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Tour Code: 25710 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Grade 6 The beautiful Elbe Valley from Prague to Holiday Duration: 15 days HOLIDAY DATES Dresden. 2nd Jun 2017 - 16th Jun 2017 Since the 1790s travellers have been fascinated by the beauty, the unique and intriguing landscape, the cultural heritage of Saxon and Bohemian Switzerland. HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHTS Walk the 70 mile romantic Malerweg (Painters' Trail). Visit Europe’s largest freestanding rock arch and take a punt through the Edmundsklamm gorge. Experience a glorious display of contrasting and breathtaking landscapes. Visiting Prague and Dresden - two wonderful cities perched on the banks the River Elbe. BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Through woods rich in ferns and mosses, across meadows, up fissures between pillars of eroded sandstone, the Malerweg, or Painters’ Way, winds its way through Germany’s Saxon Switzerland. From rocky viewpoints the meandering Elbe is often visible. You first saw the river beneath Prague’s Charles Bridge, where it is known as the Vltava. At the end of our journey you meet it once again in the neo-classical and Baroque splendour of Dresden. We follow the Malerweg in its entirety from our riverside base Bad Schandau. Throughout the trail’s seventy miles, which we follow in eight stages, it is easy to see why great painters and musicians have found inspiration here. The unique jumble of rocks, the sweeping panoramas, the dampness of the forest floor, mists rising from the valleys; these are the very essence of the Romantic Movement. The Malerweg links towns on the Elbe such as Pirna, with its squares and gabled roofs, with hamlets and villages such as Hohnstein, where a castle rises above half-timbered buildings and neat gardens. And of course it is always easy to find a café serving coffee and cake or a Gasthaus for beer and pretzels. Our holiday starts with two nights in the enchanting fairytale city of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. We enjoy a full day to explore the city with a local guide, we’ll wander through the narrow cobbled streets, visiting such city gems as the Old Town Hall with its remarkable 15th century astrological clock. Our holiday ends with two nights in Dresden where a local guide will introduce us to the rich cultural heritage including the famous sights of the Frauenkirche (Church of our Lady), Preidenkirche and Fürstenzug (Procession of the Princes), Old Masters Picture Gallery and Zwinger just to name a few. WHAT'S INCLUDED Return flights and transfers by road and rail. Half board en-suite accommodation. All local transport costs. A guided city tour in both Prague and Dresden HOLIDAY GRADE Grade 6 This is a Grade 6 moderate holiday which includes full day walks with appreciable amounts of ascent and descent with walks in some remote areas. Paths are mostly good, but there may be some steep and rough ground. Walks will last up to 6 hours and could involve as much as 750m of ascent and descent and are likely to be at the upper level of ascent, descent, walking time and distance. See the Walks & Excursions section for more information. HOLIDAY ITINERARY Day Content Meals Location 1 We fly from London Heathrow to Prague. On arrival we D Prague transfer by bus to our hotel in Prague 2 Sightseeing in Prague with a local guide. B,D Prague 3 Today we travel by road to Bad Schandau (Krippen) B,D Bad Schandau where we stay for the following 10 nights. 4 We start the first of our walks on the Malerweg trail. We B,D Bad Schandau walk from Liebenthal to Stadt Wehlen (9 miles). 5 We walk from Stadt Wehlen to Hohnstein (8½ miles). B,D Bad Schandau 6 We walk from Hohnstein to Altendorf (9½ miles). B,D Bad Schandau 7 We walk from Altendorf to Neumannmühle (12½ miles). B,D Bad Schandau 8 We walk from Neumannmühle to Schmilka (9½ miles). B,D Bad Schandau 9 We walk from Schmilka to Kurort Gohrisch (12½ miles). B,D Bad Schandau 10 We walk from Kurort Gohrisch to Kurort Rathen (13 B,D Bad Schandau miles). 11 We walk from Kurort Rathen to Pirna (10½ miles). B,D Bad Schandau 12 Free day to further explore the area independently. B,D Bad Schandau 13 We transfer by road to Dresden, on arrival and after B,D Dresden lunch we have a guided tour of the city with a local guide. 14 Today we further explore Dresden. B,D Dresden 15 We transfer by road to Prague airport for check-in and B - return flight to London Heathrow. Key to Meals: B Breakfast, L Lunch, D Dinner. In flight meals, if appropriate, will be advised in your final travel documents Walks & Excursions This holiday is graded 6. The first section of the Malerweg and our walks both in Dresden and Prague will be within our grade 4 category and will mainly involve sightseeing on foot. We will walk the Malerweg trail in eight sections. We expect to complete one section per day with a rest day part way through. We will use the excellent local transport system or minibuses to get to the start and return from the end of the walk each day. The length of the sections varies from 9 to 13 miles (14 to 21 km), with an average length of 10½ (17 km). The paths are well-made and maintained but most of the sections include relatively steep ascents and descents, some of which involve flights of steps, metal staircases and metal step-ladders. However, the presence of hand rails along the more difficult stretches means that there are no exposed paths anywhere along the route. Section 1: Liebenthal to Stadt Wehlen. A relatively easy first day walk, with a trail that meanders along the Wesenitz stream, alongside beautiful rape covered fields and through the forest of the Sächsiche Schweiz (Saxon Switzerland) National Park and ends in the Riverside town of Wehlen. 9 miles (13.7km); 324m ascent / 421m descent; 4 hrs Section 2: Stadt Wehlen – Hohnstein. This is a more challenging day than the previous one. We walk along the Elbe, then the trail climbs steeply uphill, high above the Elbe River, before we come to the unique sandstone rock formation of the Bastei area. We end the walk at the delightful town of Hohnstein. 8½ miles (13.1km) ; 564m ascent / 426m descent; 4 hrs Section 3: Hohnstein – Altendorf. Starting in Hohnstein the trail takes us along a delightful pine forest trail below sandstone cliffs to reach the Brand viewpoint, the ‘Balcony of Saxon Switzerland’. We then take 800 steps down to the valley floor of the Polenztal, then back up to the village of Waitzdorf. We finish in Altendorf, and get views of tomorrow’s rocky area, the Schrammsteine. Total ascent 9½ miles (15km) 512m ascent / 664m descent; 6 hrs Section 4: Altendorf – Neumannmühle. We start by walking down through a gorge to Kirnitzschtal and cross the historic tram line from Bad Schandau. From here the route becomes slightly challenging as we climb through the rocks with the help of a collection of steps and a short ladder in the crevices of the rock face; this section is quite steep so we take it nice and slow. We soon find ourselves on top of the jagged sandstone rock formations of the Schrammsteine, and continue along the ridge which offers excellent views. And what goes up must come down as we take a steep path with more steps. After crossing the tram line again we climb to the spectacular rock archway, the Kuhstall, before finishing in the valley. 12½ miles (20km) 668m ascent / 753m descent; 6-7 hrs Section 5: Neumannmühle - Schmilka. We walk through mainly wooded paths, which will be steep in some cases and rough underfoot. The views at the top from the Grosses Pohlshorn and the Goldsteinaussicht make it all worth the effort. At the highest point of the whole walk, the Grosses Winterberg (556m high), a tower can be climbed to give a 360 degree view of the surrounding hills and forests. After another descent with many steps, we end in the attractive and sleepy riverside town of Schmilka, a few hundred metres from the Czech border. 9½ miles (15km); 667m ascent 744m descent; 6-7 hrs Section 6: Schmilka – Kurort Gohrisch. Now on the south side of the Elbe, we walk along some wooded paths but the terrain is more open today and not so many steep paths to tackle. We walk through the village of Reinhardtsdorf, with its impressive baroque style church. We also walk amongst open farm fields. There are some steps to tackle to reach the summit of the Papstdorf, which rewards us with spectacular views. 12½ miles (20km) 701m ascent / 504m descent); 6-7 hrs Section 7: Kurort Gohrisch – Kurort Rathen. We walk across fields which offer fine views towards Konigstein Castle. We then climb to the top of the Pfaffenstein, a flat top mountain, which entails a rather strenuous ascent up numerous wooden and iron steps. We enjoy more walking in the forest around, but not up, the Quirl rocks, before descending into Konigstein for lunch. After lunch a steep climb takes us around the outside of Konigstein Castle, before we continue on to Weissig and then descend to Kurort Rathen on the River Elbe. 13 miles (21km); 554m ascent / 654m descent; 5-5½ hrs Section 8: Kurort Gohrisch - Pirna. Today will involve us climbing yet another flat top mountain, the Rauenstein, although not as high as the previous one, therefore the climb is less demanding, but with plenty of steps.

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