In order for something to score highly on the #kindnessandingenuity scale, it needs to be kind as well as ingenious. And “kindness” in this context can include a desire to educate or reach or bring together a wider audience.
Which brings us to the European Route of Industrial Heritage.
This project has a brilliant design that allows it to start and succeed small, but still have very large ambitions. [Please excuse the slightly stilted English, I have been reading too many translated-from-the-German web sites and it is catching – D.]
As the organisers say, “From its very beginning, industrialisation has crossed borders – it was never a purely national phenomenon.” So while celebrating ingenuity, the ERIH also brings out the way that new ideas crossed Europe and ignored boundaries. See here for more details.
This resonates with our thoughts while cycling down the Danube last year, that country borders may come and go driven by all sorts of political/war-like whims, but the people and their work go on regardless.
Sid was first introduced to the ERIH by a fellow Danube cyclist last year, and it has inspired some of the key route decisions and several of our visits this year. A worthy contender.