Two weeks after our visit to the abandoned children's home at the end of January 2021, winter still had a firm grip on northern Germany. Temperatures remained well below freezing, and the landscape was still covered by a blanket of snow.
Just like two weeks earlier, the sky was a brilliant blue, and we spontaneously decided to head out for another exploration. We weren't in the mood for a long drive, so we looked for places that were relatively close to home.
We eventually settled on two destinations: an abandoned hotel - and an old brickworks that we had already explored back in the summer of 2013. We wanted to see how different it would look in the middle of winter.
The hotel was our first stop. It had once been one of the best-known hotels in the region and had welcomed several famous guests over the years, including King Juan Carlos of Spain. Following a fire in 2013, the hotel closed its doors for good.
After breakfast, we set off and reached the hotel after driving about 60 kilometres, a journey of roughly 45 minutes. A short distance away, we found a small public parking area where we could leave the car and begin our exploration without attracting any attention.
It was obvious that the property had once been secured. However, by the time we visited, all the construction fencing had been pulled down and was lying on the ground. Only a few boarded-up windows and doors remained. Around the back of the building, we found a door standing wide open, which gave us easy access to the hotel.
As always, I had done some research beforehand. Based on numerous reports of vandalism and the photos we had already seen, we didn't expect very much from this location.
Our low expectations proved to be well founded. The vandals had certainly left their mark. Broken windows, smashed furniture, ripped-out doors, destroyed interiors, and the remains of parties held inside the building shaped almost every room we entered.
The hotel itself was enormous, and we spent most of our time searching for areas that were still worth photographing. Fortunately, there were still a few.
Unfortunately, places like this often change very quickly. Vandalism tends to spread so rapidly that natural decay hardly has the chance to take over. That was exactly the case here, and it is clearly reflected in the photographs. There was very little genuine decay to be found.
We did manage to capture a handful of worthwhile scenes, but many of the rooms were simply empty or heavily damaged.
Towards the end of our visit, we explored the basement. Even before we reached it, we noticed a strong smell of solvents in the air. Downstairs, we came across two people busy decorating the walls with fresh graffiti. We decided not to get involved, turned around, and headed back to the car.
To find out more about the history and to check out all the photos from this place, click the button below.
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