Urban exploration, or “urbex” for short, is “the exploration of manmade structures, usually abandoned ruins or hidden components of the built environment.” It’s really the abandoned or hidden aspects which are the draw. Urbex is often technically considered trespassing, though enforcement varies. I enjoy urbex to see the devolution of a built space over time and to envision what that space was like in its heyday. There is often a melancholic or haunting feeling inside an abandoned and decayed structure. One can also get a nostalgic or even romantic sensation of a bygone era, with the evocative aesthetic of impermanence and deterioration. There is a sense of adventure as well, not only of re-discovery, but also of risk.
I’m quite drawn to urbex, and I’ve had plenty of opportunities for exploration of abandoned man-made places in the past years, such as old Yugoslavian military tunnels on the island of Murter in Croatia (see blog post from 2021), flooded houses and businesses in Asheville after Helene, crumbling Soviet-era buildings in Europe and the Caucuses, and both an old ironworks factory and a former Soviet military base outside of Prague. And because abandoned spaces continue to evolve over time, one can visit again later and find that a built environment has changed in interesting ways.
One source of more popular urbex sites is my favorite offbeat travel source, Atlas Obscura. Here’s an example article about the now-abandoned Children’s Railway in Yerevan, Armenia.
There’s actually an urbex Meetup group in Prague! Someone else generously figures out the details and invites folks in the group to come along for some fun exploration (while urging compliance with local laws, of course).
Enjoy the gallery below of photos from a sampling of various abandoned places I’ve visited (select an image to enlarge):
Today’s adult dad joke:
Some might say that I’m a bit too urbexually active, exploring places I probably shouldn’t!
Today’s music videos:
With this year’s big life reset, I’ve lately found myself sometimes gravitating back to music I listened to as a late teenager. One band important to me in the summer of 1990, when living with my aunt and uncle, and working at the King’s Dominion amusement park north of Richmond, Virginia, was Death Angel. Their Act III album was released that year, and I played the cassette tape in my Chevy Spectrum on the way to and from work, perhaps every work day for those few months. Death Angel is a thrash metal band, and their fast-paced but varying tunes kept me awake during the long drives back at night in the dark. Many years later I saw the band perform live in Asheville and got to meet the lead singer after the show — he and I commiserated on the passage of time. 🤣 Act III is to this day one of my all-time favorite albums, and it’s never gotten old. And listening to it now takes me back to memories of that summer of 1990, when I happily got to hang out with my only aunt, uncle, and two young cousins – how nice of them to host me!!
As a related aside, during part of the summer I dated a girl across the street, and her parents seemed to be quite religious. So I would have to imagine that they weren’t overly impressed when this teenaged guy their daughter was dating told them that his current favorite bands were Death Angel, Suicidal Tendencies, and Faith No More! Geez, I didn’t consider the audience when I told that truth! 🤭
I share with you below two music videos from Death Angel. The first is perhaps the “softest” song the band has released (it’s from Act III), and the second is from their debut album from 1987, when all members of this Filipino-American band were just teenagers! The drummer was only 14 when the album was recorded. Super-impressive!
Today’s Stoic quote:
“Begin at once to live, and count each day as a separate life.” ~ Seneca
