Tour Report: The Forest Ranger's Cottage

A week after our visit to the abandoned brickworks, we found ourselves heading out again on a sunny Sunday in February 2021. The snow had finally melted, temperatures had climbed back above freezing, and it was simply too nice a day to stay indoors.

At the time, Germany was still in the midst of its second strict COVID-19 lockdown, which had already been in place for almost two months. Travel restrictions meant we were not allowed to leave our federal state, so I started looking for abandoned places closer to home that we hadn't explored yet. Eventually, I came across two promising locations: a small cottage in the middle of a quiet village and a much larger farmhouse with a barn and several outbuildings.

The cottage turned out to be particularly interesting. During my research afterwards, I discovered that it had most likely been the home of the Holzvogt - the forester or woodland steward - of a nearby estate. Sitting right on the village's main road, however, parking anywhere near the property was out of the question.

Instead, we left our car in the parking lot of a temporarily closed restaurant on the edge of the village, where we met up with our good friend Elmar, who had travelled down from Hamburg. From there, we continued the rest of the way on foot.

The property itself wasn't fenced off and was easy to access, but unfortunately it had already become a dumping ground. In places like this, it's often difficult to tell which items actually belonged to the former occupants and which were discarded there long after the house had been abandoned.

Inside, the rooms were extremely cramped, so we took turns entering to give each other enough space to photograph the interior without getting in one another's way.

As expected, there were a few interesting details to discover, but the heavy clutter and the generally poor condition of the building meant that we only came away with a handful of worthwhile photographs.

Even so, it was a pleasant way to begin the day's exploration and, more importantly, a great opportunity to spend some time exploring with our good friend Elmar once again.

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

Tour Report: Naval Air Station E.

Early in November 2020, it had been more than a month since our last tour, and our next vacation was still a week away. It was a Sunday, the weather was unusually good, and we felt the familiar urge to get out and explore. So we decided on a quick trip to visit a former naval air station not far from our hometown.

The airfield had been closed by the German Air Force in 2005. Since then, the site had been undergoing major changes: parts of it were being transformed into a solar park, while other areas were gradually being repurposed as a business and industrial zone. Because of that, we didn’t expect many untouched spots - or great photo opportunities.

The upside, however, was that the entire area was now publicly accessible. We could simply drive around, take our time, and see what was left of the base.

And the situation was pretty much exactly what we had expected: Several companies had already moved into the former aircraft shelters, parts of the runway had been turned into a solar field, and cattle grazed peacefully on the wide open land next to the control tower—an oddly surreal contrast to the site’s military past.

Our first stop was the parking area near the tower. We parked the car, set up our camping stove, and brewed a strong cup of coffee - one of those small rituals that instantly makes an exploration feel like an adventure.

After that, we started looking around. There was no way into the tower building itself, and the cattle in the nearby field made it impossible to get a closer look at the underground bunker next to it.

There were, however, two large bunkers nearby that we could at least approach. One was the electronic warfare bunker: a massive concrete block so large it even had its own vehicle ramp leading inside. The second bunker belonged to the supply and transport squadron of the local naval air wing. Unfortunately, I don’t know exactly what its function was - but it was almost as big as the first one. Judging by the vehicle ramp and the truck parking bays outside, it was most likely used for storage and logistics.

We started with the larger one - the electronic warfare center. Using the ramp, we were able to enter the bunker complex, and we even found an open door leading inside. Unfortunately, it only gave access to a small section containing part of the ventilation system. Climbing onto the roof would have been possible, but it didn’t feel safe enough at the time, so we decided against it.

The second bunker was tightly locked as well, with no chance of getting in.

So in terms of accessibility, this sunny Sunday in November 2020 wasn’t exactly a success. But we still had a fantastic little excursion: great weather, delicious coffee, and a few nice photos - even if most of them had to be taken from a distance.

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

Tour Report: Soviet Command Bunker 172 ОБВП

For our trip in early October 2020, my friend Andreas and I had put several Cold War relics in northeastern Germany on our list. After taking the opportunity to photograph an old mausoleum along the way, we headed straight for our first planned location.

Our destination was a former command bunker of the Soviet Air Forces. Originally, it had been constructed as the operations center of the 20th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment in Parchim, before later being repurposed as the command post of the 172nd Combat Helicopter Regiment - a small but telling example of how military infrastructure was adapted during the Cold War.

After roughly 45 minutes of driving, we reached the former Soviet military compound. It was easy to identify: a classic guardhouse at the entrance and a solid concrete perimeter wall left little doubt about the site’s past.

Parking directly in front of the main gate felt like a bad idea, so we left the car a bit farther away along a dirt road. According to our plan, this path should lead us around to the rear of the compound, from where we hoped to make our way inside and search for the bunker.

The plan worked out perfectly. The dirt road ran surprisingly close to the site, and before long we discovered a breach in the wall - part of it had collapsed, leaving a hole just large enough to climb through.

Since we had no precise information about the bunker’s location within the compound, we expected a lengthy search. That fear turned out to be unfounded: after only a short walk, we had already spotted the entrance.

With a floor area of roughly 150 square meters, the bunker itself is fairly unremarkable from an architectural point of view. It closely resembles other Cold War-era structures we’ve explored at former airfields. As was often the case when Soviet forces withdrew from East Germany, very few original items were left behind. This site was no exception. A handful of pieces of furniture were scattered around, though it’s hard to say whether they actually belonged to the bunker’s original equipment—at least the armchair struck me as rather doubtful.

After completing our exploration, we stepped back outside into the daylight.

There were several more abandoned buildings on the site waiting to be explored, so stay tuned - and look forward to the next post.

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

Tour Report: Mausoleum L.

On a warm, sunlit Sunday in late summer 2020, my friend Andreas and I were on the road in the north-east of Germany, once again following traces of a vanished world. Our original plan was firmly rooted in the Cold War: abandoned military infrastructure, forgotten installations, places once designed for conflict and control.

But as so often on trips like this, the most memorable stops are sometimes the unplanned ones.

While mapping out our route, we had noticed a small mausoleum dating back to the late 19th century. It lay almost directly along our way, close enough to justify a brief stop - especially under such perfect weather conditions. Just a few minutes from the motorway, we left the car in the quiet village and set off on foot.

The path led us away from the road and into a more secluded landscape. Between scattered trees, across a meadow still glowing in the morning light, and over a narrow stream, the mausoleum slowly came into view. It stands on the raised mound of a long-lost medieval castle, a place that had already seen centuries pass before the mausoleum was ever built. A surrounding moat accentuates its elevated position, making the structure appear even more isolated and prominent in the open landscape.

Unsurprisingly, the building itself was locked. Entry was never an option. Yet standing there in the calm of the countryside, with the low autumn sun casting warm light across the weathered stone, it hardly felt like a disappointment. Some places don’t need to be entered to leave an impression.

The exterior alone offered plenty of details to explore - textures, shadows, and subtle signs of age. And through one of the windows, we managed to catch a brief glimpse of the interior: just enough to spark curiosity and leave the rest to imagination.

For us, this short detour turned out to be a quiet, almost timeless interlude — a moment of stillness before returning to the harsher, more utilitarian relics of the Cold War that awaited us further down the road.

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

Tour Report: Hotel "House L."

The second place we visited on our “interim tour” to bridge the time until our summer vacation in 2020 was the remains of a small hotel. Right next door was another hotel that I had visited a few years earlier, but it was in such a desolate condition that it was hardly worth taking photos. So we concentrated on the small hotel next door.

The site was open and not fenced off; we just had to fight our way through some undergrowth to get to the buildings.

The buildings were in terrible condition.  There was hardly any furniture left, there was a lot of graffiti and trash in the outdoor areas, and most of the windows and doors were destroyed.

However, there were also a few bright spots: the vegetation was really beautiful to look at, and the “real,” natural decay also provided some beautiful motifs.

The place wasn't very big; there were only two small buildings, so we finished our exploration relatively quickly. Then we went back to the car and headed to the next location.

To check out all the photos from this place, click the button below.

Tour Report: Mineral Oil Processing Plant A.

After going on an extensive exploration tour on my wife's birthday in May 2020, we also took a short trip to a deserted place on my birthday. But this time there were also a few huskies with us! As the CoViD rules in force at the time meant that you were only allowed to travel to another federal state with a valid reason - for example because of work - we had been given a work assignment for our vacation. Two of our friend Ebby's huskies had recently passed their breeding tests, so he had officially commissioned us to take a few photos of them.

We wanted to take these photos on my birthday, and we thought that the remains of the abandoned mineral oil plant would make a nice backdrop. The route there is quite short, so we were only on the road for about 20 minutes. The site is freely accessible and offers a few nice motifs: there are still many oil tanks of various sizes and the former pump house to be discovered.

From our parking lot, we walked out onto the grounds with the two dogs and looked around for suitable scenery to set the stage for the dogs.

After we had taken some pictures of the dogs, we took them for a short walk around the grounds before heading home, as it was very warm that day and we were out in the midday sun, which would have been too exhausting for the huskies in the long run.

Birthe and I took advantage of the good weather and drove straight back to the industrial ruin shortly after arriving at the husky farm to explore the grounds extensively.

Surprisingly, the site is not only freely accessible, but the tanks can also be climbed. Some have an external staircase, others have the maintenance ladder inside. As you never know exactly how the condition and stability of metal changes over the years, I was extremely careful, but was still terrified that something might go wrong. In the end, everything went well and I got some nice pictures.

After exploring the tank site, we got back in the car to drive back, but then spotted another building that we hadn't explored yet...but that's in the next post!

To find out a bit more about the place and to check out all the photos, click the button below.

Tour Report: The Bus in the Lake

This spot has long been a desired location - not because it is particularly spectacular, but because it was particularly unique. And we were lucky - because less than six months after our visit, the bus was removed because too many people were trying to swim to it and putting themselves in danger.

You can find out how the lake was formed and how the bus got there by following the link below.

It was the final location that day, and it was conveniently on the way back. Parking wasn't too easy, because the place is right at the side of a field, no real road lead there. We had to park on the side of the main road in the village and walk the rest of the way - but the weather was still great, so it was a nice short walk in the sun.

As I've said - there isn't anything spectacular about this location, and the bus in the lake is the only shot to be taken. At the time, I didn't have my drone yet, so I could only take a few shots from the shore of the small lake - but I was really happy to finally have seen the place!

To find out a bit more about the place and to check out all the photos, click the button below.

Tour Report: Nuclear Weapons Depot K.

About two weeks after the start of the first CoViD lockdown in March 2020, the ceiling started to fall on our heads. It was time for us to get out again, so we set off.
As it wasn't allowed to leave the state and contact with other people was potentially harmful, we looked for a far-flung location nearby.
Our choice fell on the abandoned American nuclear weapons depot, which we had visited several times in the past - mostly to celebrate New Year's Eve with light painting in one of the large weapons bunkers.
The last time we explored the site in daylight was in May 2013, about seven years earlier.

As every time, we parked next to the barrier that originally marked the border to the outer protective area of the weapons camp. From there, it is about a two-kilometre walk to the armory and the weapons bunkers.

As the site is an official recreational area, you can move around without any problems and don't have to worry about being bothered by security guards or the police. We soon realized that we weren't the only ones who wanted to take advantage of the old military site for an excursion with as little contact as possible.

The weather was sunny and you could literally smell that spring was in the starting blocks, just waiting to get going. Of course, some families took advantage of this beautiful day to go on excursions, as far as they were possible and permitted.

People were relatively well spread out on the large grounds, so that we didn't meet many other people and we had our peace and quiet. And we made the most of this peace and quiet, taking plenty of time to explore every corner of the site. I don't remember how long we were out and about, but I think it was probably a good two to three hours before we made our way back to the car and drove home.

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