The Project

Proceed with Caution is a collaborative project from ambience enthusiast Valentin Jann and procrastinating creative, Rachael Greyhound. Using audio, poetry, prose and music, the project takes a multimedia approach to travel writing in Corona times.

In Winter 2020, Valentin and I will be locked down in a van, journeying across Germany.

Media

Text and audio will always be a winning combination for us. Valentin’s interests lie in ambient field recordings and soundscapes; and mine in spoken word poetry, podcasting and radio drama.

Proceed with Caution prioritises no singular medium. Recording audio blogs and ambience of every day life in the van, alongside our more traditional travel writing content, we aim to provide an immersive escape from the mundanity of life during lockdown.

Motivation

Valentin and I met travelling (he won a Guinness-related bet and mercilessly made me hop back to the hostel with my shoes tied together.) Travel is something we both love to do and have had to do, juggling a long-distance relationship between Germany and UK. Although there’s a grim satisfaction in surviving the 24-hour Flixbus from London to Munich, we’ve been there, done that and got the bus hair.

In winter 2020, we’ll finally be in the same bus at the same time. It’s been three years since we’ve done something like this, and with Brexit and COVID-19, we couldn’t have picked a better time…

With the pandemic comes an unpredictable route, a way of travelling we haven’t experienced before. Writing and recording along the way, I think this will be a much needed escape from our deskbound lifestyles, giving us time together, and for me, a chance to write about what I love – people and cultures.

The Journey

Valentin and I will begin our journey in Munich, Germany on November 12. 2020. Our first leg takes us through the Black Forest, journeying through northern Germany towards the Ostsee. From there we will cross over into the UK, destination: Scotland.

Check the journey tracker to find out where we now!