Military bunker, Tampere, Finland

Visited 1.6.2014 by skkye. The road to this old military bunker goes through a beautiful forest. I remember seeing two gorgeous black woodpeckers playing together before we went into the bunker. My friend had been there before and he said usually the door is strictly closed but on that day we were lucky and it was magically opened.

The contrast between the sunny forest full of birdsong and the cold, wet and pitch-dark bunker was huge. The voice of our steps echoed from the stone walls when we walked deep inside the bunker. Every now and then we met a doorway with a heavy bomb shelter door and stepped in. I couldn't help thinking about someone walking silently behind us and locking all the iron doors. We didn't know if there was any other way out, our cell phones didn't work underground and there was no point to shout for help. I felt restless and uneasy - the bunker is so unnatural place for human being.
   I was also concerned about breathing. What if there wasn't enough oxygen or some poisonous gas was leaking from somewhere? I tried my best to relax and concentrate taking photos but at some point it was just too much for me and I kind of freaked out. "I can't breath, here is no oxygen, we have to go out!" Going outside and seeing sunlight made me feel better and after many deep breaths we retried exploring the whole bunker. I'm happy about our persistence since the most interesting finds were in the end of the bunker. There was for example postcards from radio stations all over the world, over twenty years old poster of generals and a secret passage outdoors.

Gold mine buildings, Pirkanmaa, Finland (Part 3)

After sympathetic wooden buildings we moved on towards not-so-cosy concrete walls. The contrast was enormous. Pitch-dark, empty and bleak rooms looked like old dungeons - there was even bars on windows. I couldn't figure out the purpose of them. In the rooms were only a little stuff inside, for examble a grocery cart and scaffoldings. I found the atmosphere desolate, maybe because I have very similar photos from a concentration camp.
   The floor of the highest building was half-filled with greenish water. There was a road made from decayed planks leading to a mysterious door. I was so curious about it I took a risk and walked to it. Planks were slippery and sinking under my feet and I felt there was so much mold in the air it was dangerous even to breathe. At the same time the roof was so beautiful with all the color hues of stone and snow-white mold dripstones. It reminded me of the universe. Behind the door was endless darkness and immeasurable deep drop. I never learned what was hiding there.
   After gloomy concrete buildings the light outside felt almost too bright. We went back to the tower and wondered birch trees with bloody leaves. I've never seen a plant disease like that so in my mind it strengthened the enigmatic ambiance of the place. When we walked outside we noticed saw dumbed child-size swim fins and a hand-made hanging in the bush. Another story which will stay unsolved.

Gold mine buildings, Pirkanmaa, Finland (Part 2)

First time I spotted this place was on our school trip to the forest nearby. Warning sings proclaiming "dangerous area", deteriorated buildings and nature slowly overwhelming the area were so tempting I couldn't get this place out of my mind. Two weeks later we packed our rucksacks and drove there. It was late spring and I remember picking spruce sprouts on our way.
   Getting to the area was easy. Instead of driving away warning signs usually work as an invite for me. I have noticed that "Do not enter" can be translated as "There is something interesting that you really, really need to see". This place wasn't an exception.
   The first thing we went to see was a tower which was inhabited by a jackdaw community. We spent some time trying to figure out how to climb up safely but all the ways were blocked and I didn't want to take any risks. So we didn't disturb jackdaws' peaceful life this time.
   Some of the buildings had become sooty because of fire and in many rooms floor or roof was half'-decayed and there was no chance to walk on it. The most well-preserved building had a turquoise roof and beautiful oblique light coming from the windows near the roofline. Somebody had drawn expressive faces on the walls to guard the place. Rusty lines over the sinks next to the blue ceramic tile made an impression of an American flag.