Saxon Switzerland

This past weekend a group of friends and I had gone hiking at The Saxon Switzerland National Park.

The park is popular with hikers, climbers, and nature lovers from throughout the world for its trails and great variety of sights, which are apparently reminiscent of Switzerland (hence the name).  It is located in the central eastern part of Germany, right on the border with the Czech Republic (in fact the park is split in two, the other half being on the Czech side, where it is known as the Czech/Bohemian Switzerland).  The park is like nothing I had ever seen before, and thought it was something that could only come out of a movie.  Unlike all other places I have ever been to before, this park was an awestriking combination of a multitude of natural occurances.  It was a combination of a forrest, with a river valley, combined with mountains, but unlike normal mountain ranges, these mountains are not connected and are more like gigantic rocks that just rise out of the ground and lay scattered throughout the park.  Best of all, you can hike up to the edge of these mountains and observe all of this, awe-struck and a sandwhich in hand.

The night before our hike we spent in Dresden.  Dresden is a city two hours south of Berlin (and 1 hour north of Saxon Switzerland), and should be the first stop after Berlin for anyone interested in getting to know Eastern Germany.  Dresden has a long history as the capital of Saxony, and as a result has alot of rich cultural history along with alot of beautiful architecture.