abandoned places Archives - Page 2 of 3

Soviet Architecture in Vilnius, Lithuania

November 25, 20152 Comments

While Vilnius, Lithuania is a destination known for its sprawling old town, abundance of churches, and quirky Užupis Republic, its well preserved examples of Soviet architecture is what enticed me most prior to our trip (and the shopping, but I’ve already written about that). I make no attempt at hiding my affinity for the style (if one can even call it a style…), and whenever I travel in the Eastern Bloc (which is almost every time I travel these days), I do some heavy scouting on what Soviet or Communist-era relics remain in my chosen destinations.

So, as a preface, let me say Vilnius is mostly known for things like this: Gediminas Hill, pretty. Read more

Feeling the Communist Fantasy in Skopje, Macedonia

November 5, 20152 Comments

One of the great parts of our most recent trip to the Balkans was that it pushed me out of my comfort zone. Normally when I travel I obsessively and compulsively project manage the living hell out of the whole thing. To the point where almost every minute of every day is accounted for in some way or another. I’d attribute this proclivity to my business training, but that’d be lying – I’ve been like this forever. But anyway, being that there was only a week between booking tickets and departing on this adventure, I didn’t have the time to plan everything. And thus, I didn’t realize when we left that we were destined to fall in love with Skopje, Macedonia.

I mean, what’s not to love about all of this quirky, Yugoslav-era, “communist” architecture?

Karosta, Latvia – The Baltic States’ Urbex Mecca

October 26, 2015Leave a comment

I am a fledgling urban explorer. Urban exploration, or urbex in shorthand, is the exploration of man-made structures, usually abandoned ruins or not usually seen components of the man-made environment. Photography and historical interest/documentation are heavily featured in the hobby and it may sometimes involve trespassing onto private property (thanks, Wikipedia!). Urbex is becoming more and more popular as a mainstream travel interest, evident by this year’s induction of cultural industrial complexes to UNESCO’s World Heritage list. Honeymoon Jpegs-384 Honeymoon Jpegs-397

My interest in urbex started with our visit to Chiatura in Georgia last year, and is largely intertwined with my interest in Soviet/Communist era brutal (and largely abandoned) architecture. The former Soviet states are an urban explorers dreams, with many former Soviet military and government buildings empty for the exploring. So when we (let’s be real, when I), started planning our Baltic Road Trip Honeymoon™, I knew urbex would figure prominently into our plans. You can read posts I’ve written on urbex in Estonia in Tallinn and in the nearby Lahemaa National Park. Read more

We’re Going to the Balkans…Day after Tomorrow!

October 9, 2015Leave a comment

Where to start? My life has been a crazy whirlwind the past two weeks and I want to tell you all about it. Where to start…

David and I got back from our honeymoon on September 12. On September 11, a random on Linkedin added me to his network, and I confirmed about midway through the week on September 16. Turns out, it was a recruiter, and I ran through about six rounds of interviews with a major company in Seattle, let’s call them…Ahab’s Tea…and last week (September 30) received a ridiculously generous offer from them.

October 1, I put in notice with my current job, with my last day being Friday, October 9. Also October 1, I confirmed with Ahab’s Tea that I would start on October 22.

So…I know what you’re thinking – there’s a 12 day gap between those two dates. We’re taking a trip – looked around for cheap(ish) airfares, and landed on a trip overland, starting in Pristina, Kosovo, through Macedonia, and into Bulgaria.

Here’s what I’m most excited about, and what I’m reading to get me excited: Prizren o6.01.2010- Read more

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Abandoned Beauties of Lahemaa National Park, Estonia

October 2, 20156 Comments

On the first day of our road trip honeymoon through the Baltics (after leaving Tallinn, that is), David and I had quite a day planned – heading first to Lahemaa National Park, then on to Haapsalu before ending up A frame camping on Saaremaa.

Getting on the road: Off to Lahemaa National Park!

Lahemaa National Park, about 90 minutes east of Tallinn, is known for its natural beauty, which was actually of secondary interest to David and myself. We were there primarily to see some abandoned structures – Kolga Manor and the Hara Submarine Pen. Read more

Getting out of Old Town in Tallinn, Estonia

September 18, 20158 Comments

There is no question that Old Town has a lot to offer any tourist – from backpacker to cruiser just in port for the day. We arrived in Tallinn at the end of Summer, still in the height of the tourist season. And while all of Tallinn travel can be rewarding, we found the true gems to be outside the UNESCO-listed Old Town.

View of St. Nicholas Church from Toompea Hill.

Church and Monastery Fatigue in Armenia – Sevan and Dilijan

July 31, 2015Leave a comment

By our final day in Armenia, David and I were sick and tired. I don’t mean that figuratively. We were both actually sick and developing a tolerance for expired Russian Theraflu, and tired from sleeping on 1 thread count sheets in our “hotel” (a generous assessment if there ever was one) in Yerevan.

Ts'tesutyoon, Yerevan. — Ts’tesutyoon, Yerevan.

Top 5 Urbex Destinations of the Moment

July 26, 2015Leave a comment

I am a relative noob to the world of Urbex, but where I lack in experience, I make up for in time spent in internet K-holes. I’ve already built quite a list of places I’m keen on tresspassing – here are the five that are currently top of mind. Or, rather, the five that are currently living in my pipe dreams – I don’t have immediate plans to visit any of the places on this list, though I’m thinking that may have to change in the near future (especially looking at the Eastern Balkans…)

1) Gunkanjima/Hashima, Nagasaki, Japan

Forget Kyoto, Go to Nagasaki – 4 Reasons to Visit Now

July 22, 2015Leave a comment

Japan is the first place I ever traveled independently, and I devoted a significant portion of my life to the study of the place. I have lived in the country on three non-consecutive occasions, in and around the major tourist meccas of Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka. And while I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve neglected Tokyo in my various Japanese travels, I am fairly well versed of everything South and West of it .

There's more to see than just the Atomic Bomb Memorial — There’s more to see than just the Atomic Bomb Memorial

July’s 5 Travel Obsessions

July 18, 2015Leave a comment

I have written about my predilection for falling down rabbit holes before – see Chiatura, Georgia, what remains one of the highlights of David and my trip to the South Caucasus last winter. I fall down them all the time, so I thought it could be fun to keep track of my brain’s eccentric wanderings in the universe of travel. Especially now that I’m attempting to devote more time to working on this blog, I am becoming aware of more things to wrap my mind around than ever before. SO, here goes:

Hungarian Seccesionist Architecture, Subotica, Serbia

The synagogue in Subotica, Serbia - a prime example of Hungarian secessionist architecture. — The synagogue in Subotica, Serbia – a prime example of Hungarian secessionist architecture.

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