#21: [12-Aug-24]

#20: [11-Aug-23]

#17: [30-Jun-19]

#19: [14-Jun-19]

#16: [10-May-18]

#15: [22-Aug-14]

#18: [21-Jun-14]

#14: [13-May-11]

#13: [10-Jun-10]

#12: [19-Jan-10]

#11: [02-Mar-09]

#10: [07-Dec-07]

#9: [07-Oct-07]

#7: [05-May-05]

#6: [22-Jul-04]

#5: [23-Jun-04]

#4: [30-May-04]

#3: [27-Oct-01]

#2: [24-Feb-01]

#8: [18-Jul-05] (incomplete)

#1: [07-Mar-00] (incomplete)

07-Jun-2025 -- We visited this confluence point on our long hike from Portugal to Singapore on day number 102 after having hiked 3751 km.

On Wikipedia, the top line under Arnstein reads: "The town is home to Germany’s only intersection of a principal latitude and longitude line." This refers to the point where the 50°N latitude and 10°E longitude cross—a spot I call a Hyper-Confluence. Worldwide, there are only 17×36 + 2 = 614 such points, with about a third lying in water, leaving roughly 200 on land. Germany has just this one, which we visited today. It sits 4 km outside Arnstein in a field, accessible between crop rows without damaging the plants. The town erected a small sandstone monument with a globe 200 meters from the actual point.

Exactly 20 years and one month ago, Guang and I stood here. The point has changed far less than we have...

Today’s hike took us through the gently rolling countryside between the Spessart and Steigerwald regions—a patchwork of farmland and small woods. We followed mostly field paths or bike trails, passing through 10 villages. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: None of these villages have grocery stores anymore. At best, larger towns have supermarkets on the outskirts. As hikers, we’re acutely aware of how infrastructure has shifted to cater to cars. Detours are now necessary to reach Aldi, Lidl, or Rewe in their sprawling parking-lot kingdoms. Today was no exception: we crossed an industrial zone’s vast lot just to place two loaves of bread on a checkout belt, then ate lunch on the roadside grass. Back in the 1980s, when I cycled through these areas, such megastores didn’t exist. Every village center had a small grocery—no internet needed to find one.

CP visit details:

• Time at the CP: 9:11 AM
• Distance to a road: 220 m
• Distance to a track: 200 m
• Topography: mostly flat
• Minimal distance according to GPS: 0 m
• Position accuracy at the CP: 5 m
• GPS height: 295 m
• Vegetation: agricultural field, clover.
• Weather: overcast, 14° C (felt temperature)
• Specialities: A monument 200m from the confluence.
• Given Name: The Autobahn Confluence

You are very welcome to visit my blog of the long hike. If you want to see where I am currently hiking, you can find my daily update on Polarsteps.