You know that really famous picture of a little stone arch bridge on a middle of nowhere cliff called the Bastei bridge? Yep, that’s Saxon Switzerland that looks like its straight from an Avatar movie. Although it has Switzerland in its name the entirety of the national park lies in Saxony and parts of Czechia. Take a day off to soak in the sights, the easiest way to get there is by taking a regional train from Dresden and exploring the forests from the town of Bad Schandau.
I chose to take the famous Kirnitztalbahn that offers stunning scenery of frozen waterfalls and snow covered pine forests in winter. The tramway is mainly composed of antique tram cars from the East German area and the Weimar Republic with some cars from as early as the 1920’s. Though old, they still serve tourists faithfully.
The Lichtenhainer Falls are located at the end of the line between layers of weathered rocks where the tram will make a short ten-minute stop before heading back down to Bad Schandau. If you have time, visit Hrensko and Schöna right at the German-Czech border to witness the seamless integration of the EU and the Eurozone.
