Helga Paris/ From: Berlin Pubs; 1974

Helga Paris/ From: Berlin Pubs; 1974

Helga Paris/ From: Georgia; 1982

Helga Paris/ From: The Polish Journey; 1996-1997

Helga Paris/ From: Berlin Youth, Gabi; 1982

Helga Paris/ From: Women at the Treff-Modelle Clothing Factory, Berlin; 1984

For more pictures by Helga Paris, please visit Zoltán Jókay’s visual log Zeitmaschine. He posted a series of pictures in A Taste of Post-war and Self-portraits and also gives a few interesting infos and comments.

There is something about Helga Paris’s pictures which speak of experiences and feelings that are communicable to a strong degree because they can be shared. (…)Her pictures have a psychological quality that permits identification in an unique way. It is my claim that this can be found in the respect and esteem for the subject that Helga Paris’s pictures are capable of expressing. Perhaps it is the longing to be observed by such a gaze: a gaze that is capable of seeing through the debris and upheavals of everyday life to that what Elke Erb so fittingly calls “cradle honesty”; a gaze in which the individual is capable recognizing himself through the anonymity of the masses by virtue of his own, personal longing for human togetherness.

—Inka Schube, curator at the Sprengel Museum

The route starts through Stadtwald Rheydt again — this time not passing the miniature golf place, but following a different path through the park parallel to the A61 Autobahn. At Waldesrand the route crosses the A61 toward Voosen and continues through Kothausen, Gerkerath, Koch, Genhodder, Rickelrath and Lüttelforst to Waldniel. In Waldniel it continues back on Schulstrasse towards Berg, Steeg south to and through the British Forces base, the Joint Headquarters (JHQ) or Military Complex in Rheindahlen, the Hardter forest, and through Hehn and Holt back into the city.

This route leads through a number of very beautiful areas including Stadtwald Rheydt, Kothausen and Hardter forest, but it is especially fascinating and historically interesting because of the JHQ. This base is open for visitors and can be entered through one of their checkpoints after showing your id or passport. And once you are inside you are really visiting a different country. Street names and signs are all written in English, and even the sidewalks and buildings look distinctly different. I remember when I was a child I thought of the headquarters as a very strange and mysterious island in the woods, such a different world. Even years later I find myself surprised by how different this area looks and feels compared to the surrounding cities and villages. Not so much because of the obvious language difference, but the smaller details, the overall quietness or the emptiness of the roads. I would like to ride this route again and see what this area is like today, more than a decade later.

On the way to or from the JHQ there also is a nice incline I always enjoyed. The route is about 49 kilometers long and ends my series of routes in and in the area of my old hometown. I hope you found any of the previous routes interesting or enjoyable. I’m not sure if and when I’m going to have more routes in Germany as I’m not living there anymore — and I will not begin to collect other routes I haven’t ridden before and that can’t ride myself right now. Instead I will continue to work on a collection of complete routes in and in the area of Baltimore City. I hope I can find a few routes that are also between 30-50 kilometers (18-30 miles) long and relatively easy and pleasant to ride. Longer routes might be interesting, too. I would love to tackle challenging destinations like Washington DC or finding another way to the Northern Railroad Trail. It will be an interesting journey :)

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This route is another easy ride on flat terrain, but it leads through very beautiful parks, parkways and nice roads. The parkway through the municipal park in Neuss is especially beautiful in autumn when the leaves begin to fall. Left and right, old tall and very beautiful trees are forming a high arc over the unusually wide path, which believe it or not is not accessible by motorized vehicles. This magical sight alone makes this route worth the ride. But I also always enjoyed the way through Morgensternheide. Its path is finished and smooth, and yet this area always felt very untouched and quiet. Every time I rode through this area I had to wonder why so few people walked or biked in such a beautiful place. But at the same time I was very thankful for it — it wouldn’t be the same if you suddenly had to share the path with crowds of people.

Riding to the Rhine river obviously was another highlight of the route. Düsseldorf is to Mönchengladbach what Washington DC is to Baltimore. Many people commute from Baltimore to DC, and a lot of people from Mönchengladbach and surrounding areas are commuting to Düsseldorf every day. The Autobahn is crowded with traffic; the double-decker trains are completely packed with people squeezed in up to the doors. It took me about an hour to an hour and a half with switching trains to get from Mönchengladbach to Düsseldorf. After experiencing these rush hours for a while one can’t even imagine any other way to get to a city like Düsseldorf (or Washington) other than taking the train or car.

The more surprising is a bicycling route like this one, proving that there are far more pleasant ways to cover essentially the same distance. Every time I also find it interesting that when you take cars, trains or buses, places seem much further away than if you rode a bicycle or walked the way. Motorized routes are generally longer, and the start-stop rhythm of traffic, traffic lights, bus- or train-stops just make places feel much further away than they really are. I was very surprised when I first walked all the way down to the Baltimore harbor, or when I just recently rode this route all around Druid Park, the Baltimore Zoo, Clipper Mill Road, Pennstation and back on Charles Street.

I’m glad that there is such a beautiful route that connects Mönchengladbach with Neuss and the Rhine river. I would love if I could find a similarly nice route from Baltimore to Washington DC one day — even if I had to make it a whole day or two-day trip.

Other highlights include probably the best Turkish Döner Kebap fastfood restaurant in Büttgen and the ice cream parlour I already mentioned with the previous Korschenbroich route :). The route below is about 50 kilometers long.

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I remember enjoying this route a lot, especially the ride on the bumpy dirt tracks, through the fields to the municipal park in Rheydt I mentioned in some of my previous routes – featuring mini-golf, table-tennis and more. The route follows Stadtwaldstrasse along Rheindahlen towards Merreter, Genhausen, Bau and Gatzweiler to Holtmühle. I remember Holtmühle. The fifth stage “Around Mönchengladbach” led to and through this area, too. From there my memory fades as the route continues along Molzmühle to Merbeck, from Merbeck to Niederkrüchten, Luettelforst, Schwaam and Fischeln. My memory returns again with Hardt, Venn and Holt. But strange, even the photos and satellite pictures of the Niederkrüchten area fail to refresh my memory. I should definitely ride this route when I visit my old home again. It is about 50 kilometers long.

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The route starts on Zwölf Morgen and follows Ritterstrasse toward Schloss Rheydt, then Bruchstrasse next to the sports field Neersbroich and the old Bolten brewery. It continues via Danziger street, Engbrueck toward the Niederrhein clinic and turns left to the Korschenbroich train station. At Rochuskappelle it will follow the Neusser street to an Austrian restaurant “Zum Tiroler” and continue north on Zollhausstrasse to Herrenshoff. The rout then will lead through Herzbroich back to the Korschenbroich train station, on Grüner Zierdenweg north to Raderbroich, and then back south toward Pesch, Zalfenstrasse to the Rochuskapelle. It leads back on Korschenbroicher street, and at the Niers bridge it turns into the Volksgarten park.

I can’t say for sure what exactly I like about this route, but I always found it very enjoyable. Maybe it’s the familiarity of the area, its proximity to home, the Volksgarten, the straight (fast) segment on Korschenbroicher street. But it also leads through the park, trails and streets — urban, but safe, quiet and really nice areas. It’s perhaps the mixture of different terrains and sceneries that make this route so enjoyable. The route is about 29 kilometers and very easy to ride. It’s a great little warmup for the longer (50 km) routes, and also features probably the best ice cream parlour in or near Mönchengladbach. :)

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Then it leads back on the very same way until Grenzweg crosses with Schanzweg. The route doesn’t continue on Grenzweg, but follows Schanzweg toward the A52 Autobahn and Kaldenkirchener Street, then back into the city on Bismarckstreet.

The route is 55 kilometers long, flat and easy to ride. It’s generally a nice route, beautiful without any doubt, and it is as enjoyable as a lot of the previous routes around Mönchengladbach — but because of its long straight segments and leading back the same way I personally wouldn’t count this one to my favorite routes. I would love to ride along the Niers river the entire length of 117 kilometers, from its origin in Erkelenz to Gennep in the Netherlands where it flows into the Meuse, but this would require alternative ways of transportation to return back to Mönchengladbach.

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The first Niers route starts in Ohler and leads to the municipal park and forest in Rheydt, which has always been one of my favorite destinations with the minigolf and tabletennis opportunities, and also because of the bumpy dirt track which I loved to race on. The route continues through Mennrath, Beckrath, Herrath to the Niers origin in Erkelenz. It follows the Niers from Kuckum to Wanlo, Wickrath, Odenkirchen to the Bresgespark which has been another nice rest spot as mentioned on some of my earlier routes. Following the Niers the route continues to the manor-house Rheydt which is also the end of the first route.

The second route will continue there and follow the Niers north toward the Netherlands. I will probably post this one tomorrow. The Niers route has been one of my favorites, for no particular reason than that it just is a very pleasant and beautiful ride outside of traffic, on really nice paths next to the river. It is also interesting to see where the river originates as tiny streamlet and to follow it as it grows to a small river.

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Garzweiler is (or used to be) a district of Jüchen in North Rhine-Westphalia, which in the 80s became a strip-mining site for brown coal of the Rheinbraun AG (now RWE Power AG). Despite a lot of protest by residents and environmentalists, the entire town was moved to a new location that is now called Neu-Garzweiler (New Garzweiler). The old Garzweiler disappeared from the map and made room for strip mining. This happened in the period between 1984 and 1989. I still remember news-reports about people who didn’t want to leave their houses.

For decades, brown coal has been major energy resource and fossil fuel in Germany. Somewhat similar to what oil is for Saudi Arabia, Russia or the US. Garzweiler alone produces 35-45 million tons of coal every year. So it does not surprise that the administration supports extreme measures to move giant bucket-wheel excavators across Autobahns and high voltage pylons, or even relocate entire cities. Although Garzweiler is not the only town that was relocated in the past few years (other included Priesterath, Elfgen in Grevenbroich, Belmen and Königshoven) it has become a synonym for strip mining in Germany.

In 1995 the administration approved the new mining region which is also known as Garzweiler II. This project started in 2006 and will continue until 2045. Other towns that are currently relocated or will be relocated in the coming years include Otzenrath, Spenrath, Holz, Pesch, Lützerath, Immerath, Borschemich, Berverath, Holzweiler, Keyenberg, Kuckum, Oberwestrich, Unterwestrich — some of which used to be part of our old cycling routes.

Looking at the unbelievable scope of this mining undertaking, I have to wonder how much time is left until all natural resources are used up. We really seem to live on borrowed time. Even if it might not affect our generation, it surely will become a problem for the following. I have read several times before that the natural oil-reserves will only last for about 40 more years at the current rate of (increasing) consumption. How much longer will coal and natural gas last?

Every time I visit Garzweiler it leaves me with mixed emotions. There first was the joy of riding a favorite cycling route, then it was followed by the sad and worrisome sight of what man has done to what once was a town and home to generations of people. But at the same time the grand scale of this operation, the equipment and the giant hole are very fascinating — perhaps a bit like visiting a different planet. This site is definitely one of the strangest, saddest and most thought-provoking, an impression that lasts during the whole way back.

The route starts at the Niers river Bridge toward Trietenbroich and Giesenkirchen Schelsen, leads through Schlich, Wallrath and Stessen. It continues to Muermeln and New Garzweiler to the strip mining site which is a rest spot and viewpoint with benches and tables. The route leads back from there via Herberath, Gierath back to Stessen. It continues east to Hemmerden toward Busch, Im Damm and Rubbelrath, Liedberg, Giesenkirchen and ends near Schloss Rheydt and Zwölf Morgen.

Like the other routes in Germany, this one includes some photos, too. However, you can probably find better pictures on Wikipedia here, here, here, or a panorama here.

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This route is short with about 27 kilometers and a nice and easy ride. I especially enjoyed the segments through Trietenbroich and Haus Horst, but it’s always nice to see the villages and rural areas as well, because you wouldn’t expect that they still belong to Mönchengladbach. Although I grew up in Mönchengladbach and spent most of my life there, this diversity still manages to surprise me — it is one of the most enjoyable features of these nine stages around the city borders.

Coming next: Cycling around Baltimore Stages 1-1024. Just kidding :) Although it would be nice to learn more about all the different areas of Baltimore some day. In the next few days I will have a few other routes in Korschenbroich, Neuss/Rhine, Waldniel, Garzweiler and along the Niers river, all accompanied with photos — and after that I will continue with my bike-logs. Eventually I want to put together some longer routes and snap some pictures on the way. This would be a weekend or multi-weekend project.

I hope you enjoyed this route and the previous stages. Here are the links to Google Maps & Earth:

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This route is about 32 kilometers and like all the other routes a very easy, pleasant ride through fields, smaller, quiet villages and the countryside of Mönchengladbach. There is nothing spectacular or sensational about this route, but it’s very soothing and relaxing, and a nice way to get out of the noise, stress and pollution of the city when you feel like you need a break.

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