Elegant Elbe: Cruising (5/26/2018)

Saturday, May 26, 2018 (continued)
After lunch, I took a quick walk to ride the Bad Schandau elevator.

Flood levels, the two highest shown are
from March and July 1981

Up in town, a couple even higher flood level marks,
from June 2013 and the highest from August 2002

What can be seen of the Toskana Thermal Baths/Toskana Therme,

In 1730 it was noticed that the Kirnitzsch stream water had a certain taste and smell, and soon people were flocking to bathe in the waters for health benefits. The first public bath was opened in 1799, and with growth and technical improvements, a spa was developed. From 1962-1989, the baths belonged to the state health department, but then were taken over by the town.

Bad Schandau Elevator, with a height of
52.6 m/173' with the electricity for power
provided by the inland Lichtenhain Waterfall

The glass fronted elevator cabin

There is a lift attendant who operates the elevator on demand, and takes the fares of €2.80/$3 for a round trip.

Digitalis/foxgloves

At the top is a refreshment stand and a Luchsgehege...

... a lynx enclosure!

The lynx was napping

One had to hike further uphill through the woods to reach the town of Ostrau, and thus the elevator is considered an interurban one.

The Bad Schandau Elevator observation deck

View north from the observation deck at Bad Schandau

A Saxon Switzerland National Park sliding puzzle!

Bad Schandau solar panels

The most famous of the spa town hotels was the
  Dampfschiff/Steamboat Hotel, here with "steam funnels"

Replica, but real, steamboats ply the Elbe River in the
Saxon Switzerland National Park, with loud steam whistles!

I was back in time for casting off.

But first, our view from our nice big porthole

Beth & Peter during the Safety Briefing

Kent models his life vest

We are underway, yet the Captain is giving the
safety talk! Perhaps, Program Director Michael
is keeping an eye on things for him, ha!

Snack time of chocolate macadamia nut
and Nussecke/Nut corner cookies

Camping in Königstein

Log cabins

Commuter train running from Meissen to the border

Approaching the Elbe Sandstone cliffs

The Bastei

The current-drive ferry and the buoys on the cable

The bridge at the Bastei

Two level boat dock with a dummy in the crow's nest

Water Palace/Wasserpalais of Pillnitz (1722)

Dresden TV Tower/Fernsehturm Dresden-Wachwitz (1963-1969)
is supposed to look like a sparkling wine glass
(with an enormous swizzle stick?!)

The Blue Wonder/Blaues Wunder (1893), a steel suspension bridge with
a span of 141.5 m/464', was considered a marvel at the time
for its exceptionally long unsupported span

An Elbe Taxi

Castles of Lingner Schloss and Schloss Eckburg

Schloss Albrechtsberg

Nice house!

The wake of Viking Astrild

People seeking shade and dipping their toes in the river

Albert Bridge/Albertbrücke (1875-1877) with a central relief
portrait of King Albert of Saxony (on the left abutment in photo); the
three arches on both ends of the bridge were blown up by the Nazis in 1945

Because we had time and river traffic was light, we were able to drift past our docking site for a closer look at Dresden.

Dresden Academy of Fine Arts/Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden
(est 1764, original building in 1894) and in front:
a ship you can rent for conferences and events (KSS)

The portal where we would enter the inner city,
near the Church of Our Lady/Frauenkirche (KSS)

The Captain pilots from the wing bridge,
while the First Mate looks on

The steeples of Dresden

Party boat

Back to our docking site

Edging closer

Time to bring out the gangway

A party raft! (KSS)

After dinner and a walk, the evening entertainment on board the Viking Astrild was a contest to see which group could name the most landmarks or cities as shown on the big screen. Sites were narrowed down by the fact that Viking visits all the places. We came in second, but Peter made sure extra credit points were added so that we tied. A bottle of wine was the prize for both teams.
The high temperature today was 81 degrees F.
Next: Dresden a.