The long border between the Czech Republic and Germany is a landscape of rolling mountains and dense forests that once formed a formidable section of the Iron Curtain. For forty years, this was a heavily guarded line designed to prevent movement. Today, this frontier is completely open, allowing unrestricted travel through the historic regions of Bohemia, Saxony, and Bavaria. You can cross at dozens of points, from major highways connecting cities like Prague and Dresden to remote hiking trails in the Ore Mountains (Krušné hory) or the Bohemian Forest (Šumava). The crossing at Zinnwald is notable for being one of the first to have its barriers symbolically removed after the Velvet Revolution in 1989.
A unique feature of this border region is the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, a stunning landscape of dramatic rock formations, gorges, and mesas that straddles both countries. It is protected as a national park on both sides, known as Saxon Switzerland in Germany and Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic. The area is a prime example of how nature ignores the political lines drawn by people, with hiking trails weaving seamlessly back and forth between the two nations, offering a tangible sense of a borderless Europe.