Polenztalweg

The tour starts at the Porschdorf stop, which lies somewhat enchanted in the Sebnitz Valley. As a stop on the National Park Railway U28, it is easy to reach by public transport from Bad Schandau. Shortly after the stop, the Sebnitz flows into the Polenz, whose valley you now follow upstream (marked with a red dot). "Core zone" is written on a sign at the edge of the forest. Here the national park is particularly wild and in need of protection. The first imposing mountain ridge soon comes into view. The Polenz winds its way elegantly through the valley. At the Waltersdorfer Mühle mill, you cross over a bridge to the other side of the river. On the left, the rocks of the Ziegenrücken, a narrow, almost two-kilometer-long rock formation, stand like a wall. As a result, very little light reaches this side of the valley. Perfect conditions for mosses, some of which grow here as beards on branches or completely envelop trunks. On the other side, the massive Polenztalwächter and its graceful companion, the Polenztalbarine, come into the light.

Above the Alter Hockstein, the path turns right into the Schindergraben, which takes you up to Hohnstein Castle. Below the castle, you pass the remains of a once mighty barrier wall of the former bear garden. The ivy-covered ruins, through which a stream babbles, stand so perfectly eerily romantic between the slopes, as if they were just waiting to be painted by Caspar David Friedrich on a full moon night.

From Hohnstein, follow the blue line for around 30 minutes to the Brand viewpoint. Once you reach the "Balcony of Saxon Switzerland", you can enjoy a unique 180-degree panorama of the Polenz Valley, fields, forests, villages and the curious silhouettes of the Table Mountains on the horizon.

The epilogue of the tour is the 800 or so steps down into the valley. Once you reach Tiefen Grund, the Waitzdorfer Bach stream and the Polenz river accompany you along the blue line markings back to Porschdorf.