The division of Europe by the Iron Curtain has left deep scars on societies and landscapes. To this day, the history of confrontation characterises the coexistence of people in the border regions. Even more than 35 years after the opening of the Iron Curtain, there is still a lack of a cross-border culture of remembrance in many places. The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and Russia’s isolation from the rest of Europe bring back memories of the time of division. Old and new tensions are putting relations between neighbouring states to the test. While some border regions have been making great efforts towards cross-border cooperation for decades, other borders are closing again. What remains are the cross-border connections between people.

As a journalist, I am fascinated by how historical events and current developments affect everyday life in border regions and what challenges, but also opportunities, this presents for the future. I am exploring these topics as part of a journalistic cycling tour. In 2025 and 2026, I plan to cycle the Iron Curtain Trail from north to south, from Kirkenes on the Norwegian-Russian border to Rezovo at the Black Sea on the Turkish-Bulgarian border. The focus is not on the sportive challenge of covering over 10,000 kilometres, but on meeting the people who live, work, and get involved in the border regions along the former Iron Curtain. 

In the first part of my project, I will cycle from Kirkenes via Helsinki, Tallinn, and Riga to Klaipeda and the Russian-Lithuanian border on the Curonian Spit from June to mid-August 2025.

Political developments in recent years have led to some borders that were opened after the fall of the Iron Curtain to being closed again. For example, I will only be able to research the Finnish-Russian border from the Finnish side. I will adapt my research questions here to current political developments. 

The aim of my reports and interviews is on the one hand to analyse the history of the division of Europe during the Cold War and its impact on people and societies.  On the other hand, I want to analyse the effects of current political developments on the everyday lives of people in the border regions. The current living situation of people who have to cope with life far away from the urban centres will also be examined. The cultural diversity of the border regions will also be an interesting aspect. I would like to have as many conversations as possible with people who live in the border region. I am also planning interviews with experts from the fields of science, politics, society and culture on the issues outlined above.

Key to my plan is that I will be travelling the entire route by bike. Cycling is my mode of transport of choice because it allows me to have more direct contact with the people, the landscape, the surroundings, and the respective culture. I know from my last trip that cycling opens doors for me and people are more likely to engage in conversation than if I travelled by car. For me, cycling is also a statement in favour of a sustainable lifestyle.

I have been living as a freelance journalist in Helmstedt for over 30 years, a region strongly characterised by the former inner-German division. The proximity to the former border, which has developed from a death strip to a lifeline, today’s ‘Green Belt‘, has awakened my interest in the people and the changes along former borders. In 2019, I walked along the entire Green Belt and documented people’s stories in the book ‘Grenzenlos – Begegnungen am Grünen Band’ (Borderless – Encounters along the Green Belt). Even back then, I was aware that the former inner-German border –1,393 kilometres from the border triangle near Hof to the Baltic Sea beach on Priwall – was part of the so-called Iron Curtain. This was the name given to the dividing line between the communist countries in the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence and the democratic countries in Europe that were more orientated towards the USA – from the Barents Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south.

Although I was increasingly interested in the topic of borders, I had not yet dared to venture onto the Iron Curtain Trail, which leads over 10,000 kilometres through more than 20 European countries. Instead, I spent a summer cycling along the German-Polish border. Here, too, I was able to combine my interest in people, my journalistic work, and my passion for travelling in a climate-neutral way. The result was the book ‘Grenzraum – Begegnungen an Oder und Neiße’. The focus of both of these previous projects was the shared history in a common cultural area, the different cultures of remembrance, and cooperation across borders.

With this experience, I am now tackling the big ‘Iron Curtain’ project. In view of current developments, I may be a few years too late. I will not be able to travel across borders in Norway and Finland. There will be no interview partners on the Russian side. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the threat to Russia’s western neighbours, a new Iron Curtain seems to be descending in parts of Europe. In Finland and Norway, the border crossings to Russia have been closed and the borders are being secured. In Northern Europe, the Green Belt project with its many contacts between Norwegian and Finnish nature conservation organisations and Russian partners is on ice. Nobody knows whether it will ever get going again.

Nevertheless, I will start in Kirkenes (Norway) in June with the destination ‘Black Sea’. My main route will be the Iron Curtain Trail, which is also known as the European long-distance cycle route EuroVelo 13. However, not all of my interview partners live directly on the EV 13, so I will also be taking a few detours. My first milestone in summer 2025 will be the Lithuanian-Russian border on the Curonian Spit.