Erzgebirge in Germany is a beautiful place to visit and explore. Situated along the East side of the German-Czech border, the region has been blessed with a breathtaking landscape of mountains, rivers, valleys and meadows. A couple of things it’s commonly known for is its range of winter sports as well as its expert wooden craft making, particularly the nutcrackers and pyramids it produces over the Christmas period. The region is also known for its long ore-mining history and is named after the ore that was first discovered there centuries ago (in German, Erzgebirge means Metal Ore Mountain Range, though some people also nickname it The Ore Mountains).

Though ore mining has died down significantly, miners’ parades are still held in celebration of an important historical part of the region. Some of the mines are open to tourists too.

Nowadays, the Erzgebirge Mountains (Erzgebirge) are used for winter sports ranging from skiing to hiking to snowboarding for people with all levels of experience.

London is a great city. There’s no doubt that it’s at the top of many people’s lists when it comes to worldwide travel. However, whether one is a tourist passing through London or a resident there, the fresh air, space and landscape that Erzgebirge offers is definitely worth the while. Imagine staying at Hotel Erzgebirge Mountains (Hotel für Erzgebirge) and seeing the beautiful snow-capped peaks and billowing meadows whichever window you happen to look out from. Isn’t that a warming thought?

The area of Saxony comes in 3 parts – there’s Chemnitz, Dresden and Leipzig. Erzgebirge is in Chemnitz. There are two international airports in Saxony – one is in Dresden, the other is in Leipzig. There are direct British Airways planes that fly out from London Gatwick airport to Dresden airport. It takes approximately 2 hours by air. There’s also the option of taking British Midlands from London City Airport as well as Air Lufthansa. Upon arrival in Dresden, a car could be hired from Dresden airport or from its city centre, then it can be driven to Erzgebirge and used throughout the duration of the holiday. Dresden Airport is in north Saxony with good motorway access to Chemnitz so it should be pretty straightforward to get there.

Germany has a very good, thorough and extensive railway network with trains that go into and around the Chemnitz area, so that could be a different way to get to Erzgebirge. In particular, there’s a narrow-gauge railway that travels in and around the Erzgebirge Mountain area connecting the different towns.

An alternative route to get to Dresden could be to catch the sleeper train which travels overnight from Cologne to Dresden. It’s equipped with beds to sleep in during the journey. To get to Cologne, the high-speed Eurostar could be taken from London’s St Pancras to Brussels (takes about 3 and a half hours), then from Brussels, there’s a high-speed Thalys train that goes to Cologne (takes about 2 and a half hours). Once in Dresden, then the train could be taken to Chemnitz.

For those who fancy the longer scenic route, a Euroline coach could be taken from various coach stops in London to Munich (takes about 19 hours), then a train could be taken to Dresden (5 hours) followed by the Chemnitz train.