Harzer-Hexen-Stieg - Brocken bypass

From Torfhaus to the Brocken, you already know that? The path is too arduous for you? The mountain shows its adverse side, namely not at all? Or there are simply too many people on the way? Then take the alternative! The Brocken bypass is by no means a second choice. Away from the bustle of the mountain, it continues on rustic paths through the Harz National Park. Along plank paths, we climb alongside the Oderteich, once the largest and oldest reservoir in Germany. It is dammed by a "Cyclopean dam wall" made of huge granite blocks. The water from the pond is transported by the Rehberger Graben to St. Andreasberg. Where it was previously used for mining, it now drives turbines in the Samson mine and generates environmentally friendly electricity for the residents. The open mountain meadows around the free mountain town, which extends almost to Braunlage, are especially a feast for the eyes in summer. The Oder Valley deeply cuts the connection between the two towns. But not narrowness and gloom, but light and a riot of color also dominate the scene here. In Braunlage, a tourist center in the Upper Harz, the path leads directly past the foot of the Wurmberg. From here, a gondola ride takes you to Lower Saxony's highest peak. The view is breathtaking. Not only of the Brocken summit directly opposite but over the entire southern mountain range. Below the Wurmberg, the world once ended here as well. We cross the former inner-German border at the crossing over the Bremke, the former border stream. Now we are in the once inaccessible border area. At Elend, we reach a settlement again and encounter the Bode river for the first time. Here it is the Kalte Bode, whose course we follow to the idyllic hamlet of Mandelholz before diving back into the bright forest that accompanies us to Königshütte. Even before that, at the rest area in the Steinbach valley, we come across the Brocken hikers of the Harzer-Hexen-Stieg.