Steffi and I went to the Duisburg city hall. Apparently time has stood still there, as they have a Paternoster lift still in use in the building! Paternoster lifts consist of a series of open compartments that move without stopping. To get on and off, you need to jump on very quickly to avoid getting squished! I suspect this would not pass health and safety regulations in most countries.
Photos of me
Soviet era apartment block
I’ve always had a fascination with how things worked in the Soviet Union. The massive attempts of economies of scale attempted by the Soviet Union are something rarely seen in the western world. I recently had the privilege of seeing inside an old school stereotypical Soviet era apartment block in Cluj-Napoca. There wasn’t much to see beyond a drab interior stairwell and an equally uninteresting building front. It did made me feel a little like being inside the old Soviet buildings in the Pripyat sections of “Call of Duty 4” though.
Unlike their western counterparts, the Soviets had less need to impress with their architectural skills and so this style of housing made a lot of sense. Cheap, well built accommodation which will last. Of course, the interior can be as nice as you want to make it,
Bush Flying Basics
I am now famous in the area of “plane landing in dodgy places photography”. The following snapshots are from a DVD called “Bush Flying Basics“, an instructional video for teaching pilots how to land in places where they probably shouldn’t be trying. They used a photo from here on my blog of Poolburn reservoir as an example of smooth ice you can land on. If you happen to have the DVD, you can see it at the 28 mins and 50 second mark 🙂