What to do in Dresden-Wolves in Germany
We travel through the history of the world, always on the trail of the unbelievable, the unknown and the amazing. We forget what is on our doorstep. Now we have been living in South America for half a year for 25 years and in Germany for half a year, our house definitely has several doors. One may think now, Europe has in comparison to South America little at nature to offer but that is more because of the higher moral concept which we give exotic countries. But is that really justified? Has Germany completely lost its wilderness character? Now let’s go to Dresden and see what’s going on there.
What to do in Dresden ?
Let’s face it, Dresden is a great city. The great location on the Elbe with cycle paths and canoe tours, cosy beer gardens and wine taverns. The centre of Dresden is really in a good shape. One magnificent building next to the other confuses us, nature freaks with history and culture. An at least half-day tour of the city centre starts with the Frauenkirche. For one admission you can enjoy the 360° panoramic view from the 91 m high dome. Directly opposite, the traffic museum invites you to spend the afternoon thunderstorm in the dry. Passing the Residenzschloss with its museums we reach the Zwinger and the Semperopera. The Zwinger is a true splendid building and is considered with the crown gate as a landmark of the city. The Semperopera is known from the television advertising of the Radeberger beer. Along the terrace bank we reach the moorings of the boats which offer different river trips on the Elbe. There are sales points on the shore. Just outside the city centre is the Panometer. A 360 ° panorama with a 27 m high representation of Dresden from the eighteenth century.
Those who have had enough of culture will find a network of hiking and climbing routes in the Saxon Switzerland National Park the next day. Those who only want to make a short detour should take the 1,5 h long circular hike around the Bastei. From the parking lot, one gets by the shuttle bus to the Bastei, an absolute tourist stronghold but a scenic hit. From there, one descends to the health resort Rathen and again high over the Amselsee to the Bastei. Those who are looking for more solitude and less hustle and bustle should do a circular hike around the Schrammsteine from Bad Schandau. You can end the evening with a great sunset in one of the beer gardens at the Blue Wonder. This is how the Loschwitzer Bridge over the Elbe is called in Dresden.
In search of wolves in Lusatia
There are now again more than 30 wolf packs in Germany, most of them in Lusatia. Living together still doesn’t go smoothly, but the rising wolf population shows that even in a highly industrialized country like Germany you can live together with the wilderness in a very small space. Karsten Nitsch offers a log cabin adventure for young and old in Neustadt an der Spree. He also leads wolf tours with lots of interesting information about their lifestyles. There is no guarantee to really see them as we unfortunately had to notice. But you also have great chances to see cranes, hoopoe or white-tailed eagles. The excursion area around Bautzen can be reached by car in about 1.5 hours.
