Visiting the Devil’s Bridge in Gablenz, Germany

I remember seeing a photo of the perfectly round Devil's Bridge on Tumblr more than a decade ago and it stayed lodged in my memory ever since as a place I just knew I wanted to see in real life one day.

The Easter long weekend is always a perfect time to head out on a trip, what with shoulder season in full swing, the spring weather looking better and prices still reasonable. In previous years, I've spent my Easters in Northern Ireland, Ibiza (Spain), New Zealand, Calgary (Canada) and hiking in Vancouver (Canada), among other trips.

I have a German mother so I have visited many parts of Germany many, many times as a child. I currently live in Salzburg in Austria and so this Easter was the perfect excuse to re-explore northern Germany and many of the places of my childhood - plus a few other stops along the way.

Our first stop was actually in neighbouring Czechia, where we spent a night exploring the colourful spa town of Karlovy Vary. From there, it was time to kick off the German leg of our trip and we crossed the border again and headed towards Dresden. Then, it was time to see some bridges; we drove first down to the Basteibrücke where a wooden bridge passes through million-year-old rock formations over the River Elbe.

Then, we headed east, almost to the border with Poland, to visit the famous Devil's Bridge.