Tour Report: Castle V.

The "V." in this case stands for a different place than in "Maison V." - just to avoid a mix-up here ;)

I'd checked this old castle out twice before, and both times, there was no chance of getting in. There is an association trying to rejuventate this place that is starting to fall apart more rapidly every year. A friend of mine contacted them to ask if there was the possibility of gettng permission to take photos inside, but his request was declined with the answer that they already have a photographer taking photos of the place.

Anyway, this was my third try, and there still was no possibility of gaining access to take a look at the interior of this beautiful abandoned Tudor-style castle.

After walking around the building three times, we decided to just take some outside shots. The weather was really good, so a couple of good photos came out before we drove off to the final spot of the day - an abandoned garrison of the Soviet forces in Germany...

To find out more about the history of this li'l ol' place and to check out all the photos from this spot, click the button below.

Tour Report: Maison V.

I have to apologize for not posting for so long. My wife and I were on our summer vacation. 10 days, almost 3.000 kilomters of driving and exploring a lot of locations together - some even accompanied by my mother-in-law. But those are stories for some other time, since with my tour reports I've not even reached the end of last year's summer vacation, so we I have to pick up where I left off in my last post a little more than two weeks ago.

After arriving at our friend's house where we were going to stay for two nights, we had a nice barbeque together and a little of a housewarming party - our friend had just moved into the house about two weeks before.
The next morning, we had a good breakfast before we left for our tour of the day.
The first spot we had planned was an abandoned neo-baroque mansion that had been built in the early 1900s after the original estate house burned down.
When we got to the place, it was obvious that renovation had begun at some point. We had a short talk with the neighbors who were nice, but told us that the owner probably wouldn't allow us to take photos. We walked around the building and found a broken window on a side that was out of sight from anyone, so we quickly jumped in.
It quickly became clear that the renovation had stopped for quite some time. The amount of animal droppings on the walkways was a strong indication that no workers had been in there for some years.

We explored the entire building and after we got out, took some shots in the park and went back to the car. As we were packing, the neighbors left in their care and gave u a friendly wave as they drove off.


To find out more about the history of this li'l ol' place and to check out all the photos from this spot, click the button below.

Tour Report: Soviet Airfield S.

It's no secret that I am really a fan of the Soviet relics you can find in Eastern Germany, so whenever I get the chance, I have to check them out. My wife isn't too much into all the military stuff, but she is fond of a nice walk in the park, so to speak, so when the opportunity arose for a quick stop at this abandoned Soviet airfield on the way up North towards the end of last years summer vacation, of course we took it.
The weather was great, but as a lot of times in these locations, parking was a bit of a problem. There were no regular parking places, so we just parked in an industrial area near a junkyard and a dog training area. There were a bunch of obscure-looking people around, but the attraction of the airfield was bigger that our desire for security.
The parking spot we chose offered direct access to the old airfield. We didn't have too much time since we still had a couple of hundred kilometers to go to our friend's place, so we quickly went and we only checked out a couple of buildings and the two large hangars.
The hangars were really cool, because there are only the carcasses of rusty steel and rotting wood left.
I hop that we will have the chance to come back and check out the rest of this huge place.


To find out more about the history of this li'l ol' place and to check out all the photos from this spot, click the button below.

Tour Report: Spa Hotel B.

It was the morning my wife and I were going to leave the Harz mountains to drive North and visit a friend of ours - and maybe some nice spots on the way.
Walking through town the day before, we had discovered the ruin of an abandoned hotel. Part of this hotel had been burned down and demolished about two years earlier, but the other part was still standing, so we decided to take a look the following morning before we left.
Getting on the premises was easy enough - just jump over the fence. Exploring the pool and spa area and the first couple of rooms was easy as well; there was an open door just by the side of the building.
Getting to the hotel's remaining rooms proved to be the hard part. The way led around the back part of the building which was right next to another road with a parking lot of another hotel. And everyone seemed to be leaving RIGHT THAT MOMENT, so we ducked in the bushes to wait till all those people had left. But they didn't; they just stood around their cars and kept talking. At some point, a couple of people left, but others came out - coffee still in hand...
After about 30 minutes of waiting, my wife didn't want to wait any longer and went back to our car, whereas I got tired of waiting as well, but chose to just be blunt and walk past all the people under the assumption that no one would be bothered if I just acted naturally. And I was right, I reached an open back door unchecked and undisturbed and was able to complete my mission.
Unfortunately, the staircase was in the torn-down part of the hotel, so it's only photos from the first floor...


To find out more about the history of this li'l ol' place and to check out all the photos from this spot, click the button below.

Tour Report: Sanatorium J.

It was our (I think) fifth visit to the old sanatorium. It was after all the last full day we were going to spend in the Harz mountains this time, and although we had visited Jens a couple of days earlier just to say Hi, we had decided to drop by again.
Jens has become a friend over the years, and it's always really nice to see him, share stories over coffee or beer and go for a little stroll through the hallways of the old sanatorium.
This time was no different. We stayed much longer than we had originally planned, but since we didn't have any other spots to go or places to be that day, we really enjoyed the evening up in the forests high in the mountains.
We regretfully left when it got dark because we had reservations for dinner. It was actually too bad, because we could have stayed for a nice barbecue.
But this is a thing we will make uop for in only a couple of days, when my wife and I will be staying at the sanatorium for two days next week to meet up with Jens again and to see what more secrets the Harz mountains have in store fore us before we drive further East for this year's summer vacation.


To find out more about the history of this li'l ol' place and to check out all the photos from this spot, click the button below.