Tiny border crossing - Summer 2002
The border between Germany and the Netherlands. This is the tiny crossing between Ter Apel, Sellingen and Hasselbrook. The Hasseberg.
It took us some time before we found the actual border crossing. Initially we were looking deep inside Germany. Finally some friendly cyclists showed us the way - actually my wife asked them for directions, I was too ashamed to admit I couldn't find such an obvious landmark.

When we found it, it was not so obvious after all. All we could see was the abrupt change in road surface. There were a lot of markers around, but no real border markers.

Looking East - into Germany. Looking West - into The Netherlands.
The two markers on the left looked promising, but they belonged to the water-, gas- or electricity companies. They were old and battered, as if a lot of grass-mowers and tractors had bumped into them.

The white "mushroom" below is a signpost for cyclists. It's an ideal site marker. Every one has it's own unique number (23634) and they are indicated on all the maps. This is where you are now.

Looking for the border markers I stumbled upon the "Holland Border Walk" by Scorselo & Swart. The artists walked the whole border of The Netherlands in 100 days. In some places they left time capsules with letters that will be opened in 2010. The steel cylinder is such a capsule.

Border walking seems to be a popular pastime with artists. I know of artists who walked the (former) East German border, or (more poignant) the Green Line between Israel and Lebanon.

I went North, looking for the border markers. The border is indicated by a ditch and a bank. A view from inside the ditch. This linear landmark was constructed in ?
At first I thought this was another of the megalithic monuments that are famous in the area. But it was only a large plastic bag with farming garbage, Looking West, from the bank towards the Netherlands. It looks like no one ever comes here.
It was not easy to find the marker. I almost despaired of finding it. I had to walk a long way But there it is, almost hidden in the grass.
Border marker 176 II. Next to a German ruin.
From the parking place of my car I walked South, in search of other markers. At first it was easy, but then I got stuck in bushes, brambles and nettles without seeing anything. The Dutch owner of the house took us behind his house and he showed us this historic marker. He also told us that the site of his house, the Hasseberg, is the highest spot in the province of Groningen (14.2 meters - the rest of the landscape is 8 meters, what a mountain).
He also told us that the field behind the marker had been excavated by archaeologists and that they had found stone-age campsites of hunter-gatherer tribes. It was an interesting person, he had worked in the Dutch judicial system but now he lived and worked in Germany. He now owned border marker 176.
Deeper into Germany we found this canal and a small bridge. At first we thought that this was the border. But it's only the "Walchumer Schloot".

Still this tiny bridge is protected by a - just as tiny - bunker. The children - or soldiers - seem to use it as their playground.

Below are the West and East view. The Hasseberg is behind the trees on the horizon (I think).

Border crossings
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