Tour Report: Sanatorium J. [Revisit]

It feels weird looking back and writing about a visit to this place that happened almost two years ago. So much has happened there in the past two months, and I don't know if I (or anyone for that matter) will ever be able to set foot in this building under the same conditions that we had over the past years.
On the other hand, it does feel good remembering these days and evenings that we spent up there with good friends, good stories, good food - and yes, we may have also had the occasional alcoholic beverage...but back to the story!

On the way to visit our friend Jens at the Sanatorium J., my friend Pixelcracker and I had already explored two abandoned hotels - one we had planned, and one we hadn't.
After the second explore, we got back to the car and drove to the grocery store on the way to get some beer, liquor and food to cater for our hunger and thirst once we'd arrived at "The Mountain"...

As it turned out, we didn't even have to get food. There already were a couple of friends already up on the campsite preparing a nice wild boar goulash. Of course, we were only told after we'd bought what felt like half of the store's beef reserves...
Anyway, as we arrived, it was still afternoon and the sun was still up, so after the first beer, we decided to go for a quick walk through the old sanatorium to catch some of that beautiful late afternoon sun oozing slowly into the rooms and hallways of the venerable old building...

After our first session, we returned to the campfire to quench our thirst. Over the talks that developed, I almost forgot that I wanted to try and catch the building from the outside just before the sun finally set - but I managed to get two quick shots that I think came our pretty well.
The night went on, and there were so many great people up on that mountain, the evening was spectacularly cool!
I especially remember sharing a bunch of stories with my friend PixelYakuza.
And I remember that something exploded...
At some point, the bottle of Jack was empty - but Pixelcracker and I had planned another photo session inside the old hospital, so at about midnight, we grabbed our photo gear and tried our best getting some night shots of the place.
Despite the lateness of the hour and our alcohol level, a few of the shots turned out pretty good. We had a tour planned for the next morning, so after the nightly excursion, it was time to go back to the RV and go to sleep.


To check out all the photos from this magnificent place and to find out about its history, click the button below.

Tour Report: Hotel "Rosary"

This abandoned hotel was a totally accidental find and became the second spot on my tour with Pixelcracker in October of 2017. We had just left the first location and were walking back towards the car. I was about to light a cigarette, when we spotted a building that did look a bit abandoned. Don't ask me what made me look, but after some years of exploring, you don't even have to be explicitly looking for something, but you find it anyway ;)
It was another hotel. The sign out front looked dirty, the lawn hadn't been cut in some time, and the facade had seen better days. But all the windows were intact, there was no obvious way in. We were in a bit of a hurry because we still had a bit to drive to our destination and we wanted to get some groceries before driving up to the mountain.
But we took the time to check a little more, and we found an open window.
Once inside, we were surprised. The overall condition of the hotel was really good. There was almost no visible decay or vandalism. It was obvious that some "interior decorators" had been there before us and possibly some stuff had already been stolen, but it did look pretty good.
And that was also my problem. I really don't like spots in pristine condition. I gotta have decay, mold, rust, flakes, stains - and this place didn't have that.
Of course, I did take some photos, it was an accidental find and there was no vandalism - these things made this a successful explore, but the spot itself wasn't really spectacular.
At the time, we decided not to explore the second building adjacent to the first one because the hour was getting late, but later I saw that there was a pretty neat pool area that we'd missed...
Well, next time :)


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

Tour Report: Hotel "Teddybear"

I had heard stories of angry neighbors calling the police as soon as you enter this place - but when I got to visit this abandoned hotel on a spontaneous tour together with my friend Pixelcracker in October of 2017, everything went smoothly.
Only two days earlier, we had decided to go for a three-day tour in Pixelcracker's RV. I called my friend Jens if it was possible to park the RV on his premises for the two nights we planned to stay, and he was okay with that. The next evening, I packed my gear, loaded the batteries, and the next morning, I met with Pixelcracker for a weekend of adventure!
We had decided for the abandoned hotel as our first location because it was conveniently on the way, so we wouldn't have to take a long detour and be in the camp in time for barbecue. Additionally, the place seemed to be a pretty safe bet to gain access - aside from the horror stories about the neighbors.
Before we arrived, we took our time to study the area on Google Earth to find a way to approach the building without looking too suspicious - preferably we'd not be seen at all by any neighbors. But that task seemed impossible to accomplish, because the hotel lies right at the end of a street in a densely populated residential area...
We had to "disguise" ourselves as tourists to blend in. We parked the RV a long way off, took our backpacks and started making our way towards the old hotel. The weather was really nice, so we probably did look like some tourists going for a hike. We took the longer way that didn't lead straight to the hotel, but enabled us to approach the building through the forest without being seen by the next-door neighbors.
It took us some time to find a way in, but we eventually made it and found a really nice place. Of course - many "interior decorators" have taken care that almost no furniture is left in its original place, but surprisingly enough, the vandalism hadn't really started at that point in time.
We took our time checking every single room and taking photos. We must have spent about three hours in there before climbing back out and heading towards the car.

I hadn't even lit my "post-exploration cigarette" when I spotted something...

...but that'll be a story for the next report :)


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