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.

Tour Report: Vacation Camp "Beds of Decay"

I have to say: in terms of decay, this abandoned vacation camp was a real hit. We hadn't even planned to visit - in fact, we didn't even know this place existed. We had met two people at the location we had visited first that day, got talking to them and they gave us the tip to visit this vacation camp.

The route there wasn't really far, which suited us well, as we had spent a lot of time in the old foundry and didn't want to spend too much time on the road given the still short daylight hours. 

We were on site in just 15 minutes. However, the search for a parking space proved to be somewhat difficult, as there were almost none. The residential area only offered enough space for - the residents. So we had to search a bit until we found a parking space, and we had to walk a few minutes to get to the old vacation camp.

The camp is located in the middle of a residential area. There are residential buildings to the north, south and west, and the eastern area is almost impassable due to the forest and dense vegetation.

It was therefore virtually impossible to enter the site without the risk of being discovered by the neighbors.

So we did what we usually do: find an entrance and go in. The outside area of the camp was so big that we would be seen anyway. 

There was an “open” path onto the site and we just walked straight into it.

There were several small cabins and a larger communal building with a large kitchen. First we looked around the huts. The long vacancy in combination with the rather light construction of the huts had caused some fantastic decay. There was hardly any vandalism - probably due to the location in the middle of the residential area.

Even pillows and blankets were still available on the double bunk beds - but no longer recommended for an overnight stay ;)

In the outdoor area we found the obligatory concrete table tennis table, which we felt existed in every GDR vacation camp. Time had covered it with a beautiful carpet of moss.

Unfortunately, the communal building no longer lived up to the promise of the other buildings - one part had already collapsed, the vandals had already struck, and the local teenagers seemed to be using the building as a substitute for a club.

As we left the property, we saw a neighbor watching us from the property across the street. We greeted him kindly and politely, and he asked if we had taken any photos, to which we replied in the affirmative. We struck up a conversation with him and he was at least able to tell us that the vacation camp belonged to a large leather factory in Saxony-Anhalt. Unfortunately, as he wasn't from the area himself, he couldn't tell us much more. Nevertheless, it was a very nice conversation, which once again showed that openness and friendliness usually go a long way. 

After this positive conclusion to our exploration, we made our way back to the hotel to get going again in good time so that we wouldn't have so much trouble finding a restaurant that day...

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

Tour Report: Compound Feed Factory G.

2020 began somewhat cautiously in terms of Urbex excursions. After our New Year's tour and a short day trip to Denmark, it took four whole weeks before we were able to hit the road again.

My wife and I have a bit of a thing for old industrial buildings, which is why we chose an abandoned concentrated feed mixing plant for this trip.

It was February, the days were short and dark, so we set off relatively early to make the most of the available light.

Two hours and two hundred kilometers later, we parked in a parking lot near the historic center of a small town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The building we wanted to explore was right opposite. Directly on the road and visible from all sides.

So first we discussed our strategy. We didn't have too many options, so we decided on “cheekiness wins”.

We crossed the road, climbed over the small fence and headed straight for the front door. To our delight, it was open, so we were inside the building very quickly. At this point, we thanked the weather gods for the gray, drizzly weather, which meant that there were very few pedestrians out and about who could have spotted us.

From this point on, we had complete peace and quiet. We explored the old mill from the cellar to the attic.

Most of the rooms were empty, but there were still some machines, conveyor belts and other things that pointed to the former operation as a feed mill.

Probably due to its central location in the heart of the village, vandalism was very limited, which is why the decay was not as advanced as I would have liked.

Nevertheless, it was very nice to find a building in such good condition after a long period of vacancy - in this respect, the trip was really worthwhile.

After about two and a half hours, we left the building the same way we had entered it - even now without being noticed.

As the rain was getting heavier and we still had a two-hour drive back, we decided to call it a day and make our way home.

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

Tour Report: Bunker "L36"

In November 2019, I received a tip that one of the remaining high-rise bunkers from the Second World War in my home town was open. Apparently someone - presumably a city employee who had checked the condition - had not properly relocked the thick padlock.

So I set off after work. It was raining heavily and my wife was kind enough to drive me the short distance and then wait for me in the parking lot. The bunker is in the middle of a residential area, so I was able to operate under cover of darkness without being seen.

The door was indeed open, and the lock was only hanging loosely in front of it - but in such a way that it was not immediately visible, which is probably why nobody had noticed it.

Through the steel door, I got inside the massive building.

The basement was completely under water, so I couldn't enter it. The condition inside is not good. The British occupying forces had blown up the bunker after the war - but from the inside, so that the massive outer walls remained standing and the residential buildings in the vicinity were not affected.

On the pictures you can see what the detonation did inside: Stairs have collapsed, walls are full of holes and the thick reinforced concrete ceilings are hanging down in pieces. All in all, the picture was somewhat surreal.

For safety reasons, I didn't venture too far into the upper floors. What's more, after about 15 minutes I came across bats that had apparently chosen the bunker as their winter quarters.

This was the time for me to retreat, as I respect the bat protection period and leave buildings as soon as it becomes clear that they are a bat hibernation site.

The excursion was very interesting, because you don't get to see bunkers this big from the Second World War every day - especially not if they are in a dangerous condition.

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

Tour Report: Farmhouse "Red Beetle"

Just a few days after our trip to the old car repair plant, we set off again to various abandoned places. This time we were accompanied by our good friend Pixelcracker.

After a good ten months, our trip finally took us back together to Denmark - a country that I like to call "the little man's Belgium" when it comes to urban exploration, because there aren't really any abandoned chateaus or maisons there - but there are a lot of abandoned farms that are in no way inferior to their big "relatives" in Belgium.

That day, we visited two places that were passed on to me as insider tips - and they were indeed!

In both cases, they were (of course) abandoned farmhouses somewhere in central Denmark. The first farmhouse made an inconspicuous impression from the outside. The hand-painted sign "Adgang forbudt" didn't really manage to impress us, and we quickly discovered an open side door that gave us access to the barn.

There we immediately saw the main attraction of the location - a bright red VW Beetle in fantastic condition! Yes - the tires were flat, the exterior paint looked more gray than red from dust and pigeon droppings, and the chrome parts had a few small rust spots after so many years, but the interior still looked very good, and there didn't seem to be anything technically wrong with the car either.

It's really rare to find something like this!

In addition to the Beetle, there was also an Allis-Chalmers tractor from the 1950s in the barn - a tractor that I had never seen myself, so it was also a little something special for me.

There was a passageway from the barn directly into the living area of the farmhouse - and there was a lot to see there, too. There was still a lot of furniture, as well as crockery and the clothes of the former residents. Of course, some things had been ransacked and probably stolen, but the cobwebs and dust on many things showed us that nobody had touched anything here for quite a long time.

It was a really nice exploration to start the day off right, and the VW Beetle really was a highlight!

We were then able to relax and make our way to the next location - which was to surpass the first once again, so stay tuned!

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