On the way in the Green Heart of Germany: We hike through the Thuringian Forest near Bad Tabarz and explore the picturesque Lauchagrund. Have you ever been to the Thuringian Forest? Do you know your way around here? If so, do you have any other recommendations for what to see and other hiking tips? Feel free to write us your experiences and suggestions in the comments. We start the day at the Großer Inselsberg at sunrise. Here we enjoy the magical morning atmosphere from the Reitsteine. Then we continue to Bad Tabarz. The Kneipp spa town is a beautiful little place. We pass by ornate villas with large windows. I could also imagine a little house like that. Before we go deeper into the Lauchagrund from here, we first make a detour to the Marienglashöhle cave nearby. The former gypsum mine is now a mighty show cave. A long tunnel leads into the interior of the mine. I'm glad I've put my sweater back on because it's a cool 8 degrees here. The temperature underground is more or less constant. At the age of 8, the first sons of the mountain farmers had to go down into the tunnel and do hard work. It becomes clear a little later why the cave is called the Marienglashöhle. Then we reach the so-called crystal grotto. And here it looks as if there are glass crystals on the walls. The place is beautiful. We walk past the cave lake and then come back into daylight. Now we go to the Lauchagrund. The first impression is already super idyllic. I only hear my own footsteps on the gravel, the rustling of the leaves above my head and the rippling of the Laucha next to me. We deviate from the wide forest road and make our way up a steep path. Then we reach the Backofenlöcher. There are three caves in the rock. How the caves came into being is unclear. In any case, they are a refuge for bats in winter. Then we continue, deeper into the forest, to the Torstein. Why the rock is called that soon becomes clear. Because there is a huge archway waiting for us. Incidentally, all of these bizarre rock formations were created by volcanism. From here we can also see the Aschenbergstein in the background, our next destination. We hike steeply up a few more meters. The path winds along rock faces, over steps and finally to the summit cross. This rock is also popular with climbers. I let my gaze wander down the almost 50 m high wall. Phew, pretty high. Before we put on our climbing equipment ourselves (not on the Aschenbergstein), we have a little refreshment. We stop at the Teigmacher in Bad Tabarz. The nice café has lots of homemade cakes and delicious sourdough bread. I enjoy a sandwich with cheese and ham. Delicious! Then things get serious. At the Red Tower we meet climbing guide Michael. He will secure us up the wall and show us how it's done. I'm not that good at climbing and don't have much experience either. So it's really unusual for me and sometimes a battle against my own head. But I get to the top and am super proud of myself! And if you want to do that too, there are plenty of other climbing opportunities in Lauchagrund. We're now ending the day in a relaxed manner in Tabbs. That's a good way to end it. Thanks for watching :) If you liked the video, please show us by giving it a thumbs up and remember to subscribe. See you next time!