On a Thursday night we decide to go in. Tijmen lived in the building and wants to find the blue chair he forgot during the removal.

The hospital is partially torn down. The cellars are covered with rubble. Windows and doors are locked, but after an easy climb around a door hanging partly in loose hinges, partly in thin air, we find the demolisher's entrance. It's unlocked.

Inside it's pretty much empty. Lots of rooms. We hope to find beds on wheels, but heavy dust is all there is. Tijmen does find his blue chair, which is amazing, considering the thorough emptying the place has witnessed.

We descend into the cellar where we find undefined machines. In the back there's an opening to a maintenance shaft. Tubes go all the way up. There's a ladder along them. In the roof there's a small opening, but not big enough for a person to go through.

We decide to take the stairs to the roof.

Though it's raining, the view is nice. We take pictures and descend. As we climb around the door, flashlights shine on us. We duck behind pieces of rubble, but it's too late. We're spotted.

The flashes of the camera and the torch must have drawn attention. Residents across the hospital have called the police, who in its turn expects to encounter a hit team of squatters.

Two policemen walk towards us although they can't see us. This would be the moment to run off to the gate on the other side. But no, we're too surprised to move. We stand up and greet them with a good evening.

An officer returns our good manners and asks to follow. We follow. An impressive reception of six cops and two police cars await us. Blue flashing lights circle around. Wow! are we on a crime scene or what?

The policemen take it seriously. We're searched. Keys, chewing gum, pens come out of the backpacks. So much for the crowbar. An officer shows slight astonishment when he finds the Olympus. Why the heck would someone take pictures of rubble, he thinks aloud. I don't answer, but next time I'll hand him this web address. That's why! After we're exposed as non-squatters, the cops let us go. Without a fine and without a registration. But with a story to boast about.

The next night Tijmen returns to the site to pick up his blue chair. He left it behind at the spot where we were discovered. For everyone interested: you can find it in the display window of his home at the Oosterkade.