G3VGR MALERWEG     Schmilka � Kurort Gohrisch      

I had a premonition that the Malerweg on the Elbe left bank would not be anywhere as impressive as the past 5 days scenery although it would be a little less strenuous than the previous 2 days. After running some errands in Bad Schandau before checking out of the Hotel Elbgarten, it was getting late in the morning, so instead of going to Schmilka, I caught the bus to Schöna to continue the Malerweg around 10AM.

Schöna is a small village with probably less facilities than even Altendorf and the trail started off in an uninspiring manner along a tarmac road between fields of rape and village houses. The only compensation was that I had views of the Schrammsteine along the way. Eventually, after passing Reinhardtsdorf, I reached a turning up into a small wood with a sign which informed me I was now on the Casper David Friedrich Way. This led me towards Krippen and at last I was on a decent forest trail which continued all the way to Kleinhennersdorf. Above this village was the best view so far of the Schrammsteine. Around this time,I also noticed a worrying development in that the little toe on my left foot was becoming quite painful. There was a white, tender area on the inside of the toe, later identified to be a soft corn, which I covered with a Compeed patch, but more worrying the whole toe hurt as I walked. This was possibly due to not tying the laces tightly enough yesterday before making the rough, steep descents. From Kleinhennersdorf, I walked up through a small wood past a nice pond until I crossed a main road.

The trail continued in a semi-circular route along the edge of a forest with large farm fields on my left side until I reached the Brennesselecke, which afforded me my final view of the Schrammsteine. As I left the farm fields behind, the trail started it's climb up to the Papststein. After a short time I found myself walking along a pretty rocky ledge with views across to Papstdorf. A short distance further ahead, I encountered the first wooden and stone steps of the day which took me to the summit of the Papststein. It was crowded at the flat summit and the cafe there was also quite busy. There were excellent views from the summit across to Kurort Gohrisch and the Lilienstein. Unfortunately, taking a seat on the cafe's terrace coincided with the arrival of a group of over 15 people. Despite my best attempts, the waiter successfully managed to totally ignore me. I can only assume he always discriminates against tramps wearing Tilley hats. After 20 minutes of this silly game, I left and made my way down and across to the Gohrischstein. The Gohrischstein is another flat-topped sandstone mountain, with more ladders and steps to contend with. After my experiences on the Papststein, I was now relieved to see there was no cafe, ignorant waiter or hordes of people there. Sanity restored, I made my way down to the village of Kurort Gohrisch with my left foot now in considerable pain.

Kurort Gohrisch is a pretty village and after coffee and küchen at a baker's shop, I checked into Anna's Hof for the night. This is a nice hotel, although a little more expensive than my previous ones. The early evening was very warm and sunny, so after a shower, I limped along to look around the village. One highlight was Frenzel's Einkaufscenter, a portakabin type of shop left over from the DDR era which acted as supermarket for the village and possessed a fully restored Trabant. I ended up sitting outside Gasthof Sennerhütte to drink Hefeweizen. When the evening became a little chilly, I moved inside and decided to have dinner whilst here. Their meals are served with the largest portions of Bratkartoffeln I've ever seen. It was hardly surprising the restaurant filled quickly with local diners. I convinced myself the heavy intake of Protein and Carbohydrates was good for me. Whilst having dinner, I reflected on the day's trail. Although it started off rather bland, from Krippen onwards it had been very enjoyable.

Downtown Schöna

towards Reinhardtsdorf

Along the Caspar-David-Friedrich-Weg

The beauty of the Sächsiche Schweiz forests

Puschelweg near Krippen

Kleinhennersdorf and Schrammsteine

Pond at Kleinhennersdorf

Last view of Schrammsteine from Brennesselecke

Steps up to Papststein

Along the ledge

View across to Papstdorf

Kurort Gohrisch and Lilienstein behind

Anna's Hof, Kurort Gohrisch

Frenzel's restored Trabant


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