A Very Unusual Place
During our research for Berlin, we found an attraction called Spreepark. Spreepark is an abandoned amusement park tucked away in Treptower Park. The website I was on mentioned that it was open for people to tour. We thought this would make an awesome day out and we needed to check it out! We made it to Spreepark after a 30 minute subway ride and another 25 minute walk. What we found there is something we did not expect. It was completely gated and closed off to the public. There were warning signs all over the gates. They made it very clear that they did not want people entering the park. I probably should have done better research on this attraction. If I did, then we probably would have never experienced what happened next. We were so disappointed because the sight beyond the gates looked amazing. Then, we saw two individuals walking around inside the gate walls and they did not look like security. This gave Oleg and I determination to get inside.
We walked around the perimeter hoping to find a way in to the park. Going around the corner, I spotted the couple that we just saw inside the gate walls sitting on a bench. I saw this as our opportunity to find the secret to get into this spectacular place. The couple ended up being very nice and spoke English, which was a win for us! They showed us the way to get in and it was a hole dug under the gate. The hole was big enough for a person to squeeze through it. Oleg thought he should go first because if he could make it through then I surely would be able to make it through. The only problem was that the hole under the gate was up against the sidewalk by the river, which was a crowded space for walkers, joggers, and bicyclists. It was almost impossible to sneak into the park unnoticed. We tried to be as discrete as possible but people definitely noticed what we were doing. One guy even started yelling, “Watch out for the dogs”. We already busted in so there was no point in turning back.
We roamed around the park for about 90 minutes, which was all my nervous system could take. My adrenaline was pumping the entire time. The defunct amusement park was massive and not another person was in sight. The park consisted of many rides including a ferris wheel, water slide, and roller coaster. It also had a pirate ship, tea cup ride, and a fun house. Some other interesting objects included huge swan boats and broken down food vendors/bathroom area. The amusement park was in shambles and completely deserted. It was an amusement park in decay! Although, some of the rides managed to have a sense of brightness from the coloring that remained. This experience was rather haunting and at times I felt like I was in a horror movie! The broken amusement park was quite peaceful if you could get over the sounds of your heart beating and thinking every rustle in the wind was the police. Oleg and I found the abandoned amusement park to be extremely unique and wonderful. I would absolutely love to go back but I have a feeling this is somewhere I will only visit once.
