First we flew with Ryanair to Leipzig, where we stayed in the city centre for the first two nights. By chance our visit coincided with the annual Bach music festival, which attracts a lively international crowd.
Also memorable was a visit to Leipzig’s Stasi museum, in the building that served as the headquarters of East Germany’s security agency for nearly 40 years until 1989. On display are some of its former working offices and prison cells, plus the surveillance equipment, espionage gadgets, disguises and other kit that the Stasi’s spies used to keep a close watch on citizens – while the peaceful protests that led to Germany’s reunification grew incrementally outside on the street.
Next we took the train to Bad Schandau on the bank of the Elbe river, not far from the Czech border, where we stayed another two nights. We followed wellmarked trails through sun-dappled forests and meadows full of wild flowers to reach the Schrammsteine rocks, an impressive collection of the unusual sandstone pinnacles that make Saxon Switzerland unique.
On the last day, we had to travel by train with our luggage, as we were moving on to Dresden that evening. The helpful staff at Bad Schandau’s tourist information office sold us a surprisingly cheap group ticket that allowed us to break journey at Rathen. And their colleagues there even stored our luggage for free while we walked among more of the incredible rock formations, including the massive Bastei, the area’s best known landmark that has inspired artists such as Caspar David Friedrich. Situated close to the town and overlooking the river, these rocks have been a tourist attraction for more than 200 years and are linked by a bridge built in 1851.
Those of our group who decided not to walk opted for a chill-out day at the natural hot-springs spa in Bad Schandau, followed by a tranquil afternoon boat trip along the Elbe to Dresden, where we spent our last three nights.
What an amazing city – sadly fire-bombed at the end of the Second World War, it is still being restored (or rebuilt) to its former splendour today. Once the cultural capital and royal residence of Saxony, Dresden was known as the Jewel Box because of its baroque and rococo architecture. It is also home to an outstanding collection of artworks, ornaments and other treasures. Fortunately these were stored safely during the war and are now on display in several city-centre museums
