Easter holidays in Germany and the Czech Republic - dramatic mountains and "full" nature

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Writer: Helena Bergström

We are now on our long European motorhome adventure, spending this Easter weekend in Germany and the Czech Republic. We've experienced stunning scenery with dramatic mountains, crowds in the countryside, and a night in a car park that was far more expensive (and uncomfortable) than anticipated...

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Arriving in Poland

We remain Malmö-Swinoujscie with Finnlines and arrived in Poland at around 7pm. We didn't feel like driving any further that evening, and since we now finally have installed solar panels on the motorhome we thought we could easily spend a night in the harbour. We simply parked in a free car park, where we spent the night together with some trucks. There were even porta-potties!

Car journey Świnoujście - Saxon Switzerland

The next day it was time to go driving! We will eventually venture back into Poland, but Peter first wanted to go to the Saxon Switzerland mountain area in Germany, where you can find the amazing Bastei Bridge. We have been there before, but this is a place that entices us to return! No sooner said than done - it was a five-hour drive.

Luckily, there are plenty of large and beautiful rest areas in Germany, which are great for lunch stops and more.

Overnight stay at Bastei - do not about our mistake!

By the time we arrived at Bastei it was midday and a lovely 26 degrees (!) in the air. We were still happy with our new solar cells and thought we didn't need any camping.

We found a great car park near the bridge that cost 24 euros for motorhomes, or 48 euros for two days. Admittedly a bit expensive for a car park without any service, we thought, but as it was scenic and in a good location, we went for it. We paid 24 euros in a vending machine - only to realise that we had misunderstood ...

When we got the receipt, it was very clear - the one-day ticket was only valid until midnight (just a few more hours for us). If we wanted to stay overnight, we had to pay a total of €48. In other words, more expensive than a better campsite! If we had realised this from the beginning, we would never have stayed, but now the damage was already done.

But not only was it expensive, we also had to get up in the middle of the night to pay a new fee that would apply from 00:01. Large signs threatened with a 54 euro fine if you stayed after the payment had expired, and we didn't dare risk that... In other words, an expensive overnight stay with poor sleep!

Bastei in Saxon Switzerland

The next day it was time to visit Bastei in Saxon Switzerland. Last time we were here we walked to the bridge from below, which was a beautiful and lovely experience, but physically demanding! This time we were parked so we could walk to the bridge from the "same height".

From our car park it was a three kilometre walk. If you don't want to walk that far, you can take a bus from the car park or go to a closer car park, where you can only park during the day. We thought we had spent enough parking money for a while, so for us it was walk ...

The landscape in Saxon Switzerland is like something out of a storybook or a fantasy film. Absolutely incredible! The nature reserve also extends into the Czech Republic, where it is called Bohemian Switzerland.

One of the biggest attractions in the area is the Bastei Bridge. The first wooden bridge was built in 1824 and was replaced by the current sandstone bridge in 1851. The bridge is 76.5 metres long, has seven arches and crosses a 40-metre deep ravine.

As you can see from the pictures, the 26-degree summer heat disappeared, replaced by rain, fog and much cooler temperatures. Despite this, there were plenty of visiting tourists. Perhaps because of the Easter holidays, we began to suspect?

We understand why visitors flock to Bastei! The bridge is incredibly beautiful and the surrounding landscape almost takes your breath away.

Right next to the bridge is Felsenburg Neurathen (Neurathen rock castle), which can usually be visited for a fee of a few euros. This was closed for repairs at the moment, but the viewpoint over the river Elbe was open.

From Saxon Switzerland to Bohemian Switzerland - "full" in nature

We didn't want to stay another night for these outrageous prices, so we decided to cross the border from Germany to the Czech Republic. So we drove from Saxon Switzerland in Germany to Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic (often described by the English name Bohemian Switzerland).

This natural area is fantastic and we can highly recommend visiting Europe's largest sandstone arch Pravcicka Brana and the area Tísa, where scenes for the Narnia films were shot. In addition, we can recommend this nice the walk in Bohemian Switzerland.

We had sniffed out a few new places we wanted to check out, but it was fully in the wild. For real! In every possible parking space there were more cars than there was room for and we couldn't even park to have lunch ...

When we finally found a little lunch corner, the police were quick to come and stop us (didn't you see the sign?). No, we had missed it actually, but of course we packed up and moved. It seems that Easter is a time when all Czechs want to get out into nature!

Continuing the journey - to Camping Sedmihorky in the Czech Republic

We chose to continue the journey and instead aimed for a large and nice campsite - Camping Sedmihorky - where we've been before. In such a large campsite, there must be room, right?

When we arrived at the reception we were told that it was totally fully booked (!), but luckily the Czech Republic is often flexible. We were welcome to park at tent areas if we wanted to, and if we had a long enough cord (which we did!) we were welcome to plug in to electricity. It was great!

The pictures below show what it looks like at Camping Sedmihorky at the moment, when many motorhomes are crowded around the tent areas. The "real" pitches are straight and well-kept. Here we pay 150 SEK/night including electricity and all services available at the campsite.

For us, it will be an Easter weekend with Swedish Easter food, work at the computers and some explorations in the surrounding nature. We wish you a great Easter!

You might also like:

Motorhome travel in Germany - some reflections from the road Germany welcomes motorhomes (and Sweden imposes a ban) Saxon Switzerland - day trip from the Czech Republic to Germany German food - 25 German dishes and delicacies Things to do in the Czech Republic - 40 sights and experiences 10 picturesque towns in Germany - a great road trip