Travelling to the edge of the Czech and German border, I decided to hike around the fairy-tale woods that sit below the sandstone mountains. With nothing but serene lush greenery and perfectly clear creeks, I slowly climbed to the tops of these mountains to stand on top of the world looking at a 19th century Bridge! Wow, wow, wow, What a striking view! And how the bloody hell did they build it?! Literally sitting on the tip of the mountain, the Bastei bridge previously lead to a small castle that (very sadly) was destroyed. Worth every exhausting step!
My next stop was to hike to the tip of a separate mountain where the largest naturally-made sandstone arch in Europe formed. With a span of 26.5m it used to be able to be walked upon until the 80’s when it was deemed unsafe. Because of the beauty of the location (sitting 200m high on the mountain tops) a 19th century aristocrat built a large hotel into the side of the mountain for visitors, right next to the arch! The perfect place to stay for a getaway (so long as you aren’t afraid of heights).
And last, but certainly not least, I headed back down the mountains to the gorge and floated peacefully down the stream in a gondola surrounded by moss-covered rocks, the tallest trees on the bank, small waterfalls , and the fish swimming beneath me, right to where my ride home awaited.
10 hours, over 21,000 steps, and tomorrow I’m off to Poland!