Die Elbsandsteingebirge

I'm now in Obere Maxlraineralm in Bayern (Bavaria), about 5km from Austria, and I have internet once again (although it's slow, so that restricts the number of photos). So...some posts about Bad Schandau and my time in the Elbsandsteingebirge (Elbe sandstone mountains), also known as Saechsische Schweiz (Saxon Switzerland).

I arrived before midday in 36 degree heat and was met at the station by my hosts, Petra & Karl. They drove me back to the Pension in Postelwitz, pointing out necessities along the way, like bus, tram and ferry stops, ATMs and supermarkets. The afternoon was spent reading and snoozing in the relative cool of my room, and then I caught the last bus into Bad Schandau, bought tea and walked the 2km along the Elbe back to the Pension.

My room on the first floor at the back of the house. Window at right looks up at the cliffs

Looking upstream towards Postelwitz on the left (yes - I'm standing in the river)

On Saturday I got up early in the cool, and went for a walk.  It was amazing, but in order to be back in time for brekky, I couldn't go as far as I wanted.

Wow.  Just wow.

As it was also going to be 36 degrees today, Petra suggested taking the old tram to the Lichtenhainer Wasserfall, then walking to the Kuhstall (cow stable), a rock formation. A trip in the valley should be cooler than elsewhere. The waterfall is a bit forced - they dam the creek, then once an hour they let the water run over the rocks for about two minutes. It's not very high, but it was still pretty. Then relatively easy walking through forest, not as hot as it could have been, and the Kuhstall was fabulous (and cool!).

Der Kuhstall is the largest rock arch in Germany

Views are wonderful!

The Himmelsleiter - sky ladder. Fun!

The bright green of the forests here is simply stunning

The trip back in the old tram was awful. Half an hour in the baking sun, with windows that wouldn't open.  Everyone was sweltering. Bought a drink in the supermarket, walked to the bus stop and caught the bus back. Petra greeted me with a couple of slices of cold watermelon, which was very welcome! Then I cooled off in the Elbe. The river is just across the road from the Pension, and is really low - only knee deep for about 20 metres from the edge, but still deep enough to cool off. Lovely!