Archive for the ‘Dan’ tag
Einslife! (Part Two)
December 2009
Enter ins Deutschland. Home of leather shorts, big sausages and Radio Einslife. We arrived in the dark, having drank copious amounts of Blue Chimay and eaten dried apricots. Chris put up with us in the car on the way to St Josefsheim, where we walked in through the front door. Wilkommen ins Deutschland indeed. In the mostly enclosed courtyard, we could finally use our firewood. We found a little wheelbarrow and cooked sausages, onions, peppers and mushrooms. They were delicious.
Home Fires Burning, 2007-2010
The desire of explorers to conquer local derelict sites is always strong. Like a dog pisses on walls to mark its territory, explorers become expert at their local sites to gain early credibility. Reading isn’t exactly a haven of exploration. Aside from Station Hill’s 80s urban wonders, there is little else in Reading aside from an outdoor swimming pool and some office blocks. Construction comes and goes, there is the usual crap such as nursing homes and hostels, but the bottom line is, Reading doesn’t really draw explorers in.
Kinky Paris – Feb 2010
Les Carrieres de Paris, the Catacombs, l’ossuaire municipal , the Catas, whatever you want to call them, they’ve been on the scene for years. Take the official tour along with the other quarter of a million others who do each year, see the bones, hear the story, emerge into the sunlight after an hour to shoot to le Louvre or la Tour Eiffel. Catas done, tick the box, au revoir.
Aside from the official tour, there are around 180km of catacombs that are not open to the public. Guarded by a group of ‘Cataflics’, the punishment for getting caught is a €60 fine and a slap on the wrist. Hence, the Cataphiles exist. A clandestine group of urban cavers, explorers, artists, graffers, partygoers and adventurers, the weekend sees the catas become a bustling hive of activity.
Einslife! (Part One) – Dec 2009
Its sometimes the things that we don’t take photos of that we remember best. My first European adventure in August 2008 ended with us being requested to leave Berlin. One abiding memory of it was the farewells at the end when we went our separate ways, and the feeling is isolation sitting in my car on my own, after a week in the almost complete presence of my fellow explorers.
Memories of this trip that haven’t been captured on film or digital include being chased away from the Buchallee Weißensee Sauglings und Kinder Krankenhaus by a man who told us that you mustn’t run from dogs because they will chase you, and the dog will chase you because it lives there and it’s her land. The calls of ‘Einslife!’ after hearing it announced on the radio soon after arriving in Germany, the bitter cold of Beelitz and the hype of the early rise with the morning light.