North of Plauen is the largest brick bridge in the world, the Goltzsch Valley
Bridge, built from 1846 to 1850 at a length of 567 meters (620
yards) and using 20 million bricks. The Elster Valley Bridge, which
is not far away and was built at the same time, used "just" 12
million. On the way to Annaberg-Buchholz you should visit the rail museum in Schwarzenberg and Germany's only
narrow-gauge museum in Rittersgrun. From Cranzahl you can take the
100-year-old Fichtelberg Railroad to Germany's highest-altitude
town, Oberwiesenthal. The Norwegian builder of the track introduced
winter sports into the Ore Mountains. The Saxon Rail Museum in Chemnitz is on the edge of one of the largest marshalling yards in Germany.
Here, the history of local locomotive production is also documented.
The "Lossnitz Dachshund" (Lossnitzdackel) crosses 17 bridges on its
daily trip through the picturesque Lossnitzgrund between Radebeul and Radeburg. It stops in Moritzburg, where the magnificent Baroque
castle awaits its visitors. In Dresden you can take a lovely trip on the Elbe River with the oldest paddle
steamer fleet in the world, perhaps to Pillnitz or the fortress of
Konigstein. The rail museum in the rail factory of Dresden-Old Town
regularly puts on special trips and is the site of the great steam
engine festival. The Transport Museum on the New Market also pays
tribute to Saxon railroads. Beyond Bautzen is Lobau, where rail aficionados preserve the rail history in the
historical engine house and invite guests to go on special trips.
The smallest mountain range in Germany, the Zittau Mountains, can be
reached from Zittau by narrow-gauge railroad. In Bertsdorf, you will have to decide
whether to continue to Oybin or Jonsdorf. That's the only decision
that you have to get "steamed up" about in Saxony.