Allow ~45 min to airport · be at gate by 04:20 (opens) / 04:45 (closes)

Terminal 3 · Seat 23J · Economy CLSC · Zone A
Gate closes 04:45 IDT · Departure 05:00 IDT

~4 hr flight + 1 hr time-zone gain · clear immigration + bags ~30 min
Optional: airport breakfast at PRG Café before transit

AE bus from Terminal 2 stop · 100 CZK adult · ~35 min · every 30 min
Drops you at Wilsonova St in front of Fanta building (hl.n. main entrance)

Sixt counter inside Praha hl.n. station · Sun staffed 08:00–20:00
Cross-border CZ + DE permission included

D6 west motorway · 125 km · ~90 min · no tolls
Scenic alt via Slaný → Žatec → Klášterec adds 1.5 hr (only if leaving by 10:30)

Mírové náměstí 2 · Karlovy Vary 1 · 360 01
Double Room Superior · River-side wing · valet parking included
Early check-in subject to availability; otherwise drop bags + proceed

Czech open-face sandwiches + coffee · walk-in

From Grandhotel Pupp, riverside along the Teplá:
Mlýnská (Mill, neo-Renaissance · 5 springs) → Tržní (Market, carved wood) → Vřídelní (the Vřídlo geyser, ~12 m / 73 °C) → Sadová (Park, cast-iron in Dvořák Gardens), then back the opposite bank.
~1.6 km loop · flat & paved · 45–60 min with stops · grab the porcelain becher cup (~€8) to taste the springs (30–73 °C).
📷 A7R5: colonnade symmetry & cast-iron detail; fast shutter for the geyser plume — finishes by 17:00 for the Diana funicular.

Mariánská ulice base (next to Pupp) · May hours 09:00–19:00 · every 15 min
Return ticket 110 CZK pp · KV panorama from the tower

Roman-bath spa beneath the hotel · ~€40 couple if not in rate
OR Becher's Bar (1907 vintage, ~12 seats) for an aperitif · ~€20 couple

Best position: Pupp 4th-floor windows facing Teplá river
OR the small bridge in front of the hotel

Historic Czech + international · smart casual
Pre-book today · [email protected] · +420 353 109 631

Buffet · included in room rate

Pack car at valet · pay any incidentals

D6 → D7 → D8 → 261 along Labe · 170 km · 2h 30min
Scenic alt via Klášterec → Kadaň → Most adds 1 hr (Ore-Mountain foothills)

Funicular base on Žižkova street (free, limited) OR top via Polabí road

Czech panorama restaurant · 160 m sandstone bluff above Elbe
Reopened Oct 2025 · pre-call +420 724 122 787 for window table

Afternoon east light rakes the cliff face · ~45 min
Best architectural shot: cylindrical tower from Tyrš Bridge across the Elbe

5-min drive across the river · castle terrace ~1 hr
Skip if Pastýřská ran long

261 north along Labe → cross border → B172 west → plateau
45 km · ~1 hr · the Elbe upstream is already scenic

Schengen · spot checks possible until 15 Sep 2026 · carry passports

Bastei 1 · 01847 Lohmen, Germany
Komfort Doppelzimmer · request "Talseite" (valley side)
Hotel sits literally 50 m from Basteibrücke

Best now: the day-trippers have gone, soft side-light, and it doubles as recon for tomorrow's 05:17 sunrise. Easy plateau loop — no ladders or chains.
1. From the hotel, follow the signed Bastei path (~2 min).
2. Basteibrücke — cross the 1851 sandstone bridge over the Mardertelle gorge; note where the sun will rise (NE, behind the spires) for the morning frame.
3. Ferdinandstein — quiet ledge just past the bridge; evening side-light on the towers.
4. Felsenburg Neurathen (rock castle, ~€2 pp) — railed wooden walkways through the gorge between the pinnacles; closes around dusk.
5. Basteiaussicht — the main lookout over the Elbe bend; last light west across the massif.
6. Back to the hotel — ~1.6 km total · flat · 45–60 min with photo stops.
📷 A7R5 + tripod (this is the sunrise recon) · headlamp if you linger past dusk · skip the Schwedenlöcher stairs.

Saxon cuisine · Elbe-valley view · in-house reservation +49 35024 7790

First lighting check for tomorrow's sunrise · note the spire angles

No drive · just walk 50 m to the bridge

2-min walk · arrive 15 min before sunrise to set tripod
Face east toward Honigsteine spires

ISO 100 · f/8 · manual focus stacked on Lilienstein's east face · bracket ±2 stops
First orange hits Lilienstein at 05:25 · spires hold light until 06:10

Wider sandstone-spires panorama · second session after the bridge
Golden hour ends ~06:10 but the diffuse light is still photographic

The windows have THE view · included in room rate

Pay any incidentals · pack car at P1 lot

Down from plateau · B172 east · 25 km · 35 min

Shuttle bus or cliff elevator up to fortress · €5/day

Daily 09:00–18:00 May · €15 pp · plateau circuit + cannons
Allow ~2 hr including the cliff-elevator queue

Saxon cuisine inside the fortress · pre-book +49 35021 64444 · [email protected]

10 km · 15 min · right-bank Elbe road

Markt 2 · riverside ice-cream stop · ~30 min

Park your car at Rathen left-bank P-lot (€5/day) before crossing
Mon–Fri 04:30–24:00 · €1.50 OW pp · cash at kiosk · NO CARS

Right-bank Elbe road · 20 km · 30 min
Different from outbound B172 — no road repeat

Elbpromenade 1 · 01814 Bad Schandau · Germany
Doppelzimmer Superior Elbblick · request "mit Balkon"
4-night base begins · half-board incl. Toskana Therme access

Tonight (~30 min, before the 18:30 Therme): a gentle decompression.
1. From the Elbresidenz, step onto the Elbe promenade & riverside garden (~2 min) — open river views.
2. Promenade upstream to Bad Schandau Marktplatz & the Sendig fountain (~6 min) — old-town square, café option.
3. Loop back along the river to the hotel — ~1.2 km · flat · 25–30 min.
Best as a relaxed base-day morning (Days 4–6): the Kirnitzschtal valley walk — flat gravel along the Kirnitzsch stream; ride the historic 1898 tram one way and walk the other to the Lichtenhainer Wasserfall (~3 km, no climbing).
📷 A7R5: evening reflections on the Elbe; the waterfall photographs best in overcast — ND + tripod, 1–2 s.

200 m footpath from hotel · free as hotel guest
Open until 22:00 · sauna circuit + thermal pool

Opletalova 13 · Prague 1 · off Wenceslas Square
Two-Bedroom Superior Apartment · 2 adults
Check-in 24 May → check-out 26 May (2 nights) · 9.5 Exceptional (1996 reviews) · Location 9.7