Somewhere along my first breezy descent from Point Alpha to Geisa I had noticed that the numbers on the odometer were not moving. While the bliss of flying down the hill almost made the moment seem timeless, there was likely another reason. I checked whether the sensor lined up properly with the plastic sleeve that… Read more People of Geisa: Lessons from a bike mechanic
So I had promised to fill you in on my most recent “detour” a couple of weeks ago, when I spent ten days in Leipzig. I was there for the practical purpose of driving buses, but like my previous “detour” to Eisenach (for other practical purposes like bike repair), this was not really a detour… Read more The Peaceful Revolution
I had hoped to make it to Point Alpha on the scorching day of the phantom villages, but an unsuccessful shortcut on a hiking trail plus the sweltering heat made that less likely as the day wore on. I had stopped to cross-reference the GPS route with my paper map when three men in athletic… Read more Topography and history, and Cold War flashbacks
I took this photo three years ago, on a sunny August day in 2014. The moment is etched in my memory: I was on a ferry, crossing to one of the islands in the North Sea for a mini vacation, when I noticed this sticker on a fellow traveler’s suitcase. I had never owned or… Read more Day of German Unity
Hello dear readers, you might already have guessed it! I’ve been involved in another detour that is not leaving me much time to write. It’s been an excellent and also relevant detour involving one of my other favorite East German cities (Leipzig) and I do plan to fill you in about it very soon. For… Read more An article about moi!
I’ve been off my bike (actually my father’s) for a bit now, but I haven’t been far from the border. In fact, I crossed it by bus just a little over a week ago, together with ten of the best travel companions you could imagine – a group of New Hampshire PBS members traveling in… Read more Small detour: Crossing paths with Bach and Luther
The weather forecast had said something about temperatures in the 30’s – Celsius, of course, which translates to high 80s and 90s in Fahrenheit. I know I have some good hills coming up, so I make sure both my water bottles are filled, and buy a bottle of Apfelschorle (apple spritz) at a small store.… Read more Phantom borders, phantom villages
I like traveling along rivers. During the first leg of my expedition farther north, I had spent two days along the river Elbe, some 60 miles of which served as the “inner-German border” during the time of the German division. Now I’ve arrived at the banks of the Werra, a river I had heard about… Read more Salt mountains, and a river in recovery
In case you’ve been wondering… I’ve been back on the road/trail/ border for about ten days now and I am going to need a MAJOR writing retreat to tell you about all I have seen and heard, and (especially) about the incredible people I have met – including two mayors of small towns along the… Read more Lifesign from the Green Belt and a video from the Berlin Wall
The former border crossing Duderstadt-Worbis (where the suitcase protest took place in January 1990) is now the site of the borderland museum Eichsfeld. Someone who doesn’t know this could easily cruise by on the smooth B-247 federal highway and have no idea that there was ever a crossing or a border here. I can’t say… Read more First time in the “other” Germany
