News: Strava Art sometimes takes on strange traits. Active Strava users know this all too well. But what British Strava artist Gary Cordery has created to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall is one of a kind - a giant image of the famous fraternal kiss between Erich Honecker and Mikhail Gorbachev.
A kiss that sealed the end of the wall
As was customary at the time of the Iron Curtain, the political leaders of the Eastern Bloc also came together to celebrate the 40th birthday of the GDR in October 1989. The meeting of the de facto ruler of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev and East German head of state Erich Honecker that year was particularly fateful.
The reason: the public fraternal kiss between the two politicians. Spicy, while Honecker was more of a hardliner, Gorbachev was seen as a reformer who triggered the peaceful revolution in Eastern Europe. Ironically, a few days later, Honecker was removed from all offices and the Wall was history. It was November 9, 1989.
Strava Art with a double layer of meaning
This event, which marked the birth of today's borderless Europe, prompted Gary Cordery to digitally immortalize the fraternal kiss as a Strava artwork. To do this, the Briton cycled across Berlin for around 15 hours spread over three days. However, the choice of route is by no means random, as it even encounters well-known border crossings on its 100 km long course through the former East and West Berlin.
Including the Friedrichstraße station, Invalidenstraße and Oberbaumstraße – in the center of Checkpoint Charlie, where the lips of the heads of state approach. The brother's kiss is not only visually impressive, but on the level of meaning like hardly any other work of art it stands for the fact that freedom of movement can do a lot for the better, but unfortunately is not a matter of course.
The best Strava artworks
Of course, GPS art on Strava isn't always so meaningful. Here is a small selection of impressive and funny GPS artworks.
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