Search Results for: berlin wall

Panoramapunkt: A visit to the viewing platform on Potsdamer Platz

Berlin (category)
5 min read
16/03/202228/12/2023

While most people will be familiar with the Soviet War Memorial at Treptow and Tiergarten, hardly any tourists find themselves visiting the Soviet War Memorial in the Schönholzer Heide. This is such a pity because the memorial is beautiful.

Soviet War Memorial on Schönholzer Heide

Berlin (category)
5 min read
06/12/202101/12/2023

Among all of them, our favourite is easily the one with Karl Marx created in 1974 by José Renau, a Spanish artist from Valencia who moved to East Germany escaping persecution in Franco's dictatorship. Called Unity of the working class and the founding of the GDR, this colourful mural presents Karl Marx in a lionlike way in orange, red, and yellow shades.

Lenin, Marx, and Beyond: Urban Planning and Socialist Murals in Halle Neustadt

Germany (category), Halle (category)
6 min read
01/11/202106/05/2024

Here we will talk a little bit about the reason why the Friedhofsbahn was built, how it shut down, and why some people want it back. Also, since this is the same abandoned train track used as a location in Netflix’s series Dark, we will talk about the hike in the forest, following the train tracks the connect the bridge to the church in Dark.

Exploring the Friedhofsbahn: The Old Wannsee – Stahnsdorf Railway Line

Berlin (category), Urbex (category)
9 min read
13/05/202111/12/2024

While we were watching the Queen's Gambit on Netflix, some locations seem to be familiar to us. Some places that were supposed to be foreign, like Moscow and Mexico City, looked like places we recognized from our daily life here in Berlin. With this thought in mind, we decided to look for Queen's Gambit locations, and the first place we visited was the Methuen Home orphanage, also known as Schloss Schulzendorf.

Queen’s Gambit Locations: Schloss Schulzendorf as the Methuen Home orphanage

Berlin (category)
7 min read
24/11/202024/11/2020

The Soviet Memorial in the Tiergarten is one of the many war memorials that can be found around Berlin. From the prominent memorials erected by the Soviet Union after the end of the Second World War, this is the most famous and most visited since it lies close to Berlin's leading tourist destinations.

Soviet Memorial in the Tiergarten

Berlin (category)
6 min read
17/11/202008/12/2020

I was in Kaliningrad in the last days of October 2017, and the House of Soviets caught my attention since I arrived in the city. The building can be found in the middle of the central square of Kaliningrad, close to where the Königsberg Castle used to be but not quite there. The House of Soviets was built over the moat of the castle, and you can clearly see this in the following picture. There you can look at the ruins of the castle and the abandoned building in the back.

The Monster of Kaliningrad: The Story of the House of Soviets

Kaliningrad (category), Russia (category)
7 min read
22/11/201730/10/2024

Like I said before, We Will Forget Soon is a fantastic book that documents a part of German history that most people don’t like to talk about but that needs to be told. Dario-Jacopo Laganá and Stefano Corso did a fantastic job with their book, and I believe that everybody that has some interest in this part of history needs to have this on their bookshelf.

We Will Forget Soon: An Interview with Dario-Jacopo Laganá

Berlin (category), Interviews (category)
11 min read
08/05/201722/02/2024

The abandoned boat in the Spree River has a name, even though I couldn’t find one when Fotostrasse visited the place back in July 2016. The boat is called MS Dr. Ingrid Wengler. It was named after the owner’s true love, a surgeon at the Dreifaltigkeits-Hospital in Lippstadt. She died in 1979 and she left a hole that never closed. This is why Franz Günther van de Lücht, the owner of the abandoned boat, says about his loss. But the fact that the boat that carries her name is stuck between the Molecule Man sculpture and Badeschiff leaves another one.

A Visit to an Abandoned Boat in the Spree River

Berlin (category), Urbex (category)
7 min read
11/11/201621/12/2023

No swimming is allowed at the Freibad Lichtenberg since it was closed down in the late 1980’s. Some say it was the end of the Berlin Wall but who knows for sure? Today you can visit it and think about better times for this abandoned pool in the middle of Lichtenberg.

The Abandoned Freibad Lichtenberg Pool is gone

Berlin (category), Urbex (category)
4 min read
31/07/201613/05/2024

Nordbahnhof Park in the Winter by Felipe Tofani

Beyond the Tracks: Exploring the Nordbahnhof Park in Winter and its Surroundings

Berlin (category), Germany (category)
6 min read
23/01/201609/01/2026

Most people, when they visit Berlin for the first time, find time to visit the famous Checkpoint Charlie. This infamous border crossing between East and West Berlin is a classical tourist stop for people interested in the Second World War and the relationship between Communist Germany, the USSR and the Allied Forces that controlled West Germany.

What can you do around Checkpoint Charlie?

Berlin (category)
14 min read
28/09/201501/12/2023

Elisabeth Sanatorium - Urban Exploration Berlin with Fotostrasse_108

Elisabeth Sanatorium: History of an Abandoned German Clinic

Urbex (category)
5 min read
07/07/201519/04/2025

East German Watchtower on Schlesisches Busch

East German Watchtower on Schlesisches Busch

Berlin (category), Germany (category)
4 min read
06/06/201530/01/2024

East German Watchtower on Potsdamer Platz

Berlin (category), Germany (category)
4 min read
28/01/201530/12/2023

I watched this short video from Kreuzberg in 1979 and wonder how much can a neighborhood change. I walk around the Kreuzberg streets of the video below without thinking about how different this neighborhood was less than 35 years ago. But everything was different back then.

Kreuzberg in 1979: From a Divided City to a Vibrant Neighborhood

Berlin (category)
2 min read
01/05/201405/07/2024

Europa Center in the 60s

Europa Center: A postcard from the 60s

Berlin (category)
1 min read
17/01/201425/07/2026

Uncovering History: A Journey Through the Most Fascinating Jewish Cemeteries in Europe

Berlin (category), Split (category), Warsaw (category)
5 min read
13/09/202621/09/2026

Every big adventure has to start somewhere. For me, that somewhere was a dream of celebrating my 40th birthday in July 2021 by cycling solo from Berlin all the way to Oslo. I bought a bike, snagged a set of bikepacking bags, and started spinning training laps around the asphalt at Tempelhofer Feld.

How to Start Bikepacking: Lessons from My First 100 km Shakeout Ride

Cycling (category)
6 min read
24/08/202625/08/2026

On my trip to Venice in 2024, I saw what I believe is the best and most amazing unobstructed view of Venice. And it wasn't from an ancient bell tower but from the roof of a luxury shopping center: the Fondaco dei Tedeschi. And here is the story behind the view from the Fondaco dei Tedeschi.

Where to Find the Ultimate Panoramic View of Venice (and the One We Lost)

Venice (category)
6 min read
27/03/202629/05/2026

When it comes to multi-day cycling adventures, your choice of essential bikepacking gear can mean the difference between a smooth journey and a miserable long day. Bikepacking gives you more freedom than you ever thought possible. You can see beautiful scenery, ride on rough gravel paths, and enjoy the open road in ways you never have before. But getting your setup just right is the most important thing for enjoying the ride. At least for me.

10 Pieces of Essential Bikepacking Gear I Won’t Ride Without in 2026

Cycling (category)
7 min read
17/03/202626/05/2026