Christmas Markets On The Elbe: The Bastei & Scenic Sailing

 December 9

What a great and full day we had today!  We woke up to be sailing along the Elbe and headed down to breakfast.  By 9am we'd docked in Bad Schandau ("Bad" in German means Spa - so this is a tourist spa resort town).  But our adventure took us up into the sandstone mountains to what's known as Saxony Switzerland - even though it's in Germany.  Apparently many years ago two painters from Switzerland thought this area was so like their home country Switzerland that they did multiple paintings and nicknamed the area "Saxony Switzerland" and the name stuck!  We drove high up into the area before disembarking and beginning our walking tour.  As high as we were, and from the pictures you'd never guess, but to get to the scenic bridge we had to go D-O-W-N 100 steps!  Which of course meant we had to come back UP those same steps.  WHEW!  This was the first part of the adventure for today......

What a great way to start the morning - sailing down a European River!

Welcome to the Bastei

First look at the scenic Bastei

Providing the narration to the highlight video

It's THE photo-op of this itinerary

The scenic overlook - NOT my cup of tea :)

Ideal spot for a group pic

The "Rock Castle" - six years ago my sister & I climbed up and around here and it was quite anxiety-producing.  And as proof - two years ago this was closed down as too dangerous!  I wasn't repeating the visit!

Photo op for Pam & Bob

A natural "door way" through the mountain

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The second part came after lunch as we embarked on an afternoon of scenic sailing.  This was one part of the trip I was VERY much anticipating because six years when on this itinerary with my little sister we were unable to sail, so we couldn't see the "underside" of the Bastei or the quaint villages and medieval castles along the Elbe.  As we sailed the trip was narrated by our great Program Director "CJ" who told us that this specially designed Viking ship for the shallow Elbe River could navigate if the water level of the river was a mere six inches deep!  YOWZA!  Passed a lot of scenic sights topped off by the Bastei.  TO ME....the best part (marginally because it's all great) of a Viking River Cruise is the cruising like this.  It was a bit nippy despite the weather being "unseasonably" warm for this time of year.  So the crew provided everyone with hot chocolate, and that was followed by the hotel manager offering to spice up the hot drink with a shot of whiskey - of course I did, it's all part of the experience!

It's a tough life, but I'll do it - take one for the team :)

And around the bend we go

The first "castle" of the day

Villages line the river

This is a significant castle....because during World War II when Dresden became a frequent target of the bombings the people moved all the important artifacts and stained glass windows from the medieval church to this castle for protection!

Chatting via FaceTime with our grandson in Orlando while sailing :)

The final castle of the afternoon

The Bastei from the "underside."  Note the lookout on the top left and mid-photo you can see the bridge where we had our picture taken this morning!

We sailed the rest of the day and ended up in Dresden.  After dinner we will visit the Dresden Christmas Market and I'll have those pics for you tomorrow!  What a great day!