Corso Reisen, Travel, Maps, Hotels

Corso Reisen

Clive had booked the holiday with Corso Reisen, a German outdoor holiday company he had used before. They provided maps of the route but no written instructions, arranged our hotel accommodation and organised the transfer of our luggage from one hotel to the next so we only had to carry day rucksacks. Apart from a couple of delays getting the bags to our hotel all the arrangements worked well, though the maps they provided were produced for the tourism market rather than being the higher standard topographic maps which are available for the region (see below).

Travel

Our starting point of Bad Schandau is not easy to get to in a day from the UK. The nearest airport is Leipzig/Halle but there are no direct flights from the London region – you have to change at Frankfurt or another German city. To do the whole journey by train is feasible but means a very early start on the Eurostar from London and a very late arrival (about 10pm) in Bad Schandau. In the end we chose to fly BA from Heathrow to Prague, leaving at 7.55am, and take the train from Prague to Bad Schandau. This is a two hour journey on a European Inter-City train and got us to our hotel some time after 4.00pm.

The return journey from Meissen involved the 7.53am train from Meissen to Prague (changing at Dresden) and the 3.50pm flight from Prague to Heathrow.

Maps

Maps

In the main shopping area I bought two more maps from a large bookshop. There are topographic maps for the region at various scales from 1:15,000 to 1:50,000. The 1:25,000 series produced by the Landvermessungsamt Sachsen (Saxony Survey) was by far the most useful. The maps are fully detailed and seem to be up to date. The most recent ones have pictorial blue covers, older ones still have the plainer green-and-white. You’d need four of these maps to follow our precise route (sheets 30, 34, 40 and 43): there’s a corner around Weinböhla on sheet 34 which is missed by the three I made do with.

Hotels

Our hotels were booked in advance by Corso as part of the holiday package. We’d paid extra for single rooms.

Bad Schandau / Krippen

Hotel Erbgericht

Bächelweg 4, 01814 Bad Schandau-Krippen

+49 3502 886290

www.pura-hotels.de/hotel-erbgericht-profil.html

Originally booked here but bumped to sister gästhaus “Zur Eiche” (same owners) 50 metres down the road. Comfortable room. Breakfast taken in Hotel Erbgericht. No wifi.

Rathen

Amselgrundschlösschen Hotel

Amselgrund 3, 1824 Rathen

+49 3502 47430

bit.ly/P2UV6e

Larger, older-style hotel in the village centre. Busy terrace restaurant, good service. Wifi in reception area.

Pirna

Casa Italiana

Lange Straße 22, 01796 Pirna

+49 3501 585094

www.casa-italiana-pirna.de/

Accommodated in an unstaffed annexe down the street where we were the only residents. The annexe was the most basic of the places we stayed. No soap in rooms. Staff in main hotel not particularly welcoming or helpful. Room looking out over nearby mainline railway – noise through the night. No wifi.

Dresden

AHA Hotel

Bautzner Straße 53, 01099 Dresden

+49 351 800850

www.ahahotel-dresden.de/

Unattractive exterior but pleasant inside. Small secluded garden at rear, but my room overlooked the main road so had to keep windows closed at night – hot with no air conditioning. Wifi in public areas.

Radebeul

Goldener Anker

Altkötzschenbroda 61, Radebeul

+49 351 83990100

www.goldener-anker-radebeul.de

My vote for best hotel of our trip. Friendly efficient staff, excellent large modern room with bath and shower. Good restaurant. Paid wifi in public areas and some rooms (including mine).

Weinböhla

Waldhotel Weinböhla

Forststraße 66, 01689 Weinböhla

+49 352 43410

www.waldhotel-weinboehla.de/

Hotel situated away from town centre, catering chiefly for spa and conference trade. Quiet rooms. Average restaurant (no choice locally). Wifi in reception area.

Meissen

Am Markt Residenz

An der Frauenkirche 1, 01662 Meissen

+49 3521 415161

Hotel and café operation part of but separate from the Hotel Am Markt 6. Good central position just off main square. Small single room. Church clock chimes loudly through the night so closed windows required. No wifi. Apparently no website.