The first ride in what feels like a month of lifetimes finds me heading west to Ireland, dusting off the trusty GS in order to explore the Wild Atlantic Way. Reason for the trip? Just fancied a ride worth strapping the panniers on for now that the racing’s done, and Dublin’s almost £200 cheaper by boat than Liverpool. Time for something new.
Tag Archive for Olympus
Urbex
REIMAHG facility, Thüringen
On a recent visit to Germany I was pointed in the direction of an interesting third reich ruin: the REIMAHG facility near Kahla. Like nearby Lehesten, this was another case of the Nazis using forced labour to construct technologically advanced weapons towards the end of the war, imposing tremendous cruelty and suffering on their captive slaves in the process.
Urbex
Walter’s Winter Wonderland
The former holiday retreat of East Germany’s great granddaddy and the man who built the Berlin Wall lies in ruins just meters from a famous winter sports track, yet it’s history is far from benign, testament that when it comes to greed, corruption, misappropriation of public funds and even murder, capitalism has plenty of competition from the East. What better way to break up the drive through Winter Wonderland?
Motorcycling
Costa Brava Cruising, Spain
Motorcycling
Slumming it in the South of France
Motorcycling
Trails and Tribulations in Tende
Motorcycling
Chamonix via the Auvergne
Photography, Urbex
Tempelhof Airport, Berlin
When Albert Speer, Architect of the Third Reich, drew plans for Hitler’s »Welthauptstadt« he had no idea he was about to create a collection of time capsules on par with those of London, Paris, or Rome – cities whose historical significance he sought to eclipse by creating a new World Capital. And they say Germans have no sense of irony …
Urbex
Bajan Helicopters, Barbados
Another fascinating tale of Caribbean corruption, studded with gallery-class photos and backed up by dozens of creditable sources? Hardly. Just another sad story of a once thriving business now gathering turds and weeds in one of the world’s most popular holiday capitals. Probably safe to say this one’s off the cruise tourist circuit.
Photography
Stasi Correctional Facility, Hohenschönhausen
In 1960 my grandfather was abducted by Communist secret police for speaking out against the state. Locked away in a correctional facility that didn’t exist, in a district that wasn’t on any maps, regular people who gave voice to popular opinion were methodically tortured and in some cases killed by civil servants in the name of democracy. Fast-forward 53 years and I’m standing in a cell with my camera, trying not to believe what a former inmate is trying to tell me.