I remember this factory from my early childhood. We used to live close to it with my mum and the smell of malt was almost daily for us. I still don't know whether I hate or love the smell but nowadays it definitely stirs up memories of five-year-old child's everlasting days full of miracles. Sadly, in September 2009, the last bottle of beer was produced and the factory became just an empty shell without its characteristic rhythm, smell and soundscape. Inside its walls the time has stopped and the year 2009 haunts all over the place.
As Jonahi told before, we spent pretty exciting moments climbing over the ice-cold and slippery fence with fatal spikes pointing towards us. This operation, which also included borrowed ladders and a massive tub full of ice, turned out to be completely unnecessary since afterwards we found a walk-through entrance to the factory. Well, it was kind of fun anyway and good practice for the adventures to come!
First we found a room with a pile of folders full of invites, bills and other documents which had belonged to the "foremen's club" of the factory. We sat on the floor and browsed through a folder after folder immersing ourselves in the world of brewers' bosses couple of decades ago - apparently it was a world of get-togethers, art exhibitions, karaoke, summer expeditions and drinking loads of beer, of course. Knowing about the upcoming layoffs it made me a little bit sad for all the ordinary employees whose world it never was. On the other hand all those invites with cheerful greetings and word-processing program's "clip art" graphics (which were a big thing when I was in an elementary school!) were quite entertaining.
After that we began to wander around the factory both together and alone. There was so many different floors. corridors, rooms and dead-ends that sometimes when I was alone, I could hear my friends were close, but still had no idea how to find my way to them. And sometimes I couldn't hear them at all. Some of the rooms had new winged residents who caused me shivers when suddenly flapping from a dark corner towards me. There was a countless number of pigeon bones and feathers on the floor and I felt like opening an window for those who where endlessly flying towards it. But the windows were very high, close to the roof, and I could only watch their desperate attempt to find the way out of the labyrinth.
Many of the walls had gaps opening to the outside world where exciting structures and roofs were tempting to climb on them. There was a mysterious window on the other side of one roof and I couldn't find any inside way to it. So I spent a while considering whether I should take a risk and climb there or just leave it. Common sense won because my hands were numb from the coldness, the roof was buried under snow and ice and it was impossible to see in which condition it was. Good decision, I guess, but still it bothers me what was behind that window! I hope it was just an empty room full of pigeon poo.
