Day 2 - Breaking Through the Cold Front

Last night's B&B in the Netherlands was really lovely, - a very friendly owner and it was so comfortable. As we stepped out the front door however, we were met by a mix of snow and hail. This was to set the pattern for the day, at roughly hourly intervals we had either blindingly bright sunshine and blue skies or heavy rain/snow/hail - a very confusing day weather wise. Thankfully we timed both our key stops on today's route at a sunny time.

Having headed into Germany from Holland, we motored across what used to be West Germany to the former border with the East. We stopped at Marienborn also known as Checkpoint Alpha - the place where the main motorway from the West went across to Berlin (and today's blip subject). Annie described it here on her previous visit. It's largely preserved and it is still quite imaginable as a gateway. Quite chilling in many respects.

While on that theme, we drove on to Hotensleben where a section of the former inner German border has been preserved. Due to the profile of the land in this location, it's quite possible to see what it would have looked like before 1989. Here, you're able to do that from the middle of no-man's land, a view that would have been reserved only for the border controls. It felt quite strange to see local people using the area to walk their dogs in the shadow of a former control tower but I guess memories now will be fading. It is however good to see that elements of history are being preserved, if only as a reminder of what a mess humans can make of things.
   
Tonight we're staying on Quedlinburg, a pretty German town. We've just had a really lovely meal in the superb hotel restaurant. Annie enjoyed a couple of glasses of a local wine and it must have been good because at one point in the conversation she swore me down that there was no such word as "compatibility". I think I'll be doing the driving in the morning! :)

We're a bit time and internet access limited so we won't be doing much commenting for a few days. We hope you enjoy coming along with us on our trip.