The mountains in the Thuringian Forest provide a backdrop for one of Germany’s most beautiful trails, the 160-kilometer long Rennsteig. It is just as much a trademark of the state as its long thin sausages, the historic Wartburg and the Weimar poets Goethe and Schiller. However, Thuringia not only has a culinary and literary tradition, it was always a state of researchers. Zeiss and Schott founded the modern optics industry in Jena; alongside the carmaker Opel and turbine manufacturer Rolls-Royce, Jenoptik is nowadays one of the most important companies there. Erfurt, the state capital, is proud of the flourishing bio- and solar technology there, in addition to the excellent educational opportunities offered by four institutes of higher education.