March 16, 2024

Tour Report: The School of Roses

From the car graveyard, we drove west parallel to the border, until we reached the next spot on our map - an abandoned "efterskolen" (boarding school). We didn't really have any expectations, since we only knew that the school had been closed for a couple of years. As we arrived, we saw that part of the premises is being used by a catering service, so we couldn't just roam around without asking.
So that's what we did.
We knocked on the door of the catering service. It took a while, but eventually, someone answered the door. We explained where we were from and asked if we could take a look at the old school. They told us that some buildings were unlocked, and that we were allowed to check those out. They didn't allow us to enter the buildings that were locked, becuase they apparently were being used for storage and other things.
So we took our time and walked around the premises.
The parts of the school that were open where almost completely ampty and without real decay, so it wasn't as spectacular as we'd hoped - but from the outside, the buildings looked really nice - espcially when the rain clouds came and were lit by the afternoon sun.
We still had one more location to check out, so we kept this visit short and drove further west...


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March 10, 2024

Tour Report: Volvo's Graveyard

On a cold November morning in 2019, we embarked on a tour to Denmark to explore a couple of abandoned places together with our good friend "Lost Places in Schleswig-Holstein und Umland".
The first spot we had on our map for the day was right behind the border, so we only had to drive a little more than an hour from our hometown to get there.
The site is a plot of land with around 30 to 40 old vehicles - mainly Volvos, but also other makes. We don't know for sure whether it is the property of a collector, a mechanic or perhaps even a former car dealer. Rumor has it that someone comes to check on things from time to time, but when we were there, it was just us. Nevertheless, a few vehicle tracks on the driveway showed that a car stops there at least once in a while.
The plot is right next to a housing estate, but is almost completely surrounded by trees, so we were able to move around unseen. We just had to park a little further away so as not to attract attention. Fortunately, there was a public parking lot not too far away.
Once on the site, we took our time to look at everything. There is a small hut and a caravan, but they were locked. There were also some remains of walls that indicated that several small buildings once stood here - but as I said, we were unable to find out more about the history of the site, so we would have to speculate at this point.
The cars were not classic cars in the original sense, although one or two models are certainly considered "classics" by fans and collectors.
I don't know much about cars, but I assume that most of the models on the lot are from the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.
We even found one or two Volkswagens (even if there wasn't much left of them), which was surprising in this location, but probably not unusual - however, the tandem bike did seem a little out of place.
We probably spent a good hour and a half at the car graveyard. Then we made our way to the next location we had on our list - an abandoned school, so stay tuned!


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February 27, 2024

Tour Report: Bunker "L36"

In November 2019, I received a tip that one of the remaining high-rise bunkers from the Second World War in my home town was open. Apparently someone - presumably a city employee who had checked the condition - had not properly relocked the thick padlock.
So I set off after work. It was raining heavily and my wife was kind enough to drive me the short distance and then wait for me in the parking lot. The bunker is in the middle of a residential area, so I was able to operate under cover of darkness without being seen.
The door was indeed open, and the lock was only hanging loosely in front of it - but in such a way that it was not immediately visible, which is probably why nobody had noticed it.
Through the steel door, I got inside the massive building.
The basement was completely under water, so I couldn't enter it. The condition inside is not good. The British occupying forces had blown up the bunker after the war - but from the inside, so that the massive outer walls remained standing and the residential buildings in the vicinity were not affected.
On the pictures you can see what the detonation did inside: Stairs have collapsed, walls are full of holes and the thick reinforced concrete ceilings are hanging down in pieces. All in all, the picture was somewhat surreal.
For safety reasons, I didn't venture too far into the upper floors. What's more, after about 15 minutes I came across bats that had apparently chosen the bunker as their winter quarters.
This was the time for me to retreat, as I respect the bat protection period and leave buildings as soon as it becomes clear that they are a bat hibernation site.
The excursion was very interesting, because you don't get to see bunkers this big from the Second World War every day - especially not if they are in a dangerous condition.

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





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