A Dance on the Rubbles of the Abandoned Blub Water Park

A Dance on the Rubbles of the Abandoned Blub Water Park

One year after the burning down of the Blub, the coolest water park Berlin ever had  that was shut down in 2005, this cute music video, “The Ballad of Shelley and Hamza”, is bound to bring back memories both to those who used to have fun at the water slides in the 80s and 90s, as well as to us who visited it when it was already abandoned. “The Ballad of Shelley and Hamza” tells the story of two people, who, on their way to find themselves, they found each other; It is an entirely imagined, unconventional cross-continental love song about 2 friends from university, performed by James McBreen and recorded on a boat on the River Spree. In the music video, the two performers dance all over the abandoned place and through their moves they bring it back to life. Coincidentally, it was filmed only 2 weeks before Blub was burnt down last July. It’s a collaborative project between Overland Originals and Kopper Kollektiv, both Berlin-based creative production companies. The dancers, Berlin-based Samuel Olatidoye from Italy and Natalie Deryn Johnson from New York, met only 10 minutes before they started filming, James told us, but looks like they managed to find their common rhythm pretty fast.

Read on…

Berlin’s Lost Places: Blub

Berlin’s Lost Places: Blub

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.

Read on…

Running Free in Abandoned Places of Berlin

Running Free in Abandoned Places of Berlin

Today I would like to show you another cool Berlin video that shows the city from its urban and rough side. Filmed by videographer Frank Sauer group of freerunners chase through some of the iconic abandoned buildings of Berlin such as the Beelitz asylum. They balance in dizzying heights, make air flips and walk up and down the walls as if there was no gravity. The light up the dark underground spaces with flares and bring colors to the old grey buildings with smoke bombs and Holi powder. It’s pretty impressive and fun to watch, enjoy some screen grabs and the video after the jump.

Read on…