Cardboard model of the rock castle

Rock Castle Neuenrath

Carved into the mountain, suspended between rocks and destroyed in
1469 - before America was even discovered,
- little was left to see of its original ingenuity. It was thrilling
to see the abyss through the grate between one's feet though...

Lovin' it up here!

...hard to leave here, but we had the rock castle remains to explore
and get off the mountains before dusk.

Bells Vista!!

The Bastei Bridge

Spanning 75.5m (nearly 250 ft) and built in 1851 it provides access to
platforms and views for us, and access to ascents for the rock climbers.

Robin on top of the world!

Hard to capture the grandeur of the surroundings in an image or two.
No wonder the 'rock castle Neurathen' was built here in the Middle Ages.

Still ascending, still stunning view of the river

Resting under the pretense of enjoying the scenery (which we did, though)

Heading up to the Bastei

The Bastei is 305 m (950? ft) high rock formation only 130 m (400 ft)
away from the Elbe river. Quite a steep climb, but well worth it.

Elbe river

After the fortress, we headed straight to the Elbe river, parked the
car and crossed over to Rathen. A mushroom and a lentil stew later, we
were ready to start the ascent to the Bastei.

Little bed & breakfast to rest our wary bones

We decided to stay in the countryside for the evening. Started to roll
down the hill back towards town, and pulled off at a cute little place
that had an inviting feel, and some wonderful smells coming from the
kitchen. Lovely indeed.

Settled in with a delightful warm meal, and we were curled up in bed
by 10... By far our earliest evening yet! Ha.

Lilienstein

The first known freeclimbing was recorded here in 1864, and to this
day more than 18,500 sites exists to this area.

Nature!!

We found the "sand stone mountain" national park. Situated along the
Elbe river basin, really stunning rock formations rise out of the
rolling hills in the area.