Panorama Trail Schwarzatal - 3rd stage Cursdorf to Scheibe-Alsbach - Thuringian Forest

The stage on the Panorama Trail is a little more strenuous to walk, but the experience is impressive.

You start in Cursdorf near the Glass Apparatus Museum and follow the trail northwards until shortly after leaving the village. Then turn left through the open countryside to the edge of the forest and up to the Meuselbacher Kuppe. At an altitude of over 800 m, you have a fantastic panoramic view of the Oberwei;bacher Bergland and, in good conditions, you can see as far as the western Thuringian Forest and even as far as the Brocken in the Harz mountains.

On the descent, the trail continues to the left through the open countryside to the edge of the forest.

After the descent into the valley of the White Schwarza, you reach a culinary highlight on the Panorama Trail. The Forellenhof Bartnik with its own fish farm is a welcome stop, especially in the summer months. The homemade fish dishes and especially the freshly prepared trout are a special recommendation.

The route continues via Katzhütte back to the "real" Schwarzatal. This is where the route of the Schwarzatalbahn ends. 

This is followed by a steep ascent: on less than seven kilometres of track, they climb more than 400 metres up to the Moosbergeben and reach the upper basin of the Goldisthal pumped storage power station. With a capacity of 1060 megawatts of power, a water flow rate of 12 million m³ and a maximum energy storage  of 8.5 gigawatt-hours, the plant is almost as powerful as the former Biblis A nuclear power plant in Südhessen.

After that, the route continues gently downhill to Scheibe-Alsbach.