Abandoned Berlin: Exploring Spreepark

Given the task by Urban Outfitters, I started my mission of photo documenting abandoned places around Berlin. The adventure started by taking the S-Bahn to Treptower Park, and walking through the park, finding the way to the fence enclosing the abandoned theme park, Spreepark. The excitement kicked in upon seeing some empty rail tracks and discarded carts, knowing we'd reached the park. The next step was entering. My exploring companion scaled the fence flawlessly, dropping to the other side with ease. However, my attempt was not so graceful, losing my strength and balance at the top causing the skin of my hand and fabric of my leggings to catch the spikes and tear as I fell back down. Luckily my next attempt was a success, as I found a small gap under a gate that I was able to shuffle underneath, and run off into the park.

We were greeted by a dirty, graffiti ridden tea cups ride, with the control box to the side completely smashed up. You really get the sense of how the place was once used, but now left empty. We continued along a path, trying to keep quiet as we took photos of the twin swan boats, and came across little caricatured cars. We decided it'd be best not to use the official pathways, as we knew guards liked to roam around looking for trespassers like us, so we made our way through the shrubs and bushes coming across a huge broken hall, and catching our first glimpse of the huge ferris wheel.

Out of the bushes led to what was once a river, with mechanical devices still planted to the ground. We assumed this may have been the swan boat ride, as the cogs in the ground were all linked to one another, and must have been used to pull the boats along. We dropped down into the empty crevice, and crept along the side of the wall. A loud, distorted creaking was coming from around the corner, and we could make out the ferris wheel was very slowly and eerily moving. After peeking round and making sure no one was about, we walked over to the big wheel which was encased by another fence with a sign reading 'MORTAL DANGER'. The carriages were tagged with spray paint and again you could sense how this ride was once full of life and fun, and now just rocking slowly in the wind. Next to the wheel was a huge wooden boat, washed up and broken. This was maybe the real ride for the river.

I stepped round to the other side of the boat to be greeted by a little old man on a red bicycle. His words were repeatedly "Kein problem!" (no problem). He took our hands and helped us up out of the empty river bed and asked us if we had any ID. My first instinct was to say no as I'd fell for the trap of giving ID previously and resulted in a fine. He led us round to the exit, letting us stop and take photos of things we passed along the way. We then made our way round to the security area, where we were welcomed by three other guards and two very excitable dogs, one being an adorable husky puppy. They were incredibly friendly, and said they needed some form of identification or they'd have to call the police. At that point of course we gave in, and they offered us coffee whilst taking our details down saying, "The first time is no problem. But a second time, big problem." and then they guided us out. We were very tempted to hop back in and go in the opposite direction to see the rest of the park but didn't want to risk getting caught again straight away. It was a real shame as we were both excited to see the broken dinosaurs and roller coaster tracks, but maybe I can head back one day in the future in try a little better to be more discrete!

All in all I'd say it's worth a visit, but don't attempt to go over the fence unless you are an experienced climber or have good upper body strength. I, of course, lack in both. It was a very interesting visit despite being short lived, and I hope one day I can return.

See the post by Urban Outfitters here.