Fingers half frozen and water from all sides, it's raining cats and dogs. Headwinds of up to 50 kilometres per hour. Hannah Leni Krah, Paulina Herpel, Emely Siewert, Paul Ganse and I, Valentin Illichmann, stand proudly on our boards despite everything. Together with photographer Andy Klotz, I had the idea of paddling through the famous Elbe Sandstone Mountains on the Elbe a long time ago.
Together with Paulina, I have already paddled the Elbe from Hamburg to the North Sea. It seems that this river, with its almost 1100 kilometres in length, has a very special appeal for stand-up paddling. Thanks to Hannah and her father Thomas, we received valuable tips for the tour. Born in Dresden, Hannah knows her way around her local river like the back of her hand, so the start and finish points of the tour are clear after a short consideration. We will paddle from the Czech border, downstream of course, to TSV Rotation. TSV Rotation is Hannah's sports club, which is also very open to us stand-up paddlers and had offered us a "base camp" for the tour. We parked our cars there, packed our bags and got ready for the two-day tour.
Dry suits are always a good choice
Once tents, sleeping mats, sleeping bags, food, water and many other small items have been stowed in the dry bags, we pack a car and drive upstream to the border town of Schmilka behind Bad Schandau. Nothing stands in the way of our tour, which has repeatedly been highly praised in canoeing magazines! Only the weather didn't seem to be in our favour, with daily highs of ten degrees and rain. Hurray for good tents - more on that later - and SUP drysuits.
The wild forests to the right and left of the river give us an idea of what a wonderful tour through the rugged sandstone mountains lies ahead of us. The autumn leaves on the trees glisten in various shades of yellow and red, while the cloudy sky provides a wonderful contrast. After lashing all the dry bags to the iSUP boards in this breathtaking scenery, we push them over a small embankment and through tall grass into the river. A small eddy, where the Elbe only has a slight current, is the perfect place to gather in such a large group and set off together.
Cheerful waving from the ships on the Elbe
Our goal for the day is to cover around 25 to 30 kilometres. The Elbe, one of the largest rivers in Germany, naturally also has a good flow speed. So we are travelling at a good pace of seven kilometres per hour on average. Unfortunately in the direction of the thick rain clouds. It doesn't help to put the hood of the dry suit on and get through. That's one of the disadvantages of touring in autumn. The busy traffic on the Elbe, on the other hand, doesn't bother us, as the excursion boats simply pass us by, at most waving nicely or the captain honking his horn cheerfully.
It is striking how the water in the river changes when one of these ships is approaching. Long before the steamer comes near us, the water recedes a few centimetres, followed by a small, fast wave that brings back the receding water. This wave races along the riverbank at lightning speed and washes over every sandbank with water. Nobody knew yet that this small wave, just 20 centimetres high, could possibly mean the end of our trip if we didn't think ahead.
"It will fit"
After a few rain showers, it slowly became drier, but also darker. It's time to look for a camp. It's not easy to find a sandbank big enough to accommodate four tents. Fortunately, we find what we are looking for just behind the next bend in the river: a large enough, albeit very shallow, sandbank for a good camp. The difference between the water's edge and the top of the sandbank is just under ten centimetres. "Hopefully it will be okay," we decide, the rain is supposed to decrease overnight, so the Elbe shouldn't actually rise.
The camp is quickly set up and, after countless attempts, the campfire is finally lit. SUP boards or dry bags serve as cushions, the atmosphere is super cosy and we are not put off by the air temperature of just five degrees and the occasional light rain. Suddenly, out of the twilight, we hear the sound of engines, a paddle steamer is approaching. And as we were used to from paddling, the water recedes as it appears. We all realise in a flash what is about to happen - a small but powerful wave. Our tents, sleeping mats, sleeping bags and the open dry bags, as well as the fire we had painstakingly lit, are all in danger. Paul shouts: "Quick, get the tents up!". I myself run forward to the beginning of the sandbank to see if the wave is as strong as expected.
Yes, it does. About 100 metres away from me, I can see the eerie bump in the water shooting along the embankment. Now it's getting serious. The mini tsunami races over the sandbank, but fortunately the tents are miraculously spared, only by a few centimetres, but at least everything stays dry. That was pure luck. If the sleeping bags had got wet, the trip would have ended here. The real disaster happened in the middle of the night. Hannah's tent was simply overwhelmed by the rain. The river running through her cosy one-man tent may not be as big as the Elbe, but it is still big enough to make sleeping impossible. Hannah, however, doesn't think about waking the others and bravely holds out until the morning. After we have all survived this rather turbulent night more or less well, we realise when we get up that the water has already risen to within a metre of our tents.
On the second day, we paddle along the Elbe to Dresden
A small breakfast and a hot ginger tea, which at least warms us up a little, should get us ready for the last stage of our two-day tour. The next 25 kilometres take us past the world-famous Bastei and the magnificent buildings of the city of Dresden. We paddle through a wonderful autumn landscape along the Bastei, the first really big sight. On the right-hand side of the Elbe, we can see the high sandstone towers and the striking bridge that connects the towers.
Before we get to Dresden, we have to pass a dangerous spot in Rathen. A so-called yaw rope ferry, a ferry that swings from bank to bank on a long rope using only the force of the water. When the ferry is on the other bank, opposite its home harbour, the wire rope stretches a few centimetres under water, posing a serious, deadly danger to paddlers.
Once you have passed this danger point, you slowly approach Dresden, passing Königstein and Pirna. We can all hardly wait to cross the "Blue Wonder". The Loschwitz Bridge, which is similar in design to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, is smaller and, as the name suggests, blue instead of red. The "Blue Wonder" is just one of the many fantastic architectural highlights we pass.
Right in Dresden is the most magnificent part of the city, as if it had been designed for us paddlers, built right on the water. We continue down the Elbe past magnificent old buildings. On the last few kilometres before we arrive back at TSV Rotation, we see famous buildings such as the Frauenkirche, the Catholic Court Church, the art academy and several other impressive buildings.
Shortly after leaving the city centre behind us, Hannah announces that we've more or less made it. Then a small turn-off from the main stream, right into Pieschen harbour, home to TSV Rotation. We've done it! 54 kilometres in just over seven hours. The club awards a medal to everyone who completes this distance. We are proud of our achievement and, above all, the recognition from the club makes us happy to have completed this tour so well.
Tips: SUP on the Elbe
Season & Weather
We started the tour at the beginning of October. Basically, the trip is very suitable for autumn, the colours of nature are gigantic and most of the tourism is over. As the Elbe doesn't really invite you to swim, summer temperatures are not a prerequisite.
Overnight stay
Wild camping on the Elbe is somehow forbidden, but also somehow allowed. From experience and reports from many other paddlers, it is the usual way to do this trip. There are also campsites, please check opening times beforehand. The most important thing: don't leave any rubbish on or in the river.
Security
Now to the most important and last point in the info box. As the Elbe never really gets warm, it is important to wear warm water clothing all year round, and a dry suit is highly recommended in colder temperatures. A life jacket is highly recommended as the current can be quite wide. A helmet is not a must. I recommend sturdy water shoes.
In my opinion, the above-mentioned yaw rope ferry in Rathen is the most dangerous place in the entire river. After the water sports world has already had to record a fatal accident at this ferry due to a leash, it would be absolutely essential to avoid this mistake as a matter of urgency. As in all rivers, classic leashes (connecting line between board and paddler) are taboo. However, if you cannot do without one, you should only wear a hip leash with a safety lock.
As the Elbe carries a lot of water, large eddies can form behind bridge piers. If you get caught in one, keep calm, there is no danger from these counter-currents, but it does feel unusual.
