Archives for “tour” tag

This park began life in East Berlin in the late 1960s as Kulturpark Plänterwald, the GDR’s only amusement park. it was privatized after the wall fell.

Then came a rather turbulent period involving bankruptcy, drug smuggling and imprisonment (really, I am not making this up!). Since its closing in 2001 the park has been a favorite target for urban explorers eager to claim bragging rights or take surreal photos of rotting fiberglass dinosaurs, overgrown roller coasters or comically mustachioed heads that in simpler times served as fun cars. And the only way to get in was to break in.

Perhaps the family that owns the place finally realized there was no stopping the marauders and it was time to make a little money off them. Tours were intermittent for a while but it looks like they are scheduled regularly. A cafe has even been opened in the park in recent months, perhaps a good sign that this place might soon undergo a much needed renovation. Even the Bimmelbahn (park train) is up and operating, subject to frequent malfunctions, though that is something Berliners are learning to live with.

Tours (€15, pp) meet every Saturday and Sunday at 13:00, prior registration is required. The park can be reached from S-bahnhof Treptower park. Walk all the way to the end of the park, past the Zenner Biergarten and in the woods to the right you’ll find a fence for the park. You can find the main entrance in the forest.

Berlin offers a plethora of guided tours to visitors and locals, both paid and for free. One of my favourite tour operators are Berliner Unterwelten (Berlin underworlds), who take you beneath the surface of Berlin, quite literally. From their headquarter near Humboldthain, they offer tours of either the interior of nearby World War Two-flak bunker or take you on a “Cold War”-tour through two atom bunkers from the 70s located in two subway station; and also multiple other specialised tours around Berlin.

What’s interesting about these tours is that Berliner Unterwelten is also dedicated to the preservation of the sights – all proceeds from the tours go to renovation and preservation of the places visited by the tours, which had been painstakingly cleared of rubble and renovated by the association members, who all work as volunteers and are not paid. So with taking a tour with Unterwelten, you not only learn about the history of Berlin but also help to preserve that memory for others.