1999-04-03 53 10

Location

in a forest in Groß Disnack, Schleswig-Holstein

Participants

π π π (talk)

Retro expedition

π π π

This technically is my Origin geohash, although the hospital where I was born is only 500 m from the 10th longitude, I have lived in 53,9 all my life and 1999-04-03 53 9 is way closer to my birth town. I'd wanted to go to this hash for over four years, but for some reason never did. On 2022-08-30, however, just before the end of my heavily used 9 euro ticket, I was going to Lübeck, and decided to finally visit my origin hash on the way back.

I left Lübeck later than initially planned, and had already scrapped the idea of visiting Mölln before going home. I exited the regional train at Ratzeburg and then cycled 7 km mostly uphill into a large forest (I'd forgotten how much forest there still was in Lauenburg Duchy). The hash lay only 50 m from an official path and practically right on top of a little-used forest path. I hashdanced for a bit because of the bad GPS signal, found a good spot and took pictures with Jackie & Eagle. Then, I cycled to the city of Ratzeburg on an island in the Ratzeburger See, keeping the big lake in sight for most of the way there.

In Ratzeburg, I had a look at the town hall, the baroque manor of the Dukes of Mecklenburg, and the gigantic romanesque brick cathedral of Ratzeburg, which today seems hilariously oversized for the small city of 14,000 inhabitants. Despite the time, I could even go inside as there was some kind of children's concert/guided tour going on, though I had to be careful they wouldn't hear or spot me. Noticing the time, I had to hurry to get a quick look at the historic market square and arrive at the station to catch the last train. Getting home from there was a real odyssey: I had to change in Büchen, then travel across the entire city of Hamburg, changing at the main station, to get to AKN train which finally took me home after more than 2.5 hours.