During my expedition along Germany’s death strip-turned-green-belt, I followed a strategy I came to think of as “structured sauntering.” The former border strip itself, with the help of a guidebook in my handlebar pouch and a GPS route in my phone, provided the geographical structure for my journey, from the Baltic coast in the north… Read more More on Heimat, and Sauntering, and Gratitude
For me, this has been a year of discovering small, almost hidden treasures: Rare birds, small towns, bobcats, mystery wetlands – off the beaten path and yet, right in the middle of Germany. I encountered these treasures on my expedition along and around the strip of land that once ran through the landscape like an… Read more Remember the good news stories
I had learned by this point in the expedition that I should not even attempt to ride more than 50 km a day. A 30 km day yielded enough impressions, encounters, and food for thought to last for several more days. And then there were the hills, which were more like the Green Mountains than… Read more Roaming the Rhön Mountains, and lunch at the Bay of Pigs
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
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
