BASTEI

Monday 12^th June

We were up and away quite early for us, 9.30am and drove about 6 miles along a very narrow, windy road to get to Kurort Rathen where the ferry went across the river. We found a parking spot and were stung for 8 euros for 4 hours or more, but needs must. So, over the level crossing to join the queue, only a few minutes to wait for the chain ferry to take us across, the grand sum of 1.80 there and back. Once on the other side we followed everyone else along a small street with souvenir kiosks, till we found a sign to the Bastei, so round the corner we went only to be confronted with steps, steps, and more steps, and a steep slope! 

The sign post said 40 minutes walk, all up hill!!!! Plan B came in to action, we sat on a seat in the sun and had a conflab, then noticed a sign that read ‘comfortable 12km to Bastei and back’ It was a mini-bus transfer ready-made for us and 6 Swiss cyclists. Once they had chained their bikes to some railings, we climbed aboard and set off (in comfort) up very steep hills, round bends, hanging on to our seats for dear life. 20 minutes later we arrived safely at a car park and arranged for the bus to collect us in a couple of hours. We walked a few hundred yards to the outlook and decided it was all worth it. The rock formations were amazing and the view tremendous. 

It was extremely windy so eventually we succumbed to a cup of coffee in the café. There were load of tracks to walk in the area if you were young and fit, we saw loads of hiking feet, walking sticks and knapsacks around so of course started singing the inevitable song! Once back at the ferry, we found a nice restaurant so stopped for a late lunch  before going back over to where we had left Juliette under the shade of a tree. 

It was then about 8 miles to Konigstein where we struggled to find the campsite we had earmarked, it turned out to be over the railway line alongside the river back the way we had come. We booked in for one night with difficulty, very few people here speak English and have no intention of doing so, so my basic German has to come in to play. The pitches all faced the river so we had a good view of the paddle steamers, rubber dinghies, canoes etc. going up and down, all to the accompaniment of trains going by every few minutes.