Sunday 17th July Rosenbach to Baderitz
The locals threw a good party, copious amounts of beer steins were drunk and they were still going at 3.00am despite the rain. The small amount of drizzle didn’t stop us either; we were off to see Konigstein Fortress described as “the mountain fortress in Saxon Switzerland”; no we aren’t in Switzerland, just a National Park with that name.
The Fortress has been built on a rocky table mountain, 247 metres high up and is the size of thirteen football fields. Construction started in the 12th century and the fortress has been added to and rebuilt over the centuries by various Kings and landowners. Apart from the normal castles, stables, garrison, battery, monastery etc there was an impressive steep entrance and a perimeter wall that was, in its day, unconquerable by the enemy. These days you can go up by lift, but we of course walked up the steep gate entrance.
You can also dine at five or socafes; we chose the Officers’ Mess and had bratwurst sausage and rhubarb strudel. On the way down from the fortress the sausage connoisseur had to try the peasant’s sausage, which was far superior, even if the sausage was three times longer than the bread roll. The Officer’s Mess sausage was served with two small bits of brown bread, no butter, a giant gherkin bigger than the sausage and half a cup of mustard.
We drove around Dresden looking for a laundromat, however they don’t do Sunday trading in Dresden, but we did pass by the old town centre, 
the ancient buildings, the botanical gardens, a large river and considered that satisfactory as a tourist visit. Unsure exactly what we had done all day we parked up early at our remote lakeside/dam camp site, in yet another small hamlet, where the camp site also has its own bar and restaurant. We had the local beer and passed on the option of yet another feed of sausage, schnitzel or fish from the dicey lake, and weren’t at all tempted by the publican’s cat’s mouse that he ate at the front entrance. Self sufficiency is pretty good here, we watched the cat go off and hunt the mouse, another camper went onto the lake in a boat and caught a fish straight away, and Roger went to the bar and got himself a beer.
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Konigstein Fortress
Konigstein Fortress
Lunch!
Rowing in the morning...