Tour Report: Farmhouse "Oldtimer"

It was our 2019 Christmas tour - and what great Christmas presents we received that day!

Together with my mother and mother-in-law, we went on a little day trip to Denmark. I had been given a few tips on very interesting and promising locations that we really wanted to see - but we had no idea what to expect.

The first location we went to was an abandoned farmhouse about 250 kilometers from our hometown. According to the information, there were supposed to be “a few old cars” there.

As is so often the case in Denmark, the house was in the middle of the countryside, so there was no public parking lot nearby. Parking “inconspicuously” a little further away also seemed pointless, as four people with photographic equipment walking along a lonely backcountry road in Denmark on Boxing Day would have been conspicuous in any case.

So we opted for the audacious option and parked directly in the driveway. As soon as we parked, we spotted a sky-blue old Opel Olympia Rekord from the 1950s - so it was a very promising start.

When we turned the corner to get to the two barns, we were in for another surprise: there were several Volvos in various stages of disrepair in the yard - including cars from the PV and Amazon series - as well as a Mercedes Coupe from the W123 series.

But that was by no means the end of the story.

We entered the first of two barns. It was full of Volvos. So full, in fact, that it was almost impossible to move around inside, making it difficult to take photos.

The models were exclusively from the PV and Amazon series - a total of more than ten vehicles, some of which were in surprisingly good condition.

The second barn was even bigger. When we entered it, we were greeted by a huge amount of scrap metal. This was also mostly car parts, but also building materials as well as motorcycles, bicycles and parts thereof.

We also found “several” classic cars in this barn - the highlight was a Mercedes from the 170 series, presumably a 170DS, of which only just under 13,000 were built between 1952 and 1953.

We found another Mercedes from this series, or rather the rest of it, which was barely recognizable as such, a little further back in the barn - next to a BMW 2000CS, an NSU Prinz and other cars. We couldn't even photograph some of the cars as they were buried under too much garbage and material.

In total, we found around 30 classic cars on the property - an incredible collection!

The farmhouse itself was locked and apparently completely empty, so we were able to make our way directly to the next location after enjoying the sight of the rusty beauties once more.

At that second location, more vintage cars were waiting for us...so stay tuned!

To check out all the photos from this amazing place, click the button below.

Tour Report:Air-Raid Shelter "Monument"

In December 2019, a good friend asked me if I would like to accompany him on a special excursion to Hamburg that night. His plan was to climb into the world's largest Bismarck memorial to take photos of the air-raid shelters underneath.

Of course, this was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.

It was planned that the renovation work, which had already been decided upon, would begin only about two months later - and that would probably mean that any further attempt in the future would be futile.

So we set off in the evening. About an hour later, we reached the park where the Bismarck monument has been located since 1906.

We found a parking space nearby and set off with our equipment.

The monument was surrounded by a wall of wooden panels in preparation for the upcoming restoration. However, there was an opening that we were able to squeeze through. And apparently not just us, because behind the passageway we discovered a small “tent city” of homeless people who were using this reasonably sheltered spot as a place to stay.

We had to climb a few steps to reach the base of the memorial, where the air-raid shelters were built using 2000 tons of concrete during the Second World War.

There was a metal door in the floor. To our surprise, it was not locked and could be opened easily.

Inside, a wooden staircase led down. Below the statue is a conical room about 15 meters high, surrounded by eight smaller rooms. This inner structure originally served to ventilate the monument.

We had to climb a few steps to reach the base of the memorial, where the air-raid shelters were built using 2000 tons of concrete during the Second World War.

There was a metal door in the floor. To our surprise, it was not locked and could be opened easily.

Inside, a wooden staircase led down. Below the statue is a conical room about 15 meters high, surrounded by eight smaller rooms. This inner structure originally served to ventilate the monument.

The interior contains murals, including coats of arms and a swastika as a sun wheel, as well as quotes from Bismarck in Gothic script that have been taken out of context. These murals were created in the course of converting the memorial into an air-raid shelter.

After a good hour, we had explored all areas of the monument and our photo tour was over.

This was a very special exploration for me, not only because of the historical significance of the memorial, but also because of the fact that it is a memorial that has been converted into an air raid shelter!

Disclaimer:

The depiction of any prohibited symbols in this article is for historical documentation purposes only!

To find out about the history of the place and to check out all the photos, click the button below.

Tour Report: Cultural Center "X"

This abandoned socialist event hall, or "Club House", was the final location on our tour through eastern Germany during our vacation in November 2019. We had seen the impressive building a couple of times before, as a highway runs right next to the site.

From the highway, we could already see that the neoclassical building was no longer in good shape - there were no windows to be seen and the building was covered in graffiti. So we didn't have high hopes, but we didn't want to miss the chance to take a look anyway.

We parked our car in a "parking lot" a little way behind the building. Presumably this was the former access road or parking lot of the cultural center - now it was used by a few truck drivers to take a nap. So we parked between a few trucks and didn't attract any attention.

There was no fence around the building, there were no signs warning us not to enter, and we quickly found an open door.
As expected, we were greeted by walls covered in graffiti. Unfortunately, they weren't even particularly artistic, but the typical "teenage graffiti". Nevertheless, we were impressed. The main hall of the former "clubhouse" was huge! There was a revolving stage, and in the early 2000s, various levels of concrete were added when plans were made to convert the building into a large disco - a plan that was never finally realized.

These concrete levels gave the main room (and other areas) a very modern and, in combination with the graffiti, somehow surreal appearance.
We climbed the many stairs to take photos from different angles. I admit: I got a little queasy when I moved around on the concrete floors built high up in the room - without railings...

But in the end, everything went well and we were able to complete our exploration without any casualties ;)

To find out about the history of the place and to check out all the photos, click the button below.