#24: [26-Apr-24]

#23: [01-Sep-22]

#20: [03-Aug-20]

#19: [17-Apr-17]

#18: [17-Jul-16]

#17: [29-Jul-15]

#16: [14-May-15]

#22: [12-Oct-13]

#14: [09-Apr-11]

#21: [08-Aug-10]

#12: [04-Aug-09]

#11: [01-May-09]

#10: [29-Mar-09]

#9: [29-Jun-05]

#7: [29-May-05]

#6: [25-Mar-05]

#5: [30-Oct-04]

#3: [20-Jun-04]

#4: [19-Apr-02]

#2: [26-Aug-01]

#1: [03-Mar-01]

#13: [08-Aug-10] (incomplete)

#8: [03-Jul-05] (incomplete)

22-Sep-2013 -- probably the most well-marked Confluence Point

This is the first of six points which we hunted during our one-week driving tour of Eastern Europe to try out Tiger’s new Volvo Sports Wagon. We all met up in Berlin and headed to Budapest as our most southern destination. Except for Ray, this was the first hunt for the rest of the group.

We set the Garmin navigation GPS which has the detailed European map loaded and pretty much follow the voice instruction to get within 150 meter of this confluence point. This point is located near the edge of a forest with several well-marked trails for hiking. In fact, this confluence point located about 4 meters from one of the main trails.

Needless to say, for the three first-time hunters it was an exciting moment when we reached the all-zeros spot. All agreed this was a great sport; in addition it takes us off the autobahn to appreciate the country scenery. To Ray’s delight, all first-time hunters wanted to hunt for more points during the trip.

What is unusual about this confluence point is the fact it has been marked several times, and the first time was in 1862! About 10 meters from where we identified as the all-zeros spot, there is a stone marker at the side of trail for N51-E14. About 15 meters further into the forest, we found another stone marker appears to be much older. At the edge of forest, there is a stainless steel monument indicating that this is the vicinity of N52-E14. Right next to this elaborate monument is a sign indicating that, in 1862, this point was marked 56.8 meters south to the sign. In all, we noted four markers for this point. Of course, the logical question is – why N51-E14 is so well surveyed? Also impressive is the fact that the point surveyed 150 years ago was about 210 meters from today’s spot.

After a leisure picnic at the N51-E14 monument, we continued our journey and reached Prague. Our next point was N49-E17 in Czech Republic after our one-day stay in Prague.

Rating of this hunt

Degree of Challenge:

1 – easy drive by following a navigation GPS and a pleasant hike in the woods (1= very easy - drive to the point; to 5= a death march – glad it is over)

Scenery:

2– rolling hills of farmland and forest in eastern Germany (Scale: 1= not interesting at all; 5= take your breath away)

Culture-social factors:

3 – A glimpse of rural community in this part of Europe which is very different than what we have been exposed to in big cities (Scale: 1=dull; 5= most stimulating)