I love to visit places that are a little different, so when I was trying to find a biergarten in Berlin and came across Klunkerkranich, I had to check it out. The name roughly translates to Jewelry Crane, which is an odd name, but frankly, everything about this place is a little odd.
It is a rooftop bar/cultural center located on top of the Neukölln Arcaden, a shopping mall in the Neukölln neighborhood on the south side of Berlin. It has food, several bars, and fantastic views of Berlin.
There are planters all over the rooftop at Klunkerkranich.
Finding Klunkerkranich was a challenge. I stumbled across it on Google Maps when I searched for biergartens. When we went there, I found the intersection where it was located, but couldn’t find any signs or indication of where it was. I knew it was on the rooftop, so I decided to walk into Neukölln Arcaden to see if I had to go through the mall to get there.
Honestly, I’m not exactly sure how we found it. I know we went up as far as we could inside the mall, then ended up in a stairwell going up another floor, then through a parking garage. Inside the parking structure, we saw a ramp going up an additional level, and on that ramp, we were greeted by a gentleman who was taking the entrance fee. It’s definitely not the kind of place you just stumble upon; you have to be looking for it.
The entrance fee is variable between three and nine euros, depending on what time you arrive and what cultural program is being featured that day. The cultural program on the day we arrived was an EDM DJ, and the fee was eight euros.
The ramp up to the rooftop
Walking up the ramp, you start to get the vibe of the place. There are planters along the ramp that feel like they belong in a hippie’s garden, reminiscent of reclaimed pallet boards and whimsical paint colors. Once we got to the top of the roof itself, I felt a little sensory overload. The bass from the EDM, the views of Berlin, the sound of people chatting, the colors from the flowers in the planters, as well as the countless avant-garde decorations, took me a moment to unpack.
We looked around for a little while and then went into the bar for a König Ludwig dunkel for me and a cola for Alex. We then found a picnic table where we sat and enjoyed our drinks. The best tables along the edge of the building with clear views of the city were already taken.
Seating along the edge of the building with great city views.
For a Wednesday night, there were quite a few people there, but clearly, they could handle a much bigger crowd because only about half of the area was accessible. There was a private party in one section, which I discovered when I tried to walk up there and was sternly reprimanded. Another section, called the Ostflügel (east wing), was also closed off, which I imagine they open when they are busier.
In front of the whimsical balloon statue is the guy who scolded me for trying to get into the section with the private party.
Our plan for the evening was to have a couple of drinks here while the sun set. We had already eaten, so we didn’t have any of the food that was served. Based on the reviews, the food isn’t great, so we ate before arriving. Besides, I promised Alex I would take him for ice cream. Alex and I had spent a week together at this point, and the only way I could convince him to go with me to another biergarten was to promise him ice cream afterward.
The Ostflügel section of the rooftop was closed.
Even though this didn’t look like a traditional German biergarten, it certainly had that same feel. I find Germans to be friendly in biergartens, even though they typically don’t have the reputation for liking small talk. We had a short conversation with a gentleman from an adjacent table, which was prompted by Alex falling off the back of his bench (seriously, he was the only person there not drinking, and he’s the one who fell out of his seat).
Signs pointing to different sections of the rooftop.
I wish we had a chance to visit on the weekend. I have a feeling that the vibe goes from laid-back rooftop biergarten to a more nightclub/rave vibe when it gets really busy. Even though I would definitely rather go to a biergarten than a nightclub, it would have been really interesting to visit it when people were really partying.
We waited for sundown and walked around the rooftop, looking over the city of Berlin. It was a beautiful sunset on a warm and lovely evening. We then decided to leave and worked our way back to the ground level through the parking garage, stairwell, and the mall, and back out into the city. Now we just had to find that ice cream I promised Alex.
Berlin at sunset
If you are going to Berlin, I would highly recommend going to Klunkerkranich. The views over the city alone are worth the price of admission. I really enjoyed the hippie vibes and the avant-garde art. It was a really enjoyable place to spend an evening.
If you are traveling to Germany, you might be surprised to find out that your best public transportation option might just be a program developed for German citizens. The Deutschland Ticket or D-Ticket was first introduced in May 2023 as a joint venture between the German government and the individual regions within Germany. The original cost was 49 Euros, which was raised to 58 Euros in January 2025.
What is the Deutschland Ticket?
Deutschland Ticket is a subscription service that allows you to travel on virtually any public transportation system in Germany for one price. This eliminates the need to navigate multiple apps and ticketing systems for different public transportation systems in Germany. The service covers buses, trams, subways, and trains throughout Germany.
The Deutschland Ticket doesn’t, however, cover travel between cities. This means that long-distance buses such as Flixbus or Intercity Express (ICE), Intercity (IC), or Eurocity (EC) trains are not included. For example, when my son and I were in Germany recently, we had to purchase separate tickets for travel between Dresden and Berlin.
My Experience with the Deutschland Ticket
When I was planning our trip to Germany this summer, the plan was to spend six nights in Dresden and two nights in Berlin. We were also going to visit Saxon Switzerland National Park for a few days while staying in Dresden.
What this meant for me was that I needed to figure out how to navigate as well as purchase tickets for three separate transportation systems in Berlin, Dresden, and Saxon Switzerland National Park. That is a giant headache to deal with because if you don’t want to overspend on tickets, you need to know how much you plan to use that system. Should I get a single-day pass, a single-journey pass, or a week pass? How many fare zones do I plan to travel in? It can get overwhelming in a hurry.
For example, on the Dresden Public Transportation website, there is a map, ironically labeled “Fare Zones made easy,” showing the 21 fare zones in the Dresden Public Transportation system. That’s right, 21 zones. The prices vary depending on how many zones you plan to travel in.
I spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out that I would need to purchase a ticket that was good for a week in two zones, plus Dresden. For a week, that would have cost almost 45 Euros per person. That also limited us to just part of the system around Dresden.
On top of that, I was going to need to buy tickets in Berlin as well as inside Saxon Switzerland National Park. I knew that the Deutschland Ticket was only 58 Euros, so it didn’t take me too long to realize that it was going to be cheaper and much simpler to just buy the D-ticket.
In practice, it was a huge relief to have the Deutschland Ticket. I didn’t spend any time worrying about whether or not my ticket was valid for any place I wanted to go. If it was public transportation, it was covered – all I needed to worry about was which train, tram, or bus to take.
This actually expanded where we traveled because we decided at the last minute to visit Meissen, which would have been in a fare zone not covered by the Dresden week pass. Having the pass meant that we actually went the full length of the train system from Meissen to the Czech border, which is about 50 miles apart. Knowing that was all covered by one ticket was incredibly valuable.
The Simplicity of the D-Ticket
The best thing about holding the Deutschland Ticket is the fact that it simplifies your experience on German public transportation. Purchasing separate tickets for each city means that you will need that city’s phone app in order to purchase tickets and view routes. If you purchase the D-Ticket, however, you can buy it on any of those apps you choose, and you only need that one app, not a different app when you visit a new city. The QR code on that app works anywhere the D-Ticket is valid.
In fact, we weren’t visiting Munich, but I already had that app on my phone, so I purchased my ticket using that app. Whenever I needed to show my ticket while I was in Dresden, Berlin, or in Saxon Switzerland National Park, I simply opened the Munich app and flashed the QR code. It really simplified things for us. Meanwhile, for routes and times, we used the transit features within Apple Maps.
The Deutschland Ticket is a Subscription Service
There are some downsides to using the D-Ticket that might keep you from wanting to use it. The negatives revolve around it being a subscription service that renews at the end of the month. While the ticket is allowed for use by tourists, it’s generally meant for use by residents. So the rules are set up for residents, not tourists.
The first issue is that it renews at the beginning of the month. This means that if you are planning a trip that starts in one month and ends in the next month, you will end up paying the 58 Euro subscription fee twice. If you are only visiting Germany for a week and have to pay 116 Euros, you might rethink the D-Ticket.
The other problem is that you really need to plan ahead. It is required that you cancel your subscription before the 10th of the previous month. For example, if you are going to Germany from October 15th to October 25th, you need to purchase the ticket between September 1st and September 9th, and then cancel the subscription before the 10th. It seems counterintuitive to cancel something before you start to use it, but once you’ve purchased the Deutschland Ticket you have that ticket for the next month.
All purchases are final, and you can purchase the Deutschland Ticket in the same month that you use it, but you won’t be able to cancel it for the first month. In other words, if you don’t plan ahead, you will be required to purchase it for two months.
Purchasing the Deutschland Ticket
The actual purchasing of the Deutschland Ticket is fairly easy. I used the MVV app which is Munich’s public transportation phone app. You can find the Deutschland Ticket subscription in the Ticketshop tab at the bottom of the screen. Once you are there, select Deutschland Ticket Subscription.
Once you get to that point, all you need to do is enter your payment method (they accept US credit cards), and complete the payment.
If you are only trying to purchase your ticket for one month, you must remember to purchase and cancel the ticket before the tenth of the previous month otherwise you will be charged for a second month.
Conclusion
The Deutschland Ticket is a great way for tourists, especially those visiting multiple German cities, to simplify their public transportation needs. You can travel on virtually all forms of public transport within cities, hold only one ticket, and use only one app.
It’s very likely it will save you money on your trip as well, since purchasing individual tickets or day/week passes can add up quickly. The biggest headache is managing the subscription. But if you make sure you understand the subscription rules and are able to purchase and cancel the subscription within the correct time period, you’ll be thankful you had it.
Berlin is the epicenter of uncomfortable history. The city was the seat of power for Germany during World War I and World War II. During the Second World War, many crimes against humanity were directed from this city. It was also physically split during the Cold War.
20th-century German history forces people to confront the worst parts of humanity. This includes the history of concentration camps, persecution of vulnerable groups, and ethnic cleansing. It also forces people to confront totalitarianism and the stripping of basic human rights. It’s a history that confronts each and every individual who learns about it with the worst parts of the human experience.
Berlin could have decided to move on from its history and maybe built some small monuments or plaques to inform people of the past. Instead, the people of Berlin have built an impressive and thoughtful collection of monuments, allowing people to mourn the past and contemplate what it means for the present.
World War II Monuments
There are various monuments related to World War II in Berlin, and many of them recount the horrors related to the Holocaust and the Nazis’ campaigns of ethnic cleansing. There were three in particular that drew my attention related to the persecution of minorities by the Nazis from 1933 to 1945.
As I was walking through the memorial, it became very clear to me just how difficult it is to visualize large numbers. There were an estimated six million Jews killed during the Holocaust at the hands of the Nazis. That is a number that becomes incredibly hard to visualize. However, as I was walking among the concrete blocks, seeing 2,711 blocks, and that, if divided equally, each block would represent more than 2,000 lives lost, six million becomes an unfathomable number.
Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe
People have commented that the design is meant to be disorienting, with the varying heights of the blocks and the fact that the ground they sit on is not flat. To me, instead, it felt like a place for reflection. Once you get into the sea of concrete blocks, the distractions of the city vanish, and you are only left with your thoughts.
Monument to the Sinti and Roma Victims of National Socialism
In the Tiergarten in Berlin is the Monument to the Sinti and Roma Victims of National Socialism. It was officially opened in October 2012 and was dedicated to the estimated 250,000 to 500,000 Sinti and Roma who were killed by the Nazis.
Monument to Europe’s Sinti and Roma Murdered under Nazism
Memorial to the Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism.
The Memorial to the Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism looks like a plain concrete cube, similar to the concrete cubes in the Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe. There is, however, a window in the concrete which, when you look inside, displays a short video of two men kissing. Every two years, the video alternates between two women kissing and two men kissing.
Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism in Berlin
From the end of World War II in 1945 until reunification in 1990, Berlin was essentially split in half, with the western side part of West Germany and the eastern side part of East Germany. West Berlin, however, was essentially an island as it was completely surrounded by East Germany.
Mural by Kani Alavi depicting the crowds of people who broke through the Berlin Wall the day it fell. The mural is located at the East Side Gallery
Many sections of the Berlin Wall are left standing throughout Berlin. The East Side Gallery is a large portion of the Berlin Wall painted by a series of artists. It is a large open-air art gallery with over 100 unique paintings from across the world.
Marc Engel’s Puppets in a Dropped Play
It is impressive in its size and artistic diversity. We spent a couple of hours walking along the wall, admiring the artwork.
White Crosses
Walking into the Tiergarten, we came across a series of white crosses that were placed to commemorate the people who died attempting to cross from East Berlin to West Berlin. The stories of some of the 171 East Berliners who died trying to cross the Berlin Wall are displayed on these crosses.
The White Crosses Memorial pays tribute to people who were killed trying to escape East Germany by crossing the Berlin Wall
There were over a dozen at the location we saw at the northeast corner of the Tiergarten, but there are also 8 additional crosses along the Spree River behind the Reichstag building.
Remnants of the Berlin Wall
Remnant of Berlin Wall with peace sign sits along a thin line of bricks and stone signifying the location of the wall.
Throughout Berlin, you will see reminders of the location of the Berlin Wall. In some cases, it is a piece of the wall. In others, it’s a brick line in the pavement that marks where the wall had been. It is a constant reminder to the citizens of Berlin of when and where their city had been split for the duration of the Cold War.
Much of the location of the Berlin Wall is marked by brick lines in the pavement
The city of Berlin could have chosen to completely remove all of the Berlin Wall and turn the page on a horrible part of its history. However, they left scars throughout the city as a reminder of the trauma of the past.
Addressing the Past with Clarity
In the United States, it has been 160 years since the end of the Civil War. Even after that much time, we lack a cohesive narrative about the end of a horrible chapter in our past.
Throughout much of the Old South in the United States, there are still countless monuments to Robert E. Lee. People still proudly wave Confederate flags. For some people, the teaching of the history of slavery, segregation, and the Civil Rights movement in America is labeled ‘Critical Race Theory’ and demonized. Even after more than a century and a half, we cannot come to terms with the sins of our past.
The city of Berlin addresses its past with clarity. You will not find statues in Berlin commemorating Hitler or any of his generals. Nazi flags are illegal in Germany, and you will not find many people who defend Nazi Germany. What you will find are thoughtful monuments to their victims. The message is clear to visitors and Berlin residents – we made horrible mistakes and are committed to not repeating those mistakes.
Germany does not hide from its past; it addresses it head-on. Unlike the United States, it does not confuse or excuse its immoral actions but instead addresses them with clarity. That is the best way for a society to move forward from its mistakes.
We should not shy away from things that make us uncomfortable. Discomfort is the fertile soil where wisdom grows. It is not our responsibility to bear the weight of the sins of our fathers. It is, however, our responsibility to not repeat those sins.
The Panometer in Dresden is a unique museum. It was built inside a former gasometer, a round structure that was used to pressurize coal gas for use in houses. Many of these structures have been converted for other purposes, and in Dresden, one was converted into a truly unique museum.
This museum hosts incredibly large panoramic paintings created by artist Yadegar Asisi. Only one painting at a time is on display, and each painting covers the entire inside wall of the Panometer. These paintings immerse visitors in a time and place. Previous exhibits have included a panoramic view of Dresden in the 1700s and Dresden immediately following the Allied bombings in 1945.
The exhibit we visited was Amazonia, which immerses the visitor in a 1:1 scale painting of the Amazon Rainforest. This exhibit has been hosted by other panoramic museums, but has been at Dresden’s Panometer since 2024 and should continue through the end of 2025.
Exhibit explaining the process of creating a panoramic painting.
Entering the museum, we walked into a series of rooms that explained the artwork and how it was created. There was also a lot of background information about the Amazon Rainforest and its flora and fauna.
Amazonian insects are displayed in the museum area before entering the panorama.
Once we had walked through the exhibitions, we entered the Panometer itself. My first reaction was awe at the size of the painting. Each piece of art that gets displayed at Panometer is almost 90 feet tall and approximately 350 feet long. It’s absolutely massive. But it’s not just the size that’s impressive. The detail in the painting itself, especially considering the scale of the painting, is phenomenal.
Viewing Tower in the Center of Panometer
Visitors also experience sounds from the Amazon and music. The soundscape was designed by Eric Babak, who collaborates with Yadegar Asisi on these projects.
Rainforest floor in daytime lighting
In the center of the Panometer is a 50-foot-tall tower, where visitors can view the painting from various heights. Attached to the tower are a series of lights that simulate different times of the day, from moonlit night through dawn to midday. The painting reacts differently to the different kinds of lighting it’s exposed to. While daytime lighting exposes the incredible detail of the painting, the nighttime lighting hides those details, but creates an interesting glow, as it would under a full moon.
Above the rainforest canopy during dusk lighting
All of this makes for a completely immersive experience for the visitor. Instead of at an art museum where you would go to view a great work of art, this feels like a visit to the Amazon itself, without, of course, the heat, humidity, and the possibility of being eaten by a snake.
Rainforest floor at night
Viewing the work of art from the multiple levels of the tower gives the visitor many different perspectives on the same work of art. We took full advantage of the multiple viewpoints and different lighting to get the full experience. You can fully experience the Panometer in around an hour, allowing yourself plenty of time to see the art at multiple heights with different lighting.
Visiting Panometer Dresden
Panometer Dresden is about an 8-minute walk from the Dresden Reick train station. There is also a bus stop even closer than the train station. If you are driving, there is free parking in front of the building.
Tickets are 14 Euros for an adult. It costs 12 Euros for 17-20 year old students, Dresden Card holders, Dresden Pass holders, and the disabled. It is 7 Euros for children 6-16 years old. Children under the age of 6 are free.
Places to View the Art of Yadegar Asisi
Yadegar Asisi has many different panoramic art pieces on display throughout Germany.
The Cathedral of Monet is currently on display in Leipzig. This 360-degree panorama, inspired by Monet’s painting of the Rouen Cathedral, is scheduled to end on Jan 7th, 2026.
On display at Museumsinsel Berlin is the Pergamon. This art depicts the Greek City of Pergamon as it was during the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in 129 AD.
At Panorama Berlin is The Wall. This depicts various scenes from a 25-year period centered on the Berlin Wall.
On display at Panorama Wittenberg360 in Wittenberg, Germany, is Luther 1517. This work depicts scenes from the life of Martin Luther and represents what Germany looked like 500 years ago.
At Gasometer Pforzheim, Amazonia, the same exhibit being shown in Dresden, is also on display. It is scheduled to be in Pforzheim through 2026.
Altogether, there are 6 panoramic museums in Germany displaying Asisi’s work. I think the combination of the size and the detail of the work makes it worth visiting. It also makes for a quick trip if you want to fit it in with other things. You should be able to visit any of these works of art in an hour or less, and the price is reasonable.
I don’t think that I would go out of my way to do a day trip to one of these exhibits, but if you are in one of the cities where one of these panorama museums exists, I think it’s worth a stop. It’s a great way to spend a little time if you are in the area.
Stage four of the Malerweg starts in Altendorf and finishes in Neumannmühle. It is part of the Malerweg Trail (Painter’s Way), which is a series of eight point-to-point trails through Saxon Switzerland National Park in Germany. It roughly follows the path of German landscape painters who frequented the area in the 18th Century.
Building in Bad Schandau
My Son Alex and I had only planned four days of hiking while in Dresden, but because of the amount of rain that fell while we were there, we were only able to hike two days. Having read blog posts of people who had done all eight stages, stage four seemed to be one of the favorites of the eight stages.
Our day started with a train ride from Dresden to Bad Schandau. From there, we needed to take a bus from Bad Schandau to Altendorf. Once we got off the bus in Altendorf, it only took a few minutes to find the sign directing us to the Malerweg trail.
We followed the signs, and it wasn’t long before we came across a sign that said the path was under repair and that we needed to turn around to go to an alternative path. That forced us to turn around and eventually led us down a fairly steep trail with a lot of switchbacks that descended from Altendorf.
At the bottom of the hill was a campground where we missed a sign and walked another quarter mile or so before I thought that the trail didn’t seem right. My instincts told me we weren’t on the Malerweg, so we turned around and returned to the campground, where we saw the sign pointing to the Malerweg, which we had missed the first time. We had barely even started hiking, and we had already come across a closed trail and taken a wrong turn – not a great way to start.
Walking beside the sandstone pillars
From there, we started an approximately 1,000-ft ascent over the next four miles. The first part of the ascent was through prairie and woods until we reached the sandstone mountains. The early parts of the hike weren’t that scenic, but as we approached those stone cliffs, we were treated to amazing views.
Sandstone pillars next to the trail
The trail took us around a series of sandstone pillars for about 15 to 20 minutes before leading us uphill. This area has a large sandstone bluff, and the Malerweg trail continues on top of the bluff for a few miles. However, first we needed to climb from the trail up onto the sandstone bluffs.
Metal stairs on the sandstone ridge
On the ascent, the trail was varied. Often there would be metal stairs with handrails, other times, wooden steps, and sometimes you would need to climb on the rocks themselves. There were spots that I thought were fairly dangerous, and the footing was tricky, but after a while, we made it to the top of the bluffs, where we were treated to some spectacular views.
Looking down on the trail after climbing onto a bluff.
I was baffled by how dangerous the trail felt in parts. At one point, I was completely stretched out, holding onto the base of a metal railing, with my feet desperately trying to grip onto a large boulder, which was slick from the sand on top of the stone. This was precariously over what would be a fall of at least fifty feet.
View from the top of the sandstone bluffs
The baffling part, though, wasn’t the fact that I perceived it to be so dangerous; it was the number of much older Germans and German children doing this hike. Alex and I are in pretty good shape, and these German hikers were treating this trail like it’s a walk along a gentle river. As I learned on the Camino de Santiago earlier this year, when it comes to hiking, Germans are pretty hardcore.
Off in the distance, you can see the channel carved by the Elbe River and across it, a plateau with farmland atop it.
For about an hour, we walked along the top of the sandstone ridge, with phenomenal views of Saxon Switzerland National Park. On occasion, we would have to climb on top of rocks formations, and sometimes we would need to descend. However, the whole time, we were enjoying breathtaking views of the Elbe River and the Elbe Sandstone Mountains.
Metal stairs poke up between rocks on the bluff
Finally, we began our descent out of the ridge and down along the edge of the sandstone pillars. We were in a pine forest, with the sandstone cliffs next to us. We were starting to get hungry and hoped to find civilization so we could stop for some food and a drink.
A railing along the edge of a steep drop-off.
While the hike had provided us with spectacular views, it hadn’t yet passed through any towns that had restaurants. This was unlike Stage Two of the Malerweg, which had plenty of opportunities to stop for a drink and a bite to eat. After about four hours and ten miles of hiking, we finally stopped at Lichtenhainer Wasserfall.
After the descent, we found this amazing tree and formation
Lichtenhainer Wasserfall is a waterfall with a beer garden and restaurant nearby. We both ordered sausages and potato salad, and enjoyed some rest by the waterfall. The food tasted great, but I couldn’t tell if it was because it was actually great or because the hiking had made me extremely hungry.
A section of the trail perched on the edge of a cliff
I had a couple of beers, including a dunkel made by Sachsisches Schmuggler, which is made in nearby Sebnitz. It hit the spot, and we were ready to head off into the woods again.
Biergarten at Lichtenhainer Wasserfall
We only had two or three miles left, so with food in our bellies, we were feeling pretty good. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of about 10 minutes before it started to completely downpour. At first, we put on our raincoats and continued on, thinking that the rain would have to break up eventually.
Lichtenhainer Wasserfall
The rain was so heavy that the raincoats were powerless to stop us from getting wet. We walked about a mile away from Lichtenhainer Wasserfall before giving up and walking back in the other direction. We really wanted to finish, but without really knowing how much further we needed to go and being completely soaked to the bone, we decided to return to Lichtenhainer Wasserfall and take the train back to Bad Schandau.
It was disappointing not to finish the rest of Malerweg Stage Four; however, I felt pretty sure that we had experienced most of the beauty of the stage, with all of the amazing views at the top of the ridge of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. It was an absolutely amazing hike, and while I wish we had finished it, I was glad that we were able to do the parts that we did.
If you are thinking about hiking some of the Malerweg, I would highly recommend doing stage four. You should, however, keep in mind that there are parts of the trail that are very technical and sometimes dangerous. Just don’t be surprised if you get passed by a German family with a couple of grandparents and a four-year-old.
The Malerweg is a famous hiking path through Saxon Switzerland National Park in Germany. It has eight stages, each starting in one town and ending in another. For an avid hiker of average endurance, each stage takes a day to complete. Anyone who hikes the full eight days will be treated to a variety of landscapes, spectacular viewpoints, and quaint German villages.
I knew we would not have enough time to hike the entire Malerweg, so I chose a few stages I wanted to hike. Stage two was at the top of my list because of the Bastei Bridge. As I’ve learned, if there is something that you really want to do, do it on the first day that has good weather.
We were treated to fantastic weather. It was an absolutely fabulous day with mostly clear skies and temperatures hovering around 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
View from the trail over Stadt Wehlen
The day started with a train ride from our Airbnb in Dresden, followed by a ferry ride across the Elbe from the train station in Stadt Wehlen to the town itself. From the Radfahrerkirche, the church in the main square of Stadt Wehlen, the trail starts on stairs that switchback up a steep hill overlooking the town.
From there, we followed the signs along the Malerweg through the woods. This section involved about a 600-foot climb, which was fairly gradual but strenuous nonetheless. As I’ve learned, though, if you want a great view, you need to climb a hill. In fact, the more you climb, the better the view.
The path between Stadt Wehlen and Bastei was wooded and full of large stones
After about an hour of hiking, we arrived in Bastei. Bastei is probably the most scenic and most visited part of Saxon Switzerland National Park. We immediately stopped at the Panorama Biergarten for a couple of pretzels and drinks.
There are two sides to Bastei: one facing the Elbe River and one facing the sandstone mountains. From the Panorama Biergarten, we saw the side with the sweeping views of the Elbe. Even though the views from this biergarten are amazing, this side of Bastei is less impressive than the other.
View from Panorama Biergarten in Bastei
We finished our snack in the biergarten and walked over to the other side of Bastei, and were immediately struck by the amazing views of the sandstone mountains. Spreading off into the horizon was a sea of gray sandstone columns smoothed from millions of years of erosion.
We continued walking along the path until we saw the Bastei Bridge. This sandstone bridge was built in 1851 to link multiple sandstone columns. It is a major tourist attraction and is a man-made object that complements nature rather than detracts from it.
Bastei Bridge
Most of the time we spent on the trail was by ourselves. That was not the case in Bastei. There are many ways to get to Bastei without hiking the Malerweg. There are parking lots near Bastei for people who drive, there is a bus that goes to Bastei, or you can take a much shorter 1-kilometer hike from Rathen.
Outlook stretching off the Bastei Bridge
This meant that while we were in Bastei, the trails were very crowded as people jockeyed for position to see the Elbe Sandstone Mountains and the Bastei Bridge. The crowds were fairly thick for at least a kilometer from the Bridge itself. There is a great reason for this, though—the views are tremendous.
Elbe River taken from the outlook near the Bastei Bridge
Continuing on the Malerweg past the Bastei Bridge, multiple viewpoints of the Elbe River valley and the Sandstone Mountains are simply amazing. We spent a lot of time in this area taking pictures and just looking out over the breathtaking landscape.
Viewing platform overlooking the Elbe River
Eventually, we reached the end of the sandstone bluffs at Bastei and had to start heading downhill on the trail. There were a decent number of hikers still on the trail, but they were starting to thin out.
Descending from Bastei
When we finished our descent, we were treated to a man-made lake, as the creek that ran through the area had been dammed up. People were enjoying the lake with paddle boats and kayaks, while others hiked around the lake. It was a beautiful location.
Walking along the Amelsee
That path continued until we reached Rathwalde and stopped for a little lunch. Rathwalde is a cute little village with a few restaurants. It was a nice place to stop for a little while and rest.
After stopping in Rothwalde, we got off the correct Malerweg path. I’m not sure if we missed a sign or if we misinterpreted one, but we ended up going the wrong way and had to use Google Maps to try to get us to Hohnstein, which was the end town of Malerweg stage two. That took us on a narrow blacktopped road, which wasn’t particularly fun or scenic to walk.
View from Hocksteinaussicht
Eventually, we made it back onto the Malerweg and ended up in a place called Hocksteinaussicht, a rocky lookout with a view of the village of Hohnstein. After taking in the views from Hocksteinaussicht, we descended from the rock down a set of metal stairs between the rocks. Finally making it to the bottom of the hill, we found ourselves at a road where we could go left or right. We chose to go left, which was, again, the incorrect choice.
Metal stairs through a break in the sandstone descend from Hocksteinaussicht.
Had we chosen the path to the right, we would have been treated to a pleasant walk through the woods ending in Hohnstein. Much of that path would have been along a gentle creek. Unfortunately, since we chose the other direction, we ended up on another road walking the long way into Hohnstein.
Walking into Hohnstein
When we finally did make it into Hohnstein, we were greeted by a beautiful German village with a castle on top of the highest point. It dates back to at least the 14th Century and is now a hotel.
Hohnstein
We wandered a little around the town and finally caught a bus back to the Pirna train station to catch the train back to our Airbnb in Dresden.
Between the sweeping views of the Elbe valley, the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, the Bastei Bridge, and all of the beautiful forests, creeks, and ponds, this is by far the most scenic hike I’ve ever been on. Even though the last couple of hours had been frustrating with our wrong turns along the Malerweg, we had an absolutely tremendous hike on the second stage of the Malerweg.
As soon as we arrived in Dresden, we went directly to the Frauenkirche (The Church of Our Lady). I wanted to see this beautiful church for myself. Gorgeous churches are everywhere in Europe. What makes this church special is its history and how perfectly it dovetails with modern German and world history.
Statue of Martin Luther in front of the Frauenkirche
Frauenkirche is a Lutheran Church built in the Baroque style and originally completed in 1743. Its distinctive architecture and 220-foot-tall dome define the Neumarkt area of Dresden. However, the story of Frauenkirche is defined by the history of Germany in the 20th Century.
The Firebombing of Dresden
On February 13th, 1945, as Allied forces were advancing on German-held territory, and the war was nearing its end, US and British forces began firebombing Dresden. Over the next three days, Allied forces dropped thousands of tons of incendiary bombs. The intense heat from the bombing killed an estimated 25,000 people and reduced much of Dresden to rubble. Part of that was the destruction of the Frauenkirche.
Following the war, Dresden was on the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain. While Dresden was being rebuilt, Frauenkirche was left as a pile of rubble in the Neumarkt neighborhood. It remained this way throughout the entire history of the German Democratic Republic, also known as East Germany. The rubble was declared a monument against war and remained that way until after German reunification.
Following reunification, funding for rebuilding the church was raised, and a plan was created for the reconstruction. Construction began in 1994 and was completed in 2005. They removed as much as they could from the rubble pile and reused around 3,800 stones. The remaining stones necessary for rebuilding the church were harvested from nearby sandstone quarries. Due to weathering and the fire damage, the salvaged stones have a darker patina than the newer stones.
The reused stones are dark gray, while the newly quarried stones are a lighter tan. Over time, the newer stones will darken as the type of stone used will patina.
On this beautiful July day, with people enjoying Neumarkt and tourists crowding the Statue of Martin Luther for selfies, it’s easy to forget about the destruction and rebirth of the Neumarkt area. The dark stones, which serve as a reminder of the firebombing, are scattered throughout the building, but two sections have a heavy concentration of the old stones.
The Rise of Nationalism
In the 19th Century, nationalism was on the rise in Europe. This movement wanted to define a country’s borders based on the ethnic, racial, and linguistic characteristics of the people inside those borders. This was in contrast to centuries of European borders defined by the marriage alliances and the conquests of monarchs.
Statue of Martin Luther in front of the Frauenkirche
While the formation of countries with borders based on ethnic similarities made sense, it also made unassimilated groups vulnerable. There were over 9 million Jews and around 1 million Roma, otherwise known as Gypsies, living in Europe before World War II. These groups lived among the various ethnic/national groups throughout Europe and didn’t have a specific nation state to call their own. In addition, nationalistic fervor left anyone who wasn’t living within their own nation’s borders vulnerable, like the 1.7 million Poles who lived within German borders before World War 2.
We walked around the church, admiring the Baroque architecture. We decided to take a look inside. My first reaction was that it was incredibly airy and bright, with many intricate Baroque elements and multiple balconies. It’s breathtaking.
Nationalism in the United States
Nationalism wasn’t a strictly European phenomenon. Fear of unassimilated ethnic groups has persisted throughout American history, typically when large numbers of immigrants arrived and formed their own communities. This includes Italians, Irish, Polish, Chinese, and other groups who created their communities within American cities.
In Germany, however, the Nationalist movement was taken to extremes as the Nazis sought to expand their borders while eliminating anything that was not exclusively German. The objective was to create a completely homogeneous German nation with expansive borders. This obviously could not be accomplished without war and ethnic cleansing, and led to World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust.
The altar in Frauenkirche
In America, World War II stoked fear of Japanese and German immigrants. Japanese-Americans were moved into internment camps, and Germans were viewed with suspicion.
Multiple levels of seating have clear views of the altar in Frauenkirche.
After walking around the inside of the church, we headed down to the basement. The basement contains an altar and seating for additional services. It also contains multiple alcoves for private prayer and reflection.
Who Sows Fear, Reaps Weapons
The story is always the same: fear leads to hate, and hate leads to violence. Fear and hatred work by dehumanizing the perceived enemy and justifying violence against that group.
Under the church, there is an altar where additional services can be performed
For the Germans during World War II, that fear justified the war and the campaigns of ethnic cleansing. For Americans, it meant justifying the bombing of civilian populations, like the ones in Nagasaki, Hiroshima, and Dresden.
Monument under Frauenkirche depicting the 10 commandments
Following World War II, enemies became allies as Western Europe began working together in military alliances and as trading partners. America and Japan, once mortal enemies, became valued trading partners and close friends. Instead, a new enemy had emerged, with the world split by the Cold War, and Dresden was on the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain, separated from their brothers and sisters in West Germany.
Visitors gather in Frauenkirche throughout the day to see this amazing church and to pray.
The Cold War defined the next 45 years of human history. There was a space race, nuclear proliferation, and the Cuban Missile Crisis – everything seemed to be defined as a competition between the West and the East, Communist and Capitalist. The entire time, Frauenkirche sat as a pile of rubble in Neumarkt, a daily reminder to the citizens of Dresden of the dangers of Nationalism.
We decided to buy tickets to climb up into the dome. For 10 Euros, you can see a different perspective of the church. As you go up, you see the paintings on the inner dome. Ascending further, you can look through windows at the main dome and down through an oculus at the inner dome and the rest of the church.
Europe Unites as Frauenkirche is Rebuilt
The collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall ushered in a new era for Europe and for the Frauenkirche. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, as Germany was going through Reunification, an aggressive fundraising campaign was conducted to raise the 180 million euros necessary to rebuild the church.
Paintings on the inner dome
In 1993, a rubble-sorting event marked the beginning of the efforts to reconstruct the Frauenkirche. As the church’s cornerstone was stabilized in 1995, the European Union added Austria, Sweden, and Finland to raise its membership to 14 members.
Reconstruction of the Frauenkirche was completed in 2005. During the eleven years of Reconstruction, the Euro was developed and established in 11 countries. The Schengen Zone went into effect in many of the EU countries, allowing freedom of movement without border controls. By the time the Frauenkirche was completed, the European Union had expanded to 25 countries.
Room above the oculus in the inner dome
Nationalism had divided the continent and led to the destruction of the church. In the 60 years from rubble to reconstruction, the continent became defined by its cooperation and connections.
Since 2005, three more members have joined the European Union, and one, Great Britain, has left. Nine countries are currently listed as candidates to join the European Union. This interconnection has ended all wars between these countries, which have fought each other for centuries. The fear is gone, and with it the hatred and the violence.
Sloped walkway between the outside wall and the inside wall of the dome
We climbed all the way to the top of the dome and walked out onto the observation deck. From the top, you could see most of Dresden. The neighborhood around Frauenkirche has also been reconstructed with shops, apartments, hotels, and restaurants. The plaza in front of the church was lively with visitors and shoppers. Neumarkt is whole again.
Tension in North America
While Europe becomes a more unified continent, North America has become more divided. A tariff war has made Canada and the United States, longtime allies and friends, suspicious of one another. In addition, statements by Donald Trump indicating that he would like Canada to be the 51st state, however unserious that sounds, have to be taken seriously by Canada because of the power imbalance between the two countries.
A view of the Elbe River from the observation deck above the dome
The relationship between the US and Mexico continues to be complicated, with the US both relying upon Mexican immigrants for cheap labor and vilifying their presence within the country.
Recently, the immigration debate has turned extremely dark as a detention center has been constructed on swampland in Florida. Known by its supporters as Alligator Alcatraz, its goal is to house illegal immigrants until they can be deported.
However, some of the supporters of this plan have expressed more extreme ideas. Laura Loomer, who traveled with President Trump during the 2024 campaign, recently tweeted, “The good news is, the alligators are guaranteed at least 65 million meals, if we get started now.” 65 million is the total population of all Hispanics in the US, most of whom are citizens. So, as you can see, for the most extreme members of the Republican Party, the issue of protecting the border has now moved toward ethnic cleansing.
Fear also affects the LGBTQ+ community. The LGBTQ+ community has been the target of many ridiculous accusations over the years, including the idea that same-sex marriage destroys the sanctity of straight marriage and the idea that homosexuals groom children for pedophilia. These are accusations meant to paint all LGBTQ+ individuals as a danger to society.
A pride flag hangs from a balcony of an art museum that faces the Frauenkirche
Another persistent fear among right-wing communities is that transgender women will use women’s restrooms to rape cisgender women. I’ve never heard of a real case where this happened, but the fear persists nonetheless. The idea is ridiculous, of course, because anyone willing to commit rape would not be deterred by laws that limit access to restrooms based on biological gender.
Lessons from the Past
Much like the lies told in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion in the early 20th Century, these lies persist in the early 21st Century. These lies are told to marginalize communities within the United States in the same way that communities were marginalized in Germany before World War II. They spread fear. Fear leads to hate, hate leads to violence.
Europe has shown what is possible when people put their fears aside and work together. They have lived through the horrors of war and chosen to work together towards a peaceful and more prosperous future.
We ended our visit to Frauenkirche, standing in front of the last remaining piece of rubble from what was the pile that lay in Dresden for decades. It was a large piece of the dome recovered from the pile, placed as a monument with a plaque containing the account of a survivor of the firebombing.
The remaining piece of rubble from the dome was left as a monument to the destruction of Frauenkirche.
Standing in front of the monument, I was reminded of the vulnerable communities within my country and the lies and slurs they endure daily. We live in a precarious time when we must decide whether to listen to the sounds of fear and hate or embrace empathy, kindness, and love. I hoped that one day, a curious traveler wouldn’t be standing in front of a similar monument in the United States.
People should be treated with empathy and kindness regardless of their immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, religion, or disability. People are people, and love is love.
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