The Elbe Valley

The main line from Dresden to Prague passes through an area known locally as "Saxon Switzerland" - a maze of rocky outcrops, deep gorges and stunning views along the river Elbe which flows north out of the Czech Republic into Germany.

The scenery south of Dresden is a landscape of rolling hills, reminiscent of the Yorkshire Dales in places, and it is through this landscape that the journey starts, before joining the river Elbe and passing through the narrow gorge of the Elbe that crosses the Czech border and continues most of the way to Prague, meandering through the Bohemian countryside until suddenly emerging into the suburbs of the Czech capital.