Gasthof zur Mühle, Schmilka

A brewery in a mill

Schmilka is the last German village on the Elbe before the Czech border, a handful of houses on the riverbank at the foot of the Großer Winterberg. At its centre is the Schmilk'sche Mühle, a water mill with a bakery, a brewery and the Gasthof zur Mühle, an inn on the spot where, 200 years ago, the first travellers to Saxon Switzerland were already being served drinks. Today the whole village works as a small organic refuge with hotels, a bakery and a brewery. It has a Mühlenstube with a fireplace for the cold and a glazed gallery from which you watch the mill wheel turn, which in summer drives the machinery. In winter you can see the inside of the mill on a guided tour from Thursday to Sunday at 12:00; in summer, every day.

What to order

The main thing is the organic beer from its Braumanufaktur, made in the traditional style, and rustic food that comes from the organic bakery next door: hot soup, grilled sausage, sweet and savoury bites. You can eat there or take it away. In summer you eat in the mill courtyard, with an open-air beer garden beside the wheel, and in winter there is an outdoor fireplace. The full menu is at the venue; the website does not publish prices.

Getting there

The Malerweg passes through the mill, and stage 5 ends here; so does the Elbe cycle path. By train, get off the S1 S-Bahn at Schmilka-Hirschmühle, on the opposite bank, and cross on the Lena, a ferry from 1927. By car, take the S172 from Bad Schandau. Open every day from 11:00 to 20:00; for groups of ten or more, they take bookings by email.