2020-07-03 53 8

Fri 3 Jul 2020 in 53,8: 53.1962798, 8.2081747 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Location

This Geohash is located in a private yard of a house in Ofenerdiek, the northernmost district of Oldenburg.

Participants

Alaska

Expedition

After finally having documented my first two Geohashing expeditions of 2008 (see 2008-07-30 53 8 and 2008-08-20 53 8), I thought it was about time to start a new expedition after twelve years of laziness. This seemed to be a good opportunity, as the hash was located at the northern boundary of Oldenburg, where I'm living.

So me and my 2-year-old son took the cargo bike and headed for Ofenerdiek, which is the northernmost district of Oldenburg. I hadn't been there often before, so it was nice to discover a part of my town which was still relatively new to me. On the way, I stopped at a bakery and bought two pieces of apple crumble.

While planning the expedition, I saw that the hash was located in the yard of a one-family house (i.e. not accessible for the public), so I knew I had some convincing work to do. I rang the doorbell, and soon a middle-aged woman opened the door. I introduced myself and my son and started to explain what my mission was. Fortunately she was already familiar with the concept of geocaching, so it was no rocket science to explain to her what Geohashing is and that the current hash was located in her garden. Being surprised and excited at the same time, she had no problem taking me into garden, where I took some photos. Meanwhile she talked a bit to my son and showed him her insect hotel which he found quite interesting.

When it came to say goodbye, I thankfully handed her the apple crumble I bought earlier and also a crux printout of the expedition so that she could later read this online report. (Hey, if you're reading this now, feel free to drop me an email at cw@5d.de!) Finally, she gave me a hint for a nice alternative route back into the city. All in all, it was a very nice and charming encounter and a perfect example of how Geohashing can make you meet other people.

A short note on our way back home: This was a really interesting route, the Ewald-Sander-Padd following the path of an abandoned railroad from Ofenerdiek to the Fliegerhorst, an old military airport which was unused for decades and is now being transformed into a new city district.

Photos

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  The hash is located in the middle of this garden.

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  Another view

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  GPS proof

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  Bahnhof Ofenerdiek, on our way back

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  The abandoned railroad; right behind me is the start of the ...

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  ... Ewald-Sander-Padd. I believe the old rails are just underneath the path.

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  No, that's not a real cow. But there were real horses on the same meadow.

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  The end of the Ewald-Sander-Padd. In the background, the old military airport tower can be seen.

Achievements

Alaska earned the Ambassador achievement by obtaining permission from the houseowner to access the (53, 8) geohash on 2020-07-03.