Radio Kootwijk

Radio Kootwijk is a weird place. Or rather, I think it doesn't really belong nor fit within the Netherlands. The photo above reminds me of something else entirely. A place where anomalies are detected by throwing nuts and bolts, while you can hear some Russian shouting in the distance.

It's an art deco building and imposing to say the least. Earning it the nicknames "the Cathedral" and "the Sphinx". Not that art deco is rare in the Netherlands, but to me this particular building also invokes brutalist vibes which are amplified due of its lonely location at the edge of a heath landscape. The combination of it all making it feel rather alien.

Actually, I can see this working as a good location for an escape room (escape building?) or maybe as the setting for a one-shot D&D adventure. Apparently, it was already featured in a film for such a purpose. Having visited it yesterday, I might return to it during a different season. Maybe its imposing stature will take on a different feel as the surrounding shrub land awakens.