Basteibrücke

There is one trait that many of the things I want to see have in common - a unique juxtaposition of the flawless beauty of nature with an impressive example man's ingenuity.

Basteibrücke from afar. Source: hassmanm

The Basteibrücke is a perfect example; even the word itself contains both natural and human parts.  The Bastei is an incredible rock formation that rises over 600 feet out of the Elbe river in the German state of Saxony.  The rocks, formed by water erosion over many years, were one of the first tourist attractions of the Saxon region over 200 years ago.  In 1824 a wooden bridge was built between some of the rocks to give tourists a better view of the Elbe valley and the rock formation itself.  Nearly 30 years later the wooden bridge was replaced with a sandstone version that still stands today, giving the Basteibrücke the second half of it's name.  Brücke is the German word for bridge.

Basteibrücke.  Nature meets human history.

Basteibrücke in the winter. Source: Badboy of Maths

Nowadays, the Basteibrücke is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Germany.  According to Wikipedia, it's not uncommon for 50,000 people a day to visit the site during the summer.  And like most great tourist destinations, the journey to the Basteibrücke is half the attraction.  One of the most popular ways to make the trip is to take a steam paddleboat up the Elbe river from Dresden to the small town of Rathen.  I could write another whole post about Rathen, but I'll save it for another time.  From Rathen to the Bastei you can take one of several hiking routes that vary from easy to moderate in difficulty.  If you have time in your itinerary to stay in Rathen for a day or two there are many other nearby attractions that are definitely worth seeing.

Rathen Spa. Source: DHausBT

Germany is probably in the top 2 or 3 countries that I am looking forward to visiting and aside from the beer, the Basteibrücke is at the top of my list of things to experience while there.