A trip to Dresden – Crossing the River by Boat

Aye aye captain!
A fun little thing to do whilst in Dresden is to cross the Elbe river. Previously, this whole extensive river area held the UNESCO World Heritage title, but sadly they lost this in 2009 (read more about that here). However, it is still breathtakingly beautiful.
Along with large parts of eastern Germany, Dresden received extensive flooding last year. If you look closely, you can actually see the lines on many of the walls and bridges alongside the river where the water reached. It’s a bit scary looking up and seeing those lines three meters above your head.
There are a few places you can actually pick up a boat and do a full tour, taking in the scenery for hours whilst enjoying a drink or a sunset dinner. However, in the winter time, I don’t think a boat deck is the place for me. If I’m honest, I forget how scared I am of boats until I stand on them. Then I realise maybe it’s not such a good idea.
Luckily, our little boat tour took only five minutes, from one side of the river to the other. It costs a couple of euros and there is space for cars or just a group of people. We had a dog join our trip. The captain just goes from one side to the other side all day long. He wasn’t overly friendly, but we had a good giggle and it was a lovely walk on both sides of the river to the boat docking area. From the middle you can take some lovely photos and really take in the scenery. A must-do for any visitor!