the late gothic town church, which was closed and then through some minor streets. Then we left Lauenstein walking southwestwards through the hilly countryside covered in fields. The view was really nice as the panorama spaced outwards through the hilly landscape. After a while, we reached another village, Geising, which we just walked through before reaching the final stretch of our hike. Here we started going uphill through a small forest, stopping then at the Tiefenbach Wasserfall a man-made waterfall from 1954 located at about 660m above sea level. Featuring an upper fall of about 15 to 20 meters in height, it is considered one of the highest waterfalls in Saxony. From the waterfall, we continued upwards until we finally reached Altenberg, the last town on our hike, located at 750m above sea level. This town situated in the eastern Ore Mountains is famous, like others in the area, for its tin ore mining in the past. The Ore Mountains have been intensively shaped by human intervention, in particular, through mining which in this area grew from a craft to a large-scale industry, preceding and enabling the later Industrial Revolution. Because of that, the Ore Mountains have been included in the list of Unesco World Heritage Sites in 2019. One particular feature of Altenberg was in fact a huge depression in the ground close to the city center known as a pinge which was created after an old mineshaft collapsed. Access to it take only place through guided tours, due to its hazardous nature, and so we did not manage to see it. Nonetheless, we enjoyed strolling around town, seeing some really nice, and filled with kitschy decorations, and colored houses along the main street. We stopped at one of these buildings, the Buntes Häusel, and marveled at the interior which featured hanging pottery and decor all around. Here we had a snack, I had a waffle with chocolate and ice cream, before eventually heading to the nearby train station and taking our ride back to Berlin. We had to switch twice on the way, once in Heidenau, a suburb in Dresden, and then in the Dresden main station, where we even had to wait an additional hour as our train to Berlin was late.