Tour Report: Brick Factory P.

On our way home from Hotel Gutsmann, we still had a little time to spare, so we decided to make a short detour to the ruins of an old brickworks.

We had already visited the site back in 2013, but it's always fascinating to see what time and the elements have done to an abandoned building. The extra stop also gave us the perfect excuse for another walk through the snow-covered winter landscape.

About forty minutes later, we arrived and parked our car beside a vast, snow-white field. The deep blue sky, the untouched blanket of snow, and the crisp winter air created a truly beautiful atmosphere.

From our parking spot, it was only a short walk to the old brickworks - although by then, very little of it remained.

Even in 2013, the buildings had already been in a severely dilapidated state, which was hardly surprising 45 years after the fire that marked the end of the brickworks. Another eight years later, after well over half a century of abandonment, even less of the original structure has survived.

What did surprise me, however, was that the tall chimney was still standing after all those years, and that parts of the main building continued to withstand the relentless forces of nature.

The tree that had grown through the front bumper and radiator grille of a delivery van - left behind decades ago by a former furniture store from Lübeck - had grown even larger since our first visit. 

Scattered across the site were still countless remnants of old machinery, slowly being reclaimed by time. We spent a good forty-five minutes trudging through the snow, exploring every corner of the abandoned site before finally setting off for home - for real this time.

To find out more about the history and to check out all the photos from this place, click the button below.

Tour Report: "Hotel Gutsmann"

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.

Tour Report: U.S. Nuclear Weapons Depot D.

Two weeks into the year 2018, it was time for our first tour of the year. The day before, my mother had spontaneously decided to join us, which totally made sense, because we were going to take her car anyway :)
It was a beautiful sunny Sunday morning. We left early, and we arrived at our first spot after about two and a half hours of driving.
For the first location, we had decided to check out an abandoned nuclear weapons depot of the US Army. Supposedly, it wasn't secured at all and more or less a local recreational area, so entering wouldn't be troublesome, and we expected a nice walk in the park, so to speak.
And that is exactly what we got - a really nice walk in the park.
There were no fences to be climbed, and the entire area was completely open.
We were there at around ten in the morning, but there already were people walking their dogs, and the later it got, the more people were coming and going, some with their children, some with cameras, and some were alone just walking around.
Anyway, we actually did what everyone else was doing - having a good time. We took our time walking around in the morning sun and checking out very corner of the ample premises. We also went a little off-road and got to explore an ammunition depot of the German Luftwaffe, which was situated right next to the nuclear weapons depot.
Shortly before noon, some fog came up and really added a nice touch to the atmosphere. Unfortunately, the fog was gone as quickly as it had come.
Before we left, I made a little climb up the guard tower (of course), and after about two hours of walking through the cold, we arrived back at the car and started heading for the next location.


To find out about the history of this relic from the Cold War and to check out all the photos, click the button below.

Soviet Airfield LT

It was afternoon when Freddy from Nordgriller Urbex and I arrived at the final location of our short tour through the Northeast of Germany back in November of 2016. The former airfield that was built more than 80 years ago was located near the autobahn, so it was a pretty convenient stop before starting our way home.
We parked the car by the side of a nearby road and walked the rest of the way.
The afternoon sun and the beginning sunset made for a fantastic light as we walked up to the hangars, and the cold day made the grass crackle beneath our shoes. It was a really unique atmosphere; the air was crisp and the beautiful light emphasized the way nature has been reclaiming this place for the past twenty years.
Parts of the old airfield have been reused by some local industry, so the area does not have its original size anymore. After about two hours, we had checked out most of the remains and walked back to the car watching the final rays of daylight as we drove off.


To find out more about the history of this creepy place and to check out all the photos, click the button below.

Abandoned Railroad Tracks

About half a mile from my home you can get access to an abandoned railroad area.
Until the 1970s, it was the Railroad Depot Kiel-West. After that, most of the buildings and rails have been demolished, turned into parking lots and re-taken by nature.

Anyway, it made for a pretty nice sunday afternoon excursion, especially since I had never been there before, and I like discovering "my" city.

The real highlight for me though was the old radio telescope that's located near the very end of the tracks in a building that once belonged to the Electroacustic Ltd. (now ELAC) and hasn't been used since 1976. It still looks cool, more than 50 years old and at the time only the second radio telescope in Germany and with a huge antenna of 7,5 meters in diameter. You can check out its history here.

Here's the rest of today's photos, iPhone only: