06.24.2012 Teufelsberg, the abandoned spy station

Teufelsberg

This too has been on my list for a while now, but I didn't want to do this alone. Teufelsberg is an abandoned spy station sitting on top of a decomposing building fenced off from the public (like the abandoned theme park). There are no dogs, or real security guarding the area but just in case there was, I wouldn't want to be caught (or scammed) for trespassing in a language I didn't understand. And of course there are the regular perils of stranger danger and being alone if I happened to fall in a dark crumbling stairwell because I didn't read the warning signs in German...you know, all sorts of peculiar safety issues that would make me wary. This had all started since I found out about this place while stalking a friend's facebook profile and she had these gorgeous pictures of a sunny day on the top of this wreck. After that, I dutifully did my research and then we packed our bags and brought the essentials: food, water, camera, and a bicycle. 

Happy birthday kiddo!

My four weather apps (yes, four) told me that it was going to rain so we planned our excursion around Berlin's terribly unreliable weather, or is it just my terribly unreliable weather apps? (Don't get me started) Just as slow Sunday mornings start, we headed for the fleamarket at Mauerpark and as I lost him in the bicycle parts section, I hid away in the fantastic-ness of vintage clothes and trinkets.

1. Karoke in Mauerpark;                                                                                     2. Yeehaw

1. Playmobil gathering,                                           2. Lettuce juice (tasted like salad),                                                         3. Traffic quiz

1. Patterned;                                                                                                                        2.Spotted!

"I'm so excited!" she exclaims with glee

This is my favourite forest, maybe it's because it's the only real forest I know, but still. The trees are dense, and there are secrets hidden in it, like a giant sand pit, and a lake, and a castle, and a (not so) secret spy station, and a big flat grassy hill, and a teepee, and maybe a bear or two.. oh the list goes on! I left all the orienteering to my partner in crime and just trusted his instinct when he said, yeah, let's head North, which is 'that' way and points to the right instead of up. Of course, we made it without getting lost, but there was a hill to climb and I was bothered the entire way because we were a. being attacked by flying bugs, and b. it was humid, and c. There was only one bicycle which had two pedals and we had four legs so I had to roll the damned thing up this giant hill until we had a quick argument and I locked it to a random tree and hoped that we don't get lost on our way back (or take a different route) down the hill and lose the bicycle to the forest. 

zig-zag biking is my specialty

breaking and entering

There is a fence surrounding the entire spy station, but there is someone who leaves a cut opening if you look carefully. When we walked around the fence looking for a way of entry, we noticed a lot of old holes in the fence that were resealed. Then, somewhere among the foilage, there was a large opening. We didn't even have to get on our hands and knees. 

magneto

We entered, followed our nose (figuratively), and then bumped into this guy, who was sitting on a couch, who beckoned us thither. I looked around hoping he was motioning at somebody else, but nope, it was totally the two of us, touristy and innocent looking suckers. The first thing he said was a mumbled "Sprechen sie Deutsch?", and then more audibly and clearly, "German? or English?" He then proceeded to scam us into paying a small fee for entry, feigning authority and ownership of the land and being backed up by the law, which I knew was entirely a game (because nobody owns Teufelsberg, it's no man's land, I did my research), and although I gave him a hard time for it, and asked him for specifics being all like, "OH YEAH, is that so?", I didn't choose to make a run for it lol (although that might have been interesting) and on top of that my partner in crime is not good at being a criminal and just succumbed and paid the small entrance fee for the both of us. I still think the scammer didn't deserve it. But hey, we're on the inside now!

basement

He didn't tell us where to go or how to get in to the top, so we explored the rubble a bit with the lights from our cellphones.

1. something blew up;                                                                                                2. yeah.

step outside, from the second floor 

All the walls have fallen off the building and everything is broken and graffitied on. There's also an elevator that you don't want to try and a stairwell that is blocked from natural light.

omygosh the image quality! D: help!

             1. Shoryureppa! ,                                                               2. Check out the great view from my office,                       3. "What's behind the door?" she asks

I know that face

1. Door;                                                                                                      2. Frame

Rooftop

Welcome to Devil's Mountain. Which is what Teufelsberg stands for. This spy station sits on a fake hill made by leftover war rubble heaped on top of a Nazi military training school. These four spheres 'radomes' are cold war relics were built by the English and the Americans to listen in on what was happening in Russian occupied East Germany. Of course it wasn't very inconspicuous, but they figured that since reception was way better up here, it would have to do. More (not so) recently, David Lynch tried to buy the place for some ridiculous (surprise) project, but it didn't pull through.

1. Radome;                                                                    2. Giant spider

If you look carefully, each triangle is different, and created at a certain angle and shape for optimum sound reflection. 

1.A-side ;                                                                               2. B-side

Death greets you at the elevator. Don't take it.

Tallest one standing, at 115m 

The scariest thing about going up the tall tower is the strong wind blowing through the frame. The structure doesn't shake, but I can definitely feel a push and I wonder how easy it must be to just be blown off if my partner wasn't such a good paperweight. I'm pretty sure people pull things out of their pockets and subsequently lose them in the wind up there. 

1. fabric is to curtains as;                                                                   2. hair is to  Pochahontas

A random hilltop clearing in the forest playing music. We could hear it from atop the tower, but can you hear it from inside the forest?

hehehee, I am starting a good collection of these.

escapist

The tallest `radome`was the creepiest. The dome is entirely closed except for a single panel that lets in natural light. So you can imagine how dark it was in there. On top of that, because of the shape of the dome, the sound you make is amplified and as sound bounces around, you hear a separate echo milliseconds after you make a noise. It was like having a second creepy voice after your own.

A beautiful jump, but unfortunately not a portal.

pull up your knees, maggot!

Austrian food. at a themed restaurant. I can't remember what this is, but it's like dough, and cheese

 1. Downpour and No kangaroos;                                            2. Ski lift chairs at the bar  

The rain finally came, but we were only meters away from shelter. Tired, full, and happy, we even found my bicycle still locked to the tree on our way down from Devil's mountain!