Tag Archives: River Elbe

Dresden to Magdeburg – a photo journey

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Tom Sawford at journey's end, Magdeburg

Tom Sawford at journey’s end, Magdeburg

I returned from my river Elbe charity walk three weeks ago since when I have been recovering and catching up with some work, the ever present “To-Do” list. Thank you to all those donated. I beat my fundraising target for Combat Stress, but it’s not too late to contribute!

In the end I walked 310 km in about ten days. It was an interesting journey, quite tough on the feet but I came out of it well enough to run a 10km race fpur days after returning!

Quick observations:

  • Dresden in beautiful, but Meissen may be better (and untouched from the bombing); definitely visit both places if you are in the area. Actually following the Elbe from its source in Czech Republic to Dresden is more varied and interesting – see my 2022 walk
  • Many of the towns I stayed in were clearly poorer than most west German counterparts
    The influence of Communism remains – Karl Marx Allee, Potemkin Platz etc – and blocks of drab uniform apartments in some former industrial places
  • The accent in Saxony, but in Saxony-Anhalt in particular, is very difficult to follow; I often just could not understand what people were saying
  • If you attempt something similar in Germany, remember that a lot of shops and eateries close in the evening and weekends in the rural areas; plan ahead! Sometimes places to stay can be far apart so one or two long days of walking and carry a little food
  • The beer, as ever in Germany, is good! The area between Dresden and Meissen has some particularly good white wines; a total surprise
  • German railways have long since failed to live up to their reputation for being on time; my experience over recent years is to allow an extra hour or two on your longer train journey plans as about 50% of trains appear to be late.
  • There is no great reason to visit Magdeburg; apologies if you live there!

As we all love to share our holiday snaps, here are a few photos that might give you an impression of my journey. If you enjoy this please consider a donation to the excellent charity Combat Stress which serves serving and retired military who are experiencing service related mental health issues.

Dresden to Magdeburg – continuing my walk down the River Elbe

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View over the Augustus Bridge, Dresden. Photo: Sylvio Dittrich (DML-BY)

View over the Augustus Bridge, Dresden. Photo: Sylvio Dittrich (DML-BY)

It doesn’t seem like four years have passed since I commenced my objective of walking the entire length of the River Elbe in eastern Germany. Time really does fly! You can read a little about the first part of that journey here.

I’m back at it again and I start on Sunday 31 May.

I shall walk from Dresden to Magdeburg, a journey of somewhere around 300km.

I thought I might as well see if I could raise some money along the way for the excellent charity Combat Stress which supports veterans suffering from mental health issues such as PTSD from over nineteen conflicts. In the past I have raised about £20,000 for Combat Stress, often with support from readers of this blog.

If you feel like giving me a boost for the walk by donating you can do so on my special Combat Stress page here.

Any donations and support would be very much apprreciated and will make a difference; perhaps helping to save a life. Thank you.

Tom

Prague to Dresden – a walk down the River Elbe

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A view of the Elbe looking North towards the “Saxon Switzerland”

 

My Elbe walk was completed a couple of weeks ago. I walked about 160km in seven days, plus a rest day. I followed Paddy’s little paper boat and on the one occasion I was beside a boat paddled by two men, I was walking at the same speed, so that little paper boat would have taken a very long time to reach the sea at Hamburg, not to mention the hazards of passing through locks!

It was a varied walk. The first part being somewhat dull, with unvarying scenery, although I did hear at least five cuckoos. It has been more that ten years since I heard one in England. I didn’t follow the river all the time as I cut off some bends or sought out sites and interesting country by following countryside and forest tracks.

I have added a selection of photos to a Google shared album so that you might get a flavour. The journey starts in (very ) beautiful Prague, thence to Melnick, and some photos taken at Terezin, or as most of us would know it, Theresienstadt. Spending a night there was very peculiar; you can really feel the ghosts of those who suffered and died at the hands of the 20th century Nazis. The Bohemian and Saxon Switzerland (Sächsische Schweiz) was a very enjoyable change and I spent two days walking through some spectacular rock formations with equally amazing views of the river. I took a rest day at Bad Schandau. Dresden was the real surprise. We know it suffered devastating bombing, but the restoration is outstanding. Lots of grand baroque buildings and churches, as well as great food, with music in every square.

A final thank you to those who made donations to support the work of the Red Cross in Ukraine.

The selection of photos is here.

In the wake of Paddy’s paper boat

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I’m in Prague. I have my battered, and much marked up copy of A Time of Gifts with me, and I’ve been struck just how wrong Paddy’s memory was! That section, whilst beautifully written as usual is a bit of a nonsense.

Anyway. Why am I here and not in England celebrating the Jubilee of our gracious Sovereign Elizabeth?

Many months ago I got the idea in my head to walk one of Germany’s great rivers. I have never been to Saxony and that appealed well enough. Then I discovered an area called Saxon Switzerland and knew I had to visit this beautiful sandstone landscape. So a walk down the Elbe seemed to fit. There’s a route for cyclists which is my guide and it starts in Prague and finishes Dresden. I’ve only discovered in the last couple of days that this “German” walk is actually 80% in the Czech Republic but that just adds to the enjoyment. 225 km in nine days. Easy peasy.

As you can see from the extract from ATOG, Paddy imagined a little paper boat making its way downstream. I shall be following in the wake of that little boat.

I also thought that it would be a good excuse to ask you, dear readers, for some money. If you would like to sponsor me please make a donation to the British Red Cross and the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) to support those who are suffering in Putins war of aggression against a peaceful sovereign state.

I’ll try to update you.

The link to donate is below. Maybe add a comment on the blog when you have done so. It would be nice to hear your thoughts.

https://donate.redcross.org.uk/appeal/ukraine-crisis-appeal