Saxon-Bohemian Switzerland Friendship Trail

If you start at Kräuterbaude Saupsdorf, follow the yellow dot hiking trail. This is the Hinterhermsdorf Panorama Trail ("Panoramaweg"). It first leads up to the Weifberg, where the viewing tower offers marvellous views far into Saxon and Bohemian Switzerland as well as over Wachberg and Tanzplan. On a clear day, you can see as far as the Zittau Mountains. From Weifberg, you continue along the Panoaramaweg to Emmabank ("Emma bench") and back to Hinterhermsdorf. You leave the yellow dot trail at the end of the village and now walk along the green line trail, partly on steps, down to the Obere Schleuse ("upper lock", originally built for timber rafting, used for tourism from the 1880s onward). At a crossroads, the blue line joins from the right, which you follow from now on, turning left.

Once we arrive at the Obere Schleuse, you have a choice: from Easter to the end of October, you can experience the story-filled boat trip on the Kirnitzsch through the Kirnitzschklamm gorge. Out of season, or for those who prefer to stay on land, there is a narrow path that winds its way up after the snack bar and ticket office and runs parallel to the Kirnitzsch to Hermannseck. This is also where visitors on the boat trip rejoin the hiking trail. An easy ascent (via steps) and a difficult ascent on a narrow metal staircase through a narrow rock passage lead up to Hermannseck ("Hermann's corner"). The ascent is rewarded with another beautiful view.

You now follow the red line towards Hinterhermsdorf for a short distance, but soon come to a fork in the path and turn left on the green line. This path leads you to the Rabensteine ("raven stones") with another viewpoint. After the view, the path quickly descends. At the foot of the Rabensteine and thus back in the Kirnitzsch valley, you turn left and, after keeping right at the next fork, you can already see the bridge over the Kirnitzsch at the Zadní Jetřichovice (Hinterdittersbach) border crossing. Here you cross the national border and are now on the Czech part of the Friendship Trail.

Immediately after the border crossing, you stay half right at the crossroads and keep left at the next fork. You follow wide, gravelled paths, which are also used as cycle routes, through wide valleys for quite a while. You pass a crossroads on the way, but continue straight ahead until you finally turn left onto a narrower hiking trail at the Česká silnice customs post. This new trail is marked red and leads along the foot of the rocks; you are walking on the border of the Bohemian Switzerland National Park. You soon leave the path to the right to follow the blue markings to Jetřichovice.

In Jetřichovice, the trail leads past the information centre. For hikers who want to stay overnight in the former sanatorium, turn left after the information point; the hotel is then on the right at the end of the village. Otherwise, continue straight ahead along the road until you reach a crossroads and turn left through the forest up the hill to Rynartice. You cross a meadow. The next accommodation, the Zámeček wellness hotel, is on the right. The first stage ends in Jetřichovice or Rynartice for multi-day hikers.

The Friendship Trail follows the blue line to the left at the meadow, past Křížový vrch, and then winds gently up and down through the forest to Na Tokáni. Here you will find the ruins of a burnt-down inn, and a refreshment stop a little further on. The route continues along the blue line along rocks through the forest. At a crossroads, you turn left onto the path marked green, which finally takes you back to the border crossing.

Back on the German side, you walk back along the familiar path for a short distance, but do not turn back onto the Rabensteinweg, but onto the Zollstraße ("customs road") at the next junction. You now follow the wide cycle route ("Radroute" on the signposts) for a while until the red line hiking trail turns left into the Tunnelweg ("tunnel path"), which takes you steadily uphill, through a rock tunnel and over steps, finally leading you on a detour to the Königsplatz ("king's place"). After enjoying the far-reaching view from here, which was already appreciated by the Saxon King Friedrich August II, you follow the red line back to Hinterhermsdorf.

Opposite the Buchenparkhalle inn, you turn left and find yourself back on the yellow dot trail, which you already know from the start of the tour. This leads you along the edge of the Waldhusche forest adventure area (if you like, you can visit the Blockscheune and Beizehaus national park information points here or explore the Waldhusche stations with your children), then briefly through the village, then past the campsite Thorwaldblick and a little further along Schandauer Straße. The yellow dot soon turns right and you follow it through the Hinteres Räumicht ("far clearing", an old place name) until you finally arrive back at the Kräuterbaude.

If you would like to hike the German part of the tour as a day hike, it is best to start at the Buchenparkhalle car park in Hinterhermsdorf - the Kräuterbaude is then a good place to stop for refreshments (please note: closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays). Directions to the Buchenparkhalle: From Bad Schandau, drive through the Kirnitzschtal valley to Hinterhermsdorf, from Sebnitz follow the signs via Saupsdorf to Hinterhermsdorf; in Hinterhermsdorf follow the signs to Obere Schleuse/Parkplatz Buchenparkhalle.

Day hikers are best off parking in the Buchenparkhalle car park, where a day ticket costs €5, the machine accepts coins and card payments (including contactless), and app parking is also possible.

For day hikes: Take the bus to the bus stop Hinterhermsdorf Hirschewaldweg (entrance to Hinterhermsdorf) or Hinterhermsdorf Hoffnung (a little further into the village).

• Line 241 (Pirna - Bad Schandau - Hinterhermsdorf) 
• Line 268 (Sebnitz - Saupsdorf - Hinterhermsdorf) 
• Line 269 (Sebnitz - Ottendorf - Hinterhermsdorf)

Pirna and Bad Schandau are stops of the S1 and international trains, Sebnitz can be reached with the U28 train.

Plan your trip with the bus timetable tool (also includes S1 and U28 trains)

• Kräuterbaude Saupsdorf (website only in German) - on the Kräuterbaude website you will also find further information on the Friendship Trail, the operator of the Kräuterbaude is a national park guide and also offers guided hikes on the Friendship Trail.
• Campingplatz Thorwaldblick in Hinterhermsdorf (website has an integrated translation feature)
• Wellnesshotel Zámeček in Rynartice 
• Former sanatorium in Jetřichovice (website only in Czech)

The national parks   

• Saxon Switzerland National Park
• Bohemian Switzerland National Park

The boat trip in the Kirnitzschklamm gorge takes place daily from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm from Easter to 31 October. The last boat trip starts at 4 pm. Please note: If you want to experience the boat trip, you must walk the loop on the German side of the Friendship Trail in a clockwise direction. This will take you to the starting point at the Obere Schleuse and you can continue directly to Hermannseck at the end of the boat trip. The boat trip is only possible in this direction, downstream. If you skip the boat trip and instead walk along the path above the Kirnitzsch, you can choose the direction of the hike as you wish.

On the German side outside the national park, the route follows the ‘Panoramaweg’ marked with the yellow dot throughout.

There are two ways to the Hermannseck viewpoint, one easy way via normal steps and one narrow way on narrow metal steps through a narrow rock crevice. Caution is advised here if you are carrying heavy luggage, so it is better to take the easier ascent in that case.

Please remember to bring a valid identity document since you will be crossing the state border.

Equipment:

• It is essential to wear sturdy footwear. In snow and ice, it can be extremely slippery, especially in the Kirnitzschklamm gorge.
• If you are hiking the tour as a two-day tour, you will need a correspondingly larger rucksack (trekking rucksack).