Our favourite city walks and experiences around the world
A day spent in Katowice is a day well spent – particularly if you like stunning Socialist Modernism, monumental high rises and coal. In this article, I briefly document episodes from the rich post-war architectural heritage of Upper Silesia. I visited Katowice on a tantrum. I had already been to Krakow for a few days… Read More
You’re a ghost on the highway And I’ll love you forever Ghost Highway by Mazzy Star The derelict station at the corner of Melton St. and Drummond St. is partially hidden behind construction fencing. The craftmanship on display is worth a closer look : purple red sang-de-boeuf terracotta tiles cover the boarded up ticket hall.… Read More
Aluminium of Greece (AL) was launched in 1960 as a joint venture between the government of Greece and an industrial conglomerate led by the historic French firm Pechiney, a world leader in aluminium manufacturing. As a result, the first aluminium production facility in the country opened on the northern coast of the Corinthian Gulf in… Read More
Agios Dimitrios, (often referred to with its pre-1928 name, Brahami) is one of the most densely populated suburbs of Athens – a density that’s comparable to that of Cairo, or Seoul. The typical expedience and maladministration that characterised post-war Greece has left its indelible mark in the suburb’s architecture: its arbitrarily arranged streets define pocket… Read More
go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here, obedient to their laws, we lie Spartan epitaph at Thermopylae Modernist austerity meets Spartan rigour in a Greek memorial cemetery like no other The new city of Sparta was founded in 1834 at the behest of Otto, the Bavarian prince who became the first King of… Read More
“Blue hotelOn a lonely highwayBlue hotelLife don’t work out my way” Blue Hotel (1986) by Chris Isaac An unassuming old motel next to a motorway outside Athens is an almost forgotten Brutalist gem with a glorious past. In its heyday, the main motorway linking the greater metropolitan area of Athens to the city of Corinth… Read More
“So many coincidences for the untrammelled fulfilment of a death so clearly foretold.” Gabriel Garcia Marques, Chronicle of a Death Foretold The tall, ghostly tower is a familiar sight at the waterfront industrial zone of Patras, Greece. Visible from the 6 lane motorway upon entering the city from the west, the Peiraiki-Patraiki tower is standing… Read More
“What the fuck are they gonna do with all these tubes? What the hell do they need all these tubes for? Should we perhaps carry the oceans inside all these tubes?” from the song Tubes by Lost Bodies *You’re welcome to expand this article by submitting your photo and description to explore@explorabilia.co.uk Let there be… Read More
“Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it.” Cormac McCarthy, The Road There were no other cars but ours on the long, abandoned motorway to Pripyat. The last living souls we’d seen were the last chance saloon keepers and armed guards at the Exclusion Zone Border about 15 miles ago.… Read More
Be a Socialist Modernism, Brutalism, and World War 2 history fanboy like I am. Be in Kyiv during wintertime, and with only 3 hours to spare. What would you do, and where would you even begin? Read More
Until recently, I was among those who believed they’d seen it all – and if you are too, please read on : This is one for the initiated, and might pleasantly surprise yet. Read More
I have been asked recently to reveal my top 5 places someone should be visiting in London in 2018. London is not just about the Big Ben (whose tower will be wrapped in scaffolding for another 3 years) or the Tower of London (I make some allowances, though, for those who like ravens), or even… Read More
“…emerging through a cloud of fumes, the Hayward Gallery rose up on its giant insect-like legs, dust and debris crumbling around it, water from the severed pipes and electric cables crackling in the darkness below. Then a primal roar sounded from the building’s massive ventilation shafts, the sound of a concrete and steel beast, rising… Read More
A poignant and thought-provoking walk around London’s East End Read More
Tales of darkness and mystery with a renowned vampirologist in Paris Read More
Out and about a Belgian city marked with post-industrial decay Read More
