Health is not valued till sickness comes. (T. Fuller)

These places are the most intriguing locations to visit. Each hospital, institution, or rest home has experienced so much pain, love, fear, and other primal emotions. Walking their hallways often feels heavy with history, and the equipment left behind shows a whole other level of care, that could make you shiver. I do not see or feel ghosts, but if they do exist…I am sure that these are the places they would haunt. But strangely enough, nature seems to find her way into almost all these magnificent buildings, decorating the many windows and arches, giving them a sense of calm. That, in combination with long corridors, stunning light and beautiful decay makes them my favourite type of locations to explore.

Every kind of service necessary to the public good becomes honorable by being necessary. (Albert Schweitzer)

We often take buildings used for public services for granted. They are just there to fulfil our needs. But I have experienced that once these places are truly forgotten, time gives them their own voice. You find little silent stories everywhere you look. In children’s drawings, old maps on the walls, and rooms filled with schoolbooks. In spas you still find robes hanging in changing rooms, treatment tables and relaxing chairs. Over the years I have visited many old schools, swimming pools and spas and every time they take my breath away.

Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe. (Saint Augustine)

Visiting a house of God often makes me feel humble, so I always enter them with the respect they deserve. Just imagine being there in the middle of an empty church aware of all the things its past visitors hoped, longed, and prayed for. Seeing the light coming through stained glass windows, heavy acoustics piercing the constant silence, statues with sad faces looking down at you, and a cold tingling feeling making its way up your spine. It is difficult to explain in words. Maybe you just must experience it. 

A house is made of brick and mortar, but a home is made by the people who live there. (M.K. Soni)

Stepping into an abandoned house feels like stepping into somebody’s life. Somebody lived here, collected items, decorated the walls, and created memories. Rooms still filled with personal items that give you clues as to who lived here before. Toys in nurseries that seem to have frozen the child’s age in time. War memorabilia that still shows the great losses homeowners endured. Stern faced pictures of loved ones that seem to follow your every step. All these once cherished items make my mind wonder, what happened here, why was everything just left in a hurry, what is the story behind it all?

What is right is what is left when everything is wrong. (Robin Williams)

Some of my experiences don’t fit into a box. But together, they are a box of their own. Special sites, moments, and memories which are too good not to share. I have visited hundreds of places over the years, some being more “up my alley” then the next. But in every location I get to explore, I try to find scenes that somehow fit my personal style. Here you can find those gems, hidden in locations that you would not expect them to be