Vampire Dugout in Archaeology

In November 2008 I went with writer Andrew Curry to Flanders, Belgium to document the site of an underground World War I tunnel.  Buried under a potato field for 90 years, the shelter, called Vampire Dugout, was intended to house British soldiers during battle, but was abandoned shortly before completion in 1918 because of changing conditions on the Western front.  It was covered and left to fill up with water and mud, which preserved its interior so well that even candle smoke was visible on the beams supporting the ceiling.  

The weekend we visited was the last chance to view the dugout before it was allowed to fill up again.  However, you can pick up a copy of the July/August issue of Archaeology magazine, put out by the Archaeological Institute of America, you can read Andrew's article (abstract here) and check out the photos I took if you want to see it for yourself!

Gothic Wave

This past weekend I spent some time in Leipzig photographing the Wave Gothic Festival, which annually attracts 30,000 Goth-clad visitors from around the globe.  The Local, a website for German news in English, published the article I wrote and a photo essay.  

"Offbeat Berlin"

Back in April, writer/editor Jessica Dorrance and I took a field trip off Berlin's beaten path to find out what else there is to do in the Hauptstadt.  An urban farm for kids, a set of city mascots, a decaying GDR-era amusement park and seven more.  Her list of unsung sights can be found here!

New Photos at Expatica.com

Head over to the Expatica Germany site to see photos of mine taken for an article on the Dada Post, a fresh new gallery located in an old fish smokehouse north of Berlin.  Curated by artists Howard McCalabb and Lou Andrea Savoir, the gallery just finished up its inaugural show called Youth Cult, which featured work by experienced young artists from around the world.  

Expatica is web-based news source aimed at foreign nationals living around Europe.  In the coming months I'll be contributing more to the site and will keep you posted as new features appear!

Flumserberg, Switzerland

At the end of January I went to visit a friend in Switzerland with two other friends, where we went skiing and hiking in the Alps.  The country is of course known for its charm, called "urchig" in Swiss German, as well as its cheese, fondue, yodelling, chocolate, and banking.  

U-Bahn Catacombs

Before Erin left, we rode the rails and took photos of Underground stations. Some for their color, others for their ornamentation.  Train stations in Berlin range from stark monotones to arched iron homages to the age of industrialization.  With the first lines opening in 1902, the train system underwent several waves of construction, taking place before 1913, between 1923-1930 and, after a rebuilding period, from 1953 on.  Today the underground system is 151.7 km in length.  The earlier lines (U1-4) have a smaller gague than later lines (U5-9), necessitating two different train dimensions, Kleinprofil and Großprofil.  

Currently, an additional line is being constructed between Alexander Platz, Pariser Platz and the Hauptbahnhof (central station), with a stop at the Bundestag (parliament).  This "U55/U5 project is technologically challenging, passing beneath the city's main architectural treasure house of buildings and through sandy soils with a very high water table."  Meanwhile, last summer, the Deutscher Oper held performances of "The Magic Flute" in U-Bundestag and completion on the rest of the stub is projected for 2020.

An image of the 1902 "Stammstrecke" between the Warschauer Bridge and Zoo:

Image courtesy of VernebeltPinguin under an Attribution/ShareAlike Creative Commons license.  

Sophie Calle

At an installation of Sophie Calle's pieces Où et Quand? Berck and Où et Quand? Lourdes at Arendt & Partner on Checkpoint Charlie.  In them, she toys with the idea of handing over your fate to someone else, in this case a psychic, who directs her future by consulting cards.  As a result of Calle's expeditions, she creates detailed logs of travel arrangements, impressions, souvenirs in an attempt at juxtaposing, "documentation and invention, fact and fiction, reality and show."

War on Terror - The Game

What have I been up to?  Why, Terrorism for one!

"WAR ON TERROR, THE BOARDGAME: It's got suicide bombers, political kidnaps and intercontinental war.  It's got filthy propaganda, rampant paranoia and secret treaties and the Axis of Evil  is a spinner in the middle of the board."  In short, it's everything you need to start a world war in the comfort of your living room.  

Never before has curbing your values elicited such a thrill!

June Bar

Wing