2011-08-14 59 17
| Sun 14 Aug 2011 in 59,17: 59.3078350, 17.8894935 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox |
Location
In the water, just south of Lovön, Ekerö, Sweden
Participants
Plans
Since the spot is in the water, and I don't have a boat, I will simply attempt to get as close as possible, getting a fun expedition and some exercise in the process.
Expedition
As stated, I had no real intention of actually reaching the hash, since it was a bit to wet for my taste, but I wanted an excuse to get out on my bike. Also this particular trip had a very scenic potential with the hash being situated just a few kilometers from the royal recreational palace of Drottningholm - a UNESCO world heritage site since 1991.
Said and done, I jumped on my bike and started to pedal the ~23 km. Most of the route was through urban areas with quite heavy traffic, but I had bicycle lanes pretty much all the way, so this wasn't much of a problem. In total, I had to pass 5 bridges on the way, each and every one of them providing a gorgeous view of the city's amorous relation with water.
Eventually I reached Lovön and Drottningholm palace, perched beautifully by the water, welcoming all visitors crossing the bridge with it's impressive architecture. The place was littered with tourists. Once past the castle it became obvious that I had left the city behind, as the road was suddenly surrounded by fields and patches of forest.
At last I reached the road that would take me to the shoreline of the Island and hopefully take me close enough to the hash to provide a good picture of it. It was a small dirt road passing by a farm and some villas before reaching a small marina with a tiny pier. At first I thought this would be the ideal place to "spot" the hash, but a quick look at the map proved that I could get quite a bit closer by just following the road a bit further. Nevertheless, I'm pretty sure the hash-location was visible so I took some pictures.
I went a couple of hundred meters further along the road, but it became more obvious that this was not really public area. I stopped by a knoll which I ascended by foot in the hopes that the elevated position would give me a better view. It did. I was still not as close as I could be, but the hash-location was clearly visible from there. As I was admiring the lovely view, a canal-boat suddenly appeared and went through the strait, passing more or less spot-on the hash. Unfortunately, (I looked this up when I got home) this was pretty much the only boat that took that route that day. If only I had known.
I then proceeded a bit further along the road in hopes of getting even closer, but alas, the road ended right in the front yard of a big villa, and all the water-front was obviously "someone-else's-backyard". I didn't feel like stomping in there just so I could almost get to a hash: after all I had pictures of it, and I had gotten the trip that I wanted so it was time to return home.
The return trip was uneventful, but after almost 50km of cycling my legs were protesting wildly.
Photos
Drottningholm Palace
By the marina. The hash is somewhere beyond the outermost tree on the cape on the left.
View of the hash location. It is very close to the boat.
