travel photography and more

Berlin Off the Track

Berlin is very diverse and full of contrasts.

The city also has a lot to offer off the beaten track and it is definitely worth leaving the touristic places behind, going on a discovery tour and being surprised by all the things you might find.

My very own discovery tour starts in the middle of the city, at a well-known square, Potsdamer Platz, with a sublime perspective.

Panorama

This is one of my favorite views over the city.

Unfortunately, it is very exclusive and not public,

but one or two floors below there is a Panorama Café with a panoramic terrace, there you could enjoy nearly the same view.

The photo was taken during the shooting of a documentary.

At that time I waited for an advanced twilight and to pass the time I took some pictures with my camera.

Insel der Jugend, Spree, Abteibrücke, Treptower Park, Lars Hauck

Isle of Youth

The abbey bridge to the island of youth.

I think she has something fabulously enchanted about her.

This island in the Spree is for me in summer a little escape.

It is a great place to relax and enjoy life.

There is a pleasant beer garden right by the water, from time to time an open-air cinema and plenty of space to spread your blanket somewhere on a meadow.

There is also a small canoe rental.

After ten minutes on the water at the latest, I totally forgot that I'm actually in a big city.

Schiffswrack, Spree, Osthafen, Berlin, Lars Hauck

Shipwreck in Berlin City

A shipwreck in the middle of Berlin.

Legendary are the stories of illegal parties on the wreck in my memory, but even that was a long time ago.

But from the start:

At the beginning of the 90s, a businessman restored the cargo ship, built in Holland in 1959, to a luxurious passenger ship with sleeping cabins.

Everything was of the finest quality, a lot of mahogany wood and brass was used.

His idea was to offer river cruises and that went really well at first. Then the dilapidated infrastructure of the former GDR got in his way.

Locks didn't work properly - he had to refund the fare to the passengers - the banks stopped financing - bankruptcy.

In 1996, the Water and Shipping Authorities of Berlin towed the ship into the Osthafen because, in its opinion, it blocked a public mooring.

Because of the now missing electricity connections, a hose burst on a cold night and the ship ran full of water.

Since then the owner and the office argue about who is actually to blame and the ship waits patiently.

Flutgraben Berlin

Enjoying a cosy breakfast on one of the many wooden terraces and looking out on the water while waking up.

Sipping a cool drink in the evening hours and following a play on the canal on canoes and rafts and afterwards dancing through the nights right next door.

Here at the Flutgraben in Berlin - Kreuzberg there are still a few pubs and clubs that preserve the flair that Berlin has so distinguished and in many places has unfortunately already disappeared.