svicious22

I am interested in taking a river cruise from Dresden on one of the historic steam ships but am not sure how far one must travel to see the best scenery. Some routes go to Pirna, some to Konigstein and some to Bad Schandau. I am leaning toward Konigstein but am not sure if the most spectacular scenery and high cliffs lie beyond this point. Any advice from someone who has done this before would be appreciated.

Also, if anyone has any tips on returning to Dresden by train that is more than you can tell by using bahn.de (assuming they don't strike) that would be helpful as well.

Dukey

TTT

Ingo

The river cruises from Dresden to Saxon Switzerland have very scenic parts, but some parts are rather boring. From Dresden Old Town to Pillnitz you'll see lovely green hills with castles and mansions. Highly recommended. The part from Pillnitz to Pirna is extremely boring - flat, no sights. The most scenic part is between Pirna and Kurort Rathen with the dramatic cliffs and picturesque villages. Between Rathen, Königstein and Bad Schandau the views are beautiful, too, but not as dramatic. From Bad Schandau upstream the scenery gets more dramatic again (but it's enough to watch from the town Bad Schandau IMO).

My recommendation is to take the steamer from Pirna to Kurort Rathen - if you have more time go all the way to Bad Schandau. Skip Dresden - Pirna if you want to concentrate on the dramatic cliffs.

S-Bahn trains run from Dresden to Pirna every 15 minutes (S1, S2). There are also local buses that take you to Pirna (you need to change, though, e.g. in Prohlis-Einkaufszentrum). The website for the local transportation network is www.vvo-online.de but I am afraid they have no English version. Let me know if you need help with detailed schedules.

Right now they work on the railroads between Königstein and Bad Schandau, so you probably rely on buses to get back to Pirna. #241 runs from Bad Schandau to Pirna every hour (via Königstein).

I've done that many times. One thought on food on the steamers: Food is ok, wine is quite good, beer excellent. Don't drink cappuccino/espresso, it's lousy. ;-)

Ingo

PalenQ

<From Dresden Old Town to Pillnitz you'll see lovely green hills with castles and mansions>

and soon you'll be able to see the new bridge over the Elbe in this stretch (i think) that may cause Dresden's riverfront to lose its UNESCO World Cultural Heritage stamp.

svicious22

Thanks for the feedback. It is very helpful. Now if the railroad workers strike can only be averted so I can actually get to Dresden!

Thanks again.