Some like to call it the ‘Iron Curtain Trail’, a bicycle route running from the top of the Russian-Finnish border to the Black Sea.
However, in the German parts there is a distinct reluctance to name the route in such a fashion. Every now and then, you may come across signs like this:
But they are quite rare. Instead, you may find the ‘Green Belt Route’.
Why the reluctance? German unity has always been a problem, as Engels analysed carefully in the 1880s. So no need to exacerbate differences. Another reason is that citizens of the former DDR object to the demonisation of their country by such a name. I would add that the author of the phrase ‘iron curtain’ was an extreme racist.
A far better name would be the ‘Anti-Fascist Route’. The reason: the border was in parts described in the same terms, representing a visible line preventing for a time NATO forces from moving further east.
And yes, we are currently riding the German part of the route, with the aim of riding most of the DDR’s border.
