We walked another part of the Malerweg and started in the middle of Rathen. A broad way leads into the Amselgrund.
After some meters you reach the first point of interest: The Felsenbühne – rock stage. The way is quite steep – this time without steps – but finally you can see the entrance to the theater. The setting is amazing. The high rocks are impressive and the stage area is bigger than in a normal theater. The actors can climb up to the rocks and use hidden paths for their play. You can visit the Felsenbühne whenever there is no rehearsal or performance for a small amount of money. You have to walk the same way back.
A short walk further lies the Amselsee. Again you can see in the background very impressive rock formations. If you like you can hire a boat or a pedal and cross the lake.
But we went on. The lake is long and at the end the way parts. Straight on you will reach the Amselfall and this is also the Malerweg.
Quickly it gets rustic. You walk on roots and small paths. Over step stones and a variety of steps. Wooden boards or cut into stone. Sometimes made out of metal. Every couple of meters something different. Pro-tipp: In case you only walk into one direction you should turn around sometimes. Everything looks completely different in the other direction. And if you like photography you should bring much more time. You might stop every ten meters and take a picture…
To the Amselfall you walk along a nice brook. Well… yes … of course. Somewhere the water from the fall has to go.
Beside the path there is a lot to be seen. Botanists will love it. Or you try to discover faces and figures an the rock formations.
At a small bridge the way parts again. To the left you will reach the Schwedenlöcher and straight on you walk to the Amselfall. You ascent a little bit more and will shortly after see the wooden gable with the writing on it: Amselfall.
In the house there is the information centre of the national park with games for the children, audio information and some nice nature movies about the dipper. Entrance is free!
The waterfall just dribbles. That looks nice. But there is much more. A lot of people do not know that you have to pay 30 Cents to make a real waterfall out of the dribble.
You should really invest that! It is quite impressive to hear the swoosh before the gush of water washes down the rocks. You might have to wait a couple of minutes before the spectacle can be repeated. But there is an inn and a shop and toilets. When hiking you should bring some coins. 50 or 20 Cents. You will need them for using the toilet. The doors will only open after inserting a coin. So you could kill some time here.
The Malerweg would go on but we went back the same way towards Rathen.
On the way back we took the junction to the Schwedenlöcher. Again here you walk up on stairs with a lot of steps. And here are also some narrow points. You walk constantly up and you can imagine that this was a good place to hide for some people.
If you would walk on you would reach the Bastei. But again we just went back the same way. As it looks completely different in the other direction this is not boring.
Also at the Schwedenlöcher you should risk a glance to the sides of the path for discovering interesting plants and flowers or to admire rock formations.
The descent went along the Amselsee. By the way there is a boat ticket vending machine. Crazy! We passed again by the Felsenbühne and reached Rathen. It took us around 3,5 hours. A very nice tour.