Shambala

I lock up my transportation in a dimly lit car park which is tinted a dirty orange from the street lights above. Adding it to the sea of bicycles I glance away only to instantly lose track of it. It has now become a murky shadow in an interconnected and all-encompassing ad hock bicycle sculpture. A monument to the Dutch bicycle revolutionaries of the 1970s. As I pad myself down checking for keys and switching various items from pockets to bag and bag to pockets I wonder if the lock is necessary. Although my bike is remarkably quite fast and surprisingly stylish it is at least 40 years old, it has one brake and one gear. What remains of the second brake has been tired on half way down the frame. It would certainly not be a good choice for a thief! As my awareness shifts to my destination I’m met by the unrelenting brick structure of a huge disused warehouse. The architectural style is unmistakably that of the industrial revolution period. It towers upwards towards the cold dark sky with a brutal permanence that only buildings of this era possess. A relict to a time of unimaginable industrial growth and expansion. A time of revolutionaries, empires and huge great machines that ran on fire and water. Inside the air is thick, damp and warm, artistic projections tower three or four stories up the bare brick walls showing all manor achieve footage, cult films clips and documentaries. Unlike other night life scenes here the vibe is more artistic and delicate. Alongside distinctive Berlin techno someone plays a saxophone and another girl sings softly in German. The crowd is a mixture of artists, European Law students and young professional. They switch languages mid conversation. There is art on display around the room, there is a free CD exchange, clothes swap and in the day time there are workshops and seminars to learn from one another but more than that, this feels genuine. I've been invited into a family. We are revolutionaries reclaiming urban spaces that were once reserved for storing goods but now alive with people reconnecting and taking control of their community. This is why I travel because each person you meet and each invitation you accept is an opportunity to live a life as if it were a dream. I ended up in this city because of friends and because of strangers, those who travel and who say jump on a train come to another country with me I don’t know what we will do but it will be an adventure. I couldn't live any other way.