2022-07-02 55 8

Sat 2 Jul 2022 in 55,8: 55.0524589, 8.4160675 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Location

This Geohash is located on the Ellenbogen peninsula in List on Sylt.

Participants

• Fippe
• Leidenfrost and his father
• π π π

Expedition

Fippe

In the morning, I took the train from Hannover to Hamburg central. It was late, so I missed my next train to Elmshorn. Instead, I took the train to Hamburg-Altona and waited for the next train there. And that train went all the way to Westerland on Sylt. Sylt is of course an island, but a rail causeway connects it to the mainland, so no ferry was involved. I was expecting more punks on the train - there were just two, but they were quite audible.

In Westerland, I got a rental bike. It had electric support, super thick tires and was colored hot red. :D With this kind of vehicle I could cycle up north to the Ellenbogen peninsula in no time. There were dunes, seagulls, the North Sea of course, sheep, and not a single punk. It seems that the island is still mostly populated by men in polo shirts and women with fancy purses. The coordinates were located a bit next to the path on some grass.

After reaching the Geohash and recording proof, I visited the northernmost point of Germany on a nearby beach. I could see the Danish island Rømø from there, and my phone switched over to the Danish mobile data network. This was a personal record for me going north without air travel being involved.

Afterwards, I cycled to the settled part of List, the town that the Ellenbogen belongs to, and from there back to Westerland. I got a late lunch (two fish buns), returned the rental bike, and went back to the train station. At the station, Leidenfrost's train had just arrived. We had a brief meeting, before I needed to get on my train. It was nice to meet you!

After meeting Leidenfrost, I took the train via Elmshorn, Hamburg central and Uelzen back to Hannover.

Leidenfrost

On 2021-07-21 I calibrated NWoodruff's notification-tool for 55,8-Sylt. Almost a year later, it happened, and on a weekend too. At 15:32 I got an email, checked Geohashing.info, and immediately cancelled my plans for Saturday. I contacted π π π to coordinate, who would be busy running an event with friends, that I just cancelled for Geohashing. The next day, I took the RB 81 from Hamburg-Rahlstedt to Hamburg Central Station with a few drunk party-people who were ready to go to the Schlagermove. At 14:02 I took the RE 60 to Westerland (Sylt) arriving at 17:05, my train-car contained two punks.

Arriving in Westerland, I met Fippe, we talked about hashing for a minute, until he needed to catch his train. It was also nice to meet you!

Owing to a crash, I wasn't confident in my bike just yet, so I planned on walking a few kilometres to the hash. However, by coincidence my mother had recently taken up a job on the island, so I asked her if she would take me to the Ellenbogen, but she wouldn't be there that day, however, by even more coincidence my father was looking forward to spending a nice weekend on Sylt, so I promptly convinced him to spend some of that time hashing.

We took off at Westerland by car, and about 20 minutes later we arrived at a toll-booth for the private road, paid 6 Euros, and about 10 minutes later we arrived at the parking lot closest to the hash. After a few minutes of walking, we arrived at the part of the road closest to the hash, and after making sure no one was watching, we stepped on the dunes, part of the nature reserve Nord-Sylt, and tried to only step on a thin path possibly established by the sheep. After a short, careful hashdance, I reached the coordinates, made some photos as proof, dragged my father along to the coordinates, captured photo-evidence, and carefully walked back to the road and the parking lot.

Being so close to the northernmost natural land-point of Germany, I decided to go to the beach, and along the shore until I reached the coordinates established as the northernmost, took a few pictures, admired the view, and walked back to the car, where, after finding out that I was going to miss my 19:19 train by just a few minutes we went to List auf Sylt and got a Fischbrötchen (fish bun), and made our way, leisurely, back to the train-station Westerland (Sylt), where I got the 20:19 RE 6 back to Hamburg-Altona from where I made my way back home.

While waiting for the train to arrive, π π π informed me that he would arrive in Westerland (Sylt) ten minutes after my train had already started, so we figured out where our trains passed each other, which happened to be in Keitum, but despite out best efforts we were unable to see each other, which foiled even the broadest definition of a meet-up.

π π π

Because this report would be unbearably long in my usual unnecessarily detailed writeup style, I will keep to bullet points in an attempt to shorten it.

Planning

• After noticing the hash, I immediately started to plan how to get there: I hosted a board game day with friends, which I wasn't going to cancel, so I had to go either before or after (as usual, the hash chose one of the worst possible days for Sylt-Nord).
• But I was determined to get there. Being the first to get hash in Germany in this epic graticule, and getting there for free because of the 9 euro ticket? An opportunity like that would not come again!
• Before was inconvenient, I'd have to sleep there and already depart soon, not giving me much time to prepare of see some of the island (I'd only been to Sylt once, in 2010).
• So I had to go there after our meeting, and sleep near the hash. As all connections took around four hours and I didn't want to take the last one and possibly be stuck somewhere, I had to get the 6:18 pm train from Henstedt-Ulzburg and was due to arrive in List at 10:14 pm. So I moved our meeting to one hour earlier, packed my things beforehand and ended it when I had to leave.
• (The planning process was actually much longer and involved cosidering many alternatives as well as discussions with Leidenfrost (and also Fippe) about possibly going there together or meeting up, but since they planned to go during the day (Leidenfrost couldn't stay the night), a meetup seemed impossible.)
• My plan was to take my bike and a sleeping bag and mat, arrive at the hash shortly before sunset, camp wildly in the area, then explore the island by bike the next day and depart in the evening.
• I also learned that, in addition to Leidenfrost's parents, my grandparents were also currently on Sylt! I planned to reach out to them, but delayed for now due to complex reasons.

Getting there

• I took the A3 to Elmshorn, trying the entire journey to buy a bicycle ticket for the regional train on my phone, but failing due to extremely bad websites and online ticket systems. Fortunately had just enough time to buy a ticket at Elmshorn station because my train arrived early.
• The regional train went all the way to Westerland, and I left my bike in front of a broken entry so it wouldn't be in the way. Had to wait a while to get a seat though.
• Shortly before arriving, Leidenfrost determined that our trains would pass each other on the island, and indeed did so in Keitum. I stood in the doorway and filmed, but did not manage to see him (perhaps he's visible on the video).
• In Westerland, I cycled to the bus stop (past the magnificent town hall) and had to wait 10 minutes for the bus – whose driver refused to take me on, even though there likely would've been enough space (he seemed incredulous, I don't think many people want to take their bike on the bus on Sylt).
• I now had to hurry to make it in time for the sunset, so I started to cycle northward at a strong pace. I managed to surpass the bus at every single stop for a few kilometres, probably much to the amusement of the driver and passengers, until I failed to make a turn and lost it (though I did see the bus again in Kampen).
• Just north of the towns with their picturesque single thatched-roof houses began the dunes, which were completely covered with purple heath. This is, without a doubt, one of the most wondrous and beautiful landscapes in all of Schleswig-Holstein, and it carried on for the entire journey to the Ellenbogen.
• Cycling past the toll station (bikes are free), I entered Sylt's northernmost peninsula and noticed many sheep as well as the prominent lighthouse. At many points on the journey, I could see the sea to both sides of me.
• I didn't stop at all or even slowed down much, so I reached the point on the road nearest the hash only 45 minutes after setting off 20 km away, having completely drenched my shirt as well as my hoodie. Almost at the beach, I abandoned my plan of going to Germany's northermost point first because I still had enough time to get to hash beforehand, and I wanted to see the sun set from the beach.
• Leaving my bike at the road, I wandered into the heath-dunes on small tracks, which interestingly led right to the hash 120 away. I hadn't seen a sign that you weren't supposed to trespass the dunes, though I hadn't looked out for it. Anyway, I tried to be careful and not step on the plants.

At the hash

• I reached the northernmost geohash ever in Germany right next to the track at 9:42 pm. After a short hashdance, I took a few pictures (including of Baruch and of a brief picnic), many of them of the gorgeous sunset.
• I had to hurry to get to the beach, because the sun was already setting over the dunes, and it was still 700 m away. I kept to the tracks as best I could; there were many of them (Who made them all? Didn't look like sheep-only to me.), though most ran parallel to the beach. But they were so numerous that I never had to walk more than a few metres to find a new one, and went in a zigzag line.
• In the middle of the dunes, I found a weird shelter with a table, drinking vessels, a fence, and a framed document with illegible writing. I couldn't linger, however, and made it to the beach a few minutes before sunset.
• What awaited me was perhaps the most gorgeous sunset I have ever seen, a bright red-yellow ball of flames vanishing behind the North sea, illuminating the clouds in pink and orange to the contrast of an azure sky populated with birds like specks. (I'm not much of a poet, as you can see.) But it was magnificent.
• I walked along the beach for a while until a was sure I was at the northern extreme (55.0588 N), and took in the view. I also ate something because I was extremely hungry.
• A few minutes after the sunset I saw two people at the beach (the first time on the peninsula), but they did not come near me. After half an hour at the beach and unnecessarily many photos, I continued, because I wanted to get my bike away from the road where someone might see it in the night and search for me (also, I had not locked it).
• So I strolled another 500 m along the sand, trying for a while to catch one of the countless sandhoppers, which proved difficult because they without failing stopped moving every time I approached, and were difficult to make out in the sand.
• I came across two poles sticking out from the ground and claiming to mark Germany's northernmost land, but actually being 470 m from it. I considered sleeping there, but didn't want to alarm or be woken by possible early-morning guests.
• I made it back to my bike after a kilometre, and cycled back to the beach access path, where I parked it. I decided to sleep at the strange wooden shelter in the dunes, where for sure nobody would disturb me, and scrambled toward it.
• I had much difficulty finding the spot again in the maze of tracks, but finally managed it and treated myself to a rich dinner of crispbread with tomato paste at the table. From there, I could see the light from both lighthouses on the peninsula flash regularly.
• I planned to go back to the hash at midnight for the achievement, but noticed the time late and again had to hurry (my time management continues to be horrible). I went on socks to disturb the ecosystem as little as possible.
• My half-ran night-time journey across over half a kilometre of dunes was highly memorable, and it was still light enough that I didn't need my flashlight. I made it to the hash at 11:58, and to my surprise several cars passed on the road (which is visible from the coordinates). On the way back, I had to clamber up a few dunes, and became irrationally concerned about the lighthouse wardens noticing me during the light flashes.
• I made my bed on a flat portion of sand and tried to cover up most of my body to escape the mosquitoes, which I had completely forgotten while planning.

The next day

• will come later

I consider this the sixth instalment in my Great Expeditions series, beside 2019-12-15 global, 2020-02-29 54 9, 2020-11-24 53 10, and possibly 2021-08-25 53 10.

Trivia

This Geohash is located on the northernmost land-point the hash has ever fallen in Germany. This is also the first successful hash-expedition to 55,8-Germany.

Photos

Fippe

• 

  The train in Altona

• 

  On the way to the Geohash

• 

  The rental bike near the coordinates

• 

  The site of the Geohash

• 

  Proof

• 

  The Geohash

• 

  At the northernmost point of Germany

• 

  The northernmost point, Denmark in the background

• 

  A nearby view

• 

  In List

Leidenfrost

following

π π π

will follow shortly (many many, will have to select)

Ribbons

Fippe, Leidenfrost and π π π earned the Land geohash achievement by reaching the (55, 8) geohash on 2022-07-02.

Is it true that Leidenfrost and Fippe earned the meet-up achievement? In principle, yes. But while the meeting happened while geohashing, it did not occur at the coordinates (2022-07-02 55 8).

Fippe earned the XKCD-100 Achievement by voyaging 317 km to reach the (55, 8) geohash on 2022-07-02.

Leidenfrost earned the XKCD-100 Achievement by voyaging 196 km to reach the (55, 8) geohash on 2022-07-02.

π π π earned the XKCD-100 Achievement by voyaging 173 km to reach the (55, 8) geohash on 2022-07-02.

Fippe achieved level 1 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Esbjerg, Denmark and 1 of the surrounding graticules.

Leidenfrost achieved level 1 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Esbjerg, Denmark and 1 of the surrounding graticules.

Leidenfrost achieved level 1 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Kolding, Denmark and 1 of the surrounding graticules.

π π π achieved level 2 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Esbjerg, Denmark and 2 of the surrounding graticules.

π π π achieved level 3 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Kolding, Denmark and 3 of the surrounding graticules.

Fippe achieved level 4 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Helgoland, Germany and 4 of the surrounding graticules.

π π π achieved level 6 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Flensburg, Germany and 6 of the surrounding graticules.

Leidenfrost earned the Drag-along achievement by dragging his father to the (55, 8) geohash on 2022-07-02.

Is it true that Leidenfrost earned the Admit one achievement? In principle, yes. But while we did pay 6 Euros for the toll road, this was only necessary for travel via car (2022-07-02 55 8).

π π π earned the Midnight Geohash achievement by reaching the (55, 8) geohash on 2022-07-02 in the middle of the night.

π π π earned the Camping geohash achievement by camping in the dunes 530 m the (55, 8) geohash on 2022-07-02, from evening to early morning.

Fippe, Leidenfrost and π π π earned the Country Virgin Graticule Achievement by being the first to reach the hashpoint while the geohash was in Germany in the (55, 8) graticule, during the (55, 8) geohash on 2022-07-02.

Fippe, Leidenfrost and π π π earned the Country North geohash Achievement by reaching the northernmost hashpoint in Germany, during the (55, 8) geohash on 2022-07-02.

+ Public transport achievement for all three?