Most things that are fun in Berlin come at a certain price. At least that’s what you would think! But in the spirit of something for everyone Berlin also has a lot to offer for those that have a bank statement with a lot of red numbers and a wallet that has only receipts instead of bills. We’ve all been there, you don’t need to justify yourself or feel bad about it if you spent your entire allowance at Berghain on the first weekend of the month.
Here at iHeartBerlin we have no judgement about your financial status and we still want to make sure you have the right amount of fun in the city. So we compiled a list of many activities that you can pursue in Berlin that are completely for free. Enjoy!
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by Frank | Events, Music, Stories, Theater
Sad news for urban explorers of Berlin. One of the most beloved abandoned places of the city has vanished. In the night of July 22nd 2016 the former public swimming pool and water park Blub in Neukölln burned down. The place was a popular spot for explorers, photographers and Instagrammers alike for years now, especially since it was one of the more easier ones to get into. Many abandoned places are heavily sealed off, or guarded by righteous neighbors or even security. But here you could basically just stroll in through an open fence.
I went there last year with a friend who is a born and raised Berliner and he still remembers going there to have some fun in the water as a kid. He was shocked to see the place abandoned, so vandalized and full of graffiti. Of course places that are so easily accessible also attract all kinds of shady people that want to let out some steam. There had been several fires over the past year, but the last one took down the main wooden constructions and tower which makes the place completely inaccessible and unsafe. It’s probably going to be torn down entirely soon now and new buildings are already planned to be constructed in its place. Such a shame, not just that this fun water park had to shut down business many years ago, but also that this amazing ruin is also vanishing now. Of course with the development of Berlin there is a lack of space, so all of our beloved abandoned places are endangered to but torn down for new constructions. Let’s hope we can keep a few of them as our urban playgrounds.
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by Frank | Photos, Stories
The blog Abandoned Berlin is the #1 source for urban explorers as it’s the most comprehensive archive of abandoned places in and around Berlin, with detailed descriptions of how to get inside and what the dangers might be; it also has a lot of information about the history of the places. For me the most interesting part of the blog are the comments where recent visitors of each place leave their updates on the current situations regarding safety and accessibility.
The founder of the blog, Ciarán Fahey, also released a book with his favorite photographs from the blog that we reviewed a while ago. Now we stumbled across a brand-new wonderful documentary short that filmmaker Jordi Busquets shot with Ciarán. It includes footage of some of the most stunning abandoned places of Berlin such as the Teufelsberg spy station, the Spreepark amusement park, the old Children’s Hospital nicknamed Zombie Hospital, the former Tempelhof Airport (actually the only one that’s not really abandoned as it’s a huge refugee camp and public park now) and the old airport in Johannisthal. In the video Ciarán tells the story of his passion for urban exploring and how he started his blog and also some info on the history of the featured places. A great inspiration for all urban explorers. Enjoy the video after the jump.
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by Frank | Videos
Mystical places like the spie station Teufelsberg and the old Spreepark ruin have always been big magnets for the city bringing in the adventurous types who like to discover forbidden places and reminders of Berlin’s history. The website Abandoned Berlin has dedicated itself to discover all of these forgotten places with lots of pictures, reviews and infos on how to get there and how to get inside. The project has now been turned into a book that celebrates its release this month at the local be.bra Verlag. We think the project is really amazing and would love to give you a sneak peak inside the book with some of its most haunting photographs. If you enjoy what you see you might want to visit the talk that author Ciaràn Fahey is giving on March 12 here in Berlin.
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by Frank | Books, Photos
