Travel isn't easy during a pandemic. For the most part, I have been limited to domestic destinations, during the times when there isn't a lockdown in place. So the past summer in September, I have spent a week in Saxony. It's close by, it's an area that I have been to already, yet there are nevertheless still plenty of things to do and places to see.
I took a train to Dresden one Friday afternoon, after work. I stayed in Dresden the entire time, and used it as a base to explore the place. I've been to Saxony multiple times in the past: I have spent an entire Easter weekend back a few years ago. I also spent a couple of weekend trips in Dresden and Leipzig as far as I can remember. But this time, I want to explore more. Specifically, I wanted to go hiking in the Saxon Switzerland National Park. I wanted to hike the Malerweg, or the Painter's Way. It is said to be one of the prettiest hiking trails in Germany.
I used Dresden as a base, which worked out great, given its location. I had an accommodation near Neustadt Station, which was also convenient, since I could simply walk to the train station and get a connection to all the places I wanted to go to. On top of that, there is also a supermarket in the train station which I used to stack up on supplies.
Depending on the weather, as well as my needs to rest and recover, I altered between hiking and sight-seeing. On Saturday, because of the weather, I spent the day in Bautzen, a nearby city. Sunday and Monday on the other hand were good-weather days, so I completed the first two legs of the Malerweg during those two days. However, that also meant I had muscle pains and needed to recover, so on Tuesday I checked out the city of Zittau instead, and on Wednesday, I remained within Dresden. Thursday was another hiking day, and on Friday I explored the city of Görlitz. Saturday had good weather, allowing me to complete the fourth leg of the Malerweg. And Sunday was my last day, but I still had plenty of time to check out other parts of Dresden before taking the train back to Berlin in the late afternoon.
This trip was much fun, I must say. I was positively surprised that I had a lot of fun in a domestic trip. I suppose the fact that there are many varied activities was definitely the highlight, where I could explore the nature on one day and check out the Old Town of a city the next day. I definitely recommend this. Of course, pictures will follow, so stay tuned.
