2024-01-31 53 10

Wed 31 Jan 2024 in 53,10: 53.6522777, 10.0207155 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Location

in a garden in Hamburg-Langenhorn

Participants

• π π π (talk)

Plans

Passing by here on the way home from the observatory. Should be possible to do in the 20-minute window between two trains.

Expedition

Strange tale, this.

This hash was only 500 m from Langenhorn Markt station, which I had to pass through on my way to the obseravtory where I was to give talk today. I decided to go here in the evening rather than the morning because I'd specifically chosen the time so I could catch the train from central station. Fippe had approached me about the location because it was not evident whether it was accessible, and I provided him with my best guess that it was in a private garden that might or might not be open from the back. I found it more likely it was open, but it still seemed risky for a long a expedition, and Fippe concurred.

The talk went well; in the evening I disembarked at Langenhorn Markt and walked a couple minutes along a residential street. At the hashgarden, I saw a woman standing there with (presumably) her son, looking at the garden and seeming confused. I didn't want to stroll into a private area right in front of them, so instead I walked on and waited for them to go away. They did shortly after, and all seemed clear. The communal garden area was fenced from the street, but not from the footpath leading to the next house. I crossed the grass and the found the hash to indeed be within a private, but unfenced garden. Through the living room window I could see a person. I quickly checked the droid and found I was still 2 m away, the hash was located right behind the protective vegetation that shielded me from view. I took some screenshots and a panorama, but was still undecided whether I really wanted to attempt walking into a private garden right in front of the occupant (the garden was not lit).

Just as I pondered this, I noticed something I didn't expect: The woman and the boy were back, standing on the path and looking right at me. My mind was racing – why were they there when they'd just walked off in another direction? Why did they seem so confused earlier? Were they Geohashers? I had to make an impulsive decision whether to stay where I am and pretend I didn't see them or just walk off, which required me to walk right past them. Since I didn't want to be told off and probably wouldn't've dared to enter the garden anyway, I decided to walk. I greeted while walking past, and the woman asked me whether I "belonged to this place". I said no and added, semi-truthfully, that I was just looking at something. They hadn't moved at all since I'd first noticed them again.

The more I thought about it, it seemed entirely possible that they were also hashers. At the street, I stopped and looked at my phone while gathering the courage to talk to them. They finally moved in my direction, but walked right past me. I couldn't muster the willpower to pursue them, so I checked the time, saw that I had to get going to catch the next train, and left as well.

Shortly after, I noticed how terribly I'd handled the situation and that I'd made all the wrong decisions. I should've stayed and not fled, or alternatively, as I passed, asked *them* whether they were looking for anything because they seemed so confused. And I should've made another attempt at the hash afterward, or least taken a quick selfie, since I arrived three minutes early back at the station.

Well, I guess that's the problem you face when you have to make intuitive decisions without any time to properly weigh the options. If you two were actually new Geohashers and found this report: I'm sorry, I should've acted differently. Don't feel too discouraged, and please leave a reply on this page's discussion.

So did I reach the hash? Well, I was around 2 m from the coordinates. I used to say one needs to be at the exact location for it to count, but then I did at some point claim an expedition as successful although the hash was just out of reach within a hedge. When that happened again, I referred to the first time, and I passed within a few metres from a hash on a ferry, I also claimed it. So I guess to be consistent, I should do so here as well, but I will not claim any achievements. Otherwise it would certainly be a Prize poultry.

Photos

to follow

• 

  Too dark for panoramas @53.6523,10.0207

• 

  So close!

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  Maps