Day 11: Energy project NY.PARIS.BERLIN

Long train rides at 5:00am. Neukolln to Berlin central to Hamburg to Emmerthal. A run and a hop and a hike. I am feeling particularly lucky this morning that it is two weeks into my project and I have a good handle on the train system and am able to speak a little bit more German while traveling around.

One of the hardest things I have had to fight with is the fact that the sun goes down at 4:00pm. I usually have 1-3 hours of hiking with equipment to find a spot that is close enough to the plant that there aren’t distracting elements, but far enough away that I can see the nuclear plant against the landscape. In the north of Germany it is mostly flatland and so I have accepted that the nuclear plant and I will stand together on common ground as opposed to the regularly glorified landscapes that are shot from above.

I did not anticipate that my walk to navigate the surroundings would put me right inside the gate of the power plant. The walk across the farmland, by houses and a large cemetery was interesting. Remnants of the recent nuclear protests included signs at the train station, on light posts and even some tattered banners that had blown away onto some private property nearby. Trees blocked the ideal spots to create the video and the one clear space was literally on the autobahn, a road in Germany with no speed limit. I had 30 minutes of light left and so I decided the autobahn was my only option. There was about 6 inches between the guardrail on the road and the side of a cliff. This is where i did my video… Each car driving by would rock the tripod violently and I had one chance to get it right.