#17: [28-May-23]

#16: [10-Aug-22]

#14: [06-Aug-20]

#13: [02-Aug-20]

#12: [19-Jul-14]

#10: [16-Jun-13]

#15: [04-Aug-12]

#9: [19-May-12]

#8: [12-Aug-11]

#7: [21-May-11]

#6: [17-Apr-09]

#5: [27-May-07]

#4: [21-May-06]

#3: [07-May-05]

#2: [16-May-02]

#1: [17-May-01]

03-Sep-2013 -- This CP is second in a row visited in September 2013: 53N-12E, 53N-11E, 52N-11E (this one), 52N-10E, 52N-09E and 52N-08E.

After the visit of 53N-11E this morning I headed south to Klotze, Oebisfelde and Helmstedt. 23 km past Helmstedt and 4 km past Am Grossen Bruch turn right, leaving the B245. Follow for 7 km the K1315 and just in front of Eilsdorf the CP is in a harvested field (it is September). I parked the car close to a farm and walked to the CP. The CP is in the centre of the image taken from the other side of the road. The view from the car and also the N, E, S, W images show the weather. Just after the photographs were taken the shower started and soaked me.

During this trip of 6 CP’s I crossed 6 times the former border between West and East Germany, part of the Iron Curtain. The Iron Curtain was the border between East and West, 12.500 km long running from the Barents Sea (Arctic Ocean) in the North to the Black Sea in the South. Part of a map (#9) taken from my 1955 (Dutch) school atlas by Bos & Niermeyer show a part of this border and the CP’s of this CP-trip. In a composite map of data by Google, by Europebybyke and by my GPS show my 6 crossings, 3 in today’s trip from 53N11E to 52N11E.

Especially in East Germany the border was maintained by a no-go area (Sperrgebiet) with extreme measures to prevent any trespassing, even with mines and automatic machine guns. Almost half a century nature was undisturbed in the no-go areas.

At the end of the cold war, in Germany called “die Wende” meaning “the Turning Point”, a number of nature preserving organisations started the GREEN BELT. An information table at the crossing near Dumme explains what the GREEN BELT is. The Four-Country-Corner (Vier-Länder-Eck) indicates four German countries: NiederSachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommeren. Everywhere in the landscape you can recognise the former border. In a detail of my crossing near Dumme you can detect the border strips. More information.

After the visit I drove about 12 km to camping Am See (at the lake) at Halberstadt, the rain was over so I could raise my tent in a relaxed atmosphere.