My friend from Salisbury is staying with me this week, and on Tuesday, which happened to be her birthday, we paid a visit to Hoetensleben, the old border between West Germany and the DDR. The day was comfortable for a good walk around the site which included an intact section of the wall and a line of defensive "dragon's teeth." The old concrete trackways for vehicles that patrolled the inner section of "No Man's Land" can still be seen, together with the strip of clear ground that marked the footsteps of anyone wanting to escape, and also another wall closer to the village in the DDR. The photo right shows G, who drove us there in his car, talking to Pamela about the site, with an old watch tower to the right. The many information boards gave a potted history of the division of Germany, some in English and German. I visited this place last year in a heat wave during the Mayor of Bath's official visit to Braunschweig. It was then so intensely hot, that none of us ventured past the first information board. Yesterday it was good to explore the whole site in cool, cloudy weather.
En route back home we stopped for coffee and a beer in Schoeppenstedt, and then travelled to Querum for more tea and cake with J and G. The blackberry and apple cake was particularly tasty, so thank you J for the cake, and G for the ride in your car.
The main wall fronting West Germany to the left, with a line of "Dragon's Teeth." In the centre was "No Man's Land." A grey wall can be seen to the right, near the houses that stood in the former DDR.
Pamela looking at this interesting "Installation," which depicts a globe of barbed wire, with photographs of aspects of life in the DDR enclosed inside. Around the black base, written in white paint, are details of each photograph, with words and sentiments about everyman's right not to be imprisioned, but to be free to lead a contented life.
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