The last Sunday in April
The sun is shining, the wind is blowing through the fresh greenery on the side of the path and the rucksack bounces lightly on your back: The last Sunday in April is best spent hiking in Saxon Switzerland. No sooner said than done. We get out our hiking boots, give them a quick clean and pack a few treats and an apple spritzer in our backpacks. We take the bus to the starting point of our hike: Pirna-Liebethal. We are not alone on this day, many people have decided to take a walk through the Liebethaler Grund.
It's picturesque here. The gentle green of the trees and the light blue of the sky are reflected in the Wesenitz torrent.
Music from the Lohegrin is played here, a first short rest is worthwhile.
...in the Uttewalder Grund surrounded by majestic sandstone cliffs. It's not far any more to the rock gate.
Below the Bastei there is another view, which is less crowded but at least as beautiful.
Off we go!
It is truly picturesque here. The gentle green of the trees and the light blue of the sky are reflected in the Wesenitz torrent. High sandstone cliffs soon tower up to the left and right. A dilapidated hydroelectric power station and the Richard Wagner monument also prove to be impressive photo spots. The latter is surrounded by music from the Lohegrin, and a first short break is worthwhile.
Immediately past the Lochmühle, a former local inn that is currently being restored, we follow the signs, cross to the other side of the Wesenitz and reach the Daubemühle, after which we cross the Wesenitz again and finally head uphill to Mühlsdorf.
We walk through the quiet village and soon follow a tarmac path out into the field and finally a gravelled path along the edge of the forest. We enjoy the distant view and soon walk into the forest. We descend a few steps. Once again we come across the Wesenitz - and a squirrel foraging in the Lohmenklamm gorge.
Passing under the railway bridge, we reach a road, which we cross and then follow a dirt track. The lush green of the meadow shines against a bright blue sky, adorned only by a few gentle clouds. In the middle of the field, we are delighted to find a bench with a table, which we use for our lunch break with a view of Lohmen.
We walk through Lohmen for a few minutes until we finally hike between forest and meadow directly into the Saxon Switzerland National Park. We soon reach the Uttewalder Grund, one of the most beautiful and impressive gorges in Saxon Switzerland. A few wood anemones line our path. To our left and right, the mossy sandstone cliffs rise up in a wild and romantic manner. Majestic trees grow on some of them. We wonder where their roots go...
We take a few nice souvenir photos at the Uttewalder Felsentor. While we hardly encountered any people in Uttewalder Grund, they gather at the Gasthaus Waldidylle inn for a Radler, bratwurst and ice cream. Even we can't resist the aroma of the barbecue and stop for a moment.
We continue on tarmac towards the town of Wehlen. We follow the Malerweg trail to the castle ruins and enjoy the view of Wehlen and the Elbe valley. At the town square, we have time to visit the church in Wehlen, which is the second church for cyclists in Saxony and is pleasantly cool. With an ice cream in hand, we walk to the banks of the Elbe and enjoy the sunshine.
We continue along the Elbe cycle path for a few metres and soon head uphill towards the Steinerner Tisch. At the Schwarzberg viewpoint, we walk through bright green blueberry bushes and birch trees. A beautiful picture! We soon reach the Bastei - we really aren't alone here. We catch a few glimpses of the Bastei and continue over the Bastei bridge and past the rock castle.
Below the bastion there is another viewpoint, which is less crowded but at least as beautiful. Now the spa town of Rathen is not far away. We take the ferry to the other side of the Elbe and start our journey home on the regional train. Now we are already looking forward to the next hike along the Malerweg...
Our hike corresponds to the first section of the Malerweg as far as Stadt Wehlen. As we started in the morning and wanted to reach the Bastei, we hiked on to the spa town of Rathen. We thus completed the first part of our sportive hike along the Malerweg.
