Holiday

[lothissen]

Hi Everyone,

I've just got back from a holiday to poland and the ukraine. I stayed in Kracow and Kiev, visited Auschwitz- Birkenau (not really a holiday spot but eye opening) and went on a day trip to Chernobyl and Pripyat (again eye opening), it's amazing what happens to a city when people stop living in it. There was a bomb scare before one of our flights and a 3-way car crash on the way back to kracow from katowice airport (no one was hurt), so it was eventful to say the least!

I took lots of pictures (some HDR) which i'll be posting soon if anyone want them for research, refernence or 3D.

[clintonman]

Glad you had a good time. Looking forward to your vacation picts.

[froo]

Glad you made it back safe lothissen! Looking forward to the pictures. Thanks!

Froo

[jamesmc]

An interesting itinerary.

Did something similar when I took a German history course in Germany, back in the day, but it was only in Germany(memorials, Checkpoint Charlie, concentration camps and France (Maginot line, Verdun.)

Hope the photos came out well and you can share them here.

[marcel]

We find buried bombs every day in france. Most are from the First World War. Maybe because they were unreliable and that many do not explode (?). When I was young I found shelter Underground with helmets and weapons. It was fascinating for children but also dangerous.
About Chernobyl: it is unbelievable that the vegetation and animals have returned and are more prosperous than before the disaster. To believe that the presence of the man was still worse than the radio activity that is always present.

[bitkar]

nice... I would like to visit czernobyl too. but it seems crowded. I had discussion about a trip with my friends. I like such abandoned places. It has to have great atmosphere.

[lothissen]

Hi All,

Tried compling the HDR pics last night. Some have come out blury beacause i didn't have a tripod and it only take a small change in position over 3 pictures to create a problem. They could still be good for lighting, just not using in the background.

bitkar: Chernobly is croweded, 1000 people still work there! Pripyat is deserted though, quite spooky and worth a visit. There are points where thr guide take you though a jumble of bushes and trees to find a huge building like a school that's been over grown.

Marcel: I have a friend who found a Grenede in Belgium and brought it home only to find it was still live! He had to defuse it in his kitchen!

I've just got to change the pics from RAW to JPEG so i can post them, might take a while. Might set up a flickr account to post them all on too.

[bitkar]

There are points where thr guide take you though a jumble of bushes and trees to find a huge building like a school that's been over grown.

I heard (and saw video where a measurments was taken) that locations outside of main roads (which are decontaminated) are still pretty radioactive. Even 1 meter from road the difference is quite big and bushes, grass and trees off the main roads are pretty dangerous. Its said its not recomended to stay there for a long time. Did your guide has something for radioactivity measuring?

[lothissen]

There are points where thr guide take you though a jumble of bushes and trees to find a huge building like a school that's been over grown.

I heard (and saw video where a measurments was taken) that locations outside of main roads (which are decontaminated) are still pretty radioactive. Even 1 meter from road the difference is quite big and bushes, grass and trees off the main roads are pretty dangerous. Its said its not recomended to stay there for a long time. Did your guide has something for radioactivity measuring?

They all have Geiger-counters, they click like mad near the main reactor. Away from there it's not as bad, you still wouldn't want to live there though. The town of Chernobyl is miles away from the power station, that's where a lot of the workers stay. Not sure how long they stay there though.

[lothissen]

The holiday pics are up, but not the HDR pic yet:

http://s980.photobucket.com/home/lothissen" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;