Mit dem Fahrrad 712km quer durch Deutschland

Quer durch Deutschland – Mit dem Fahrrad 712 km von Karlsruhe nach Berlin in 4 Tagen

Anfang Mai hatte ich beschlossen, mal nicht trampend oder mit der Bahn nach Berlin zu fahren, sondern mit dem Fahrrad. Ich musste eh noch das Traum der Radtour von 2012, die von Klaipeda in Litauen nach Tallinn führen sollte, ich aber nach 80 km aufgegeben musste bewältigen. Generell pflege ich eher eine Hassliebe zu meinem Fahrrad. Es ist mein am meisten genutzte Verkehrsmittel, aber ich habe immer das Gefühl, es muss öfters repariert werden als bei anderen.
Jedenfalls schusterte ich mir bis Ende Mai ein meiner Meinung nach tourenfähiges Fahrrad zusammen, bestellte noch einen Fahrradcomputer und eine Lenkertasche. Diese ließ ich allerdings an meine erste Station schicken, da der Versand mit Hermes erfolgte und ich kein Risiko eingehen wollte, dass die Tasche nach meiner Abfahrt erst in Karlsruhe ankommt (sie wurde eine Woche eher abgeschickt).

Tag 1, 2.6., Karlsruhe -> Tauberbischofsheim
169,25 km – 9:20h Fahrzeit – unterwegs von 7Uhr-18Uhr
Um fünf in der Früh stand ich auf, um dann pünktlich um sieben aus Karlsruhe loszufahren. Der Verkehr war ruhig, ich fuhr an meiner Tramperstelle vorbei und verfuhr mich aber recht schnell. Ich hatte mir einen Zettel mit den Stationen ausgedruckt und musste ihn mangels Lenkertasche auf der Querstange festkleben. Es ging. Von Zeit zu Zeit musste ich aber anhalten und einen Blick in den Atlas werfen.

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Lost Places – Russia I – Moscow and vicinity

These photos were made in 2012, when I visited Moscow and a town south of it as part of a tour around the Baltic Sea.
There are three places worth to mention. It was hard research work to localize all these places. To get there was quite easy.
1. Abandoned planes
2. Satellite dish/ Radio telescope
3. Mining cars south of Moscow
4. Russian Space Shuttel Buran

1. Abandoned airplanes
On the area of a former airport in the North-west of Moscow there are some old planes and helicopters from the Soviet era.
Around the airport there were many buildings and construction of a shopping centre. The runway was used by driving schools and bikers. If the plane and helicopter cemetery is still there or whether it’s been removed – I cannot tell especially because the look of the outskirts of Russia’s capital is changing fast.

Build complexes next to the former air field

Around the old airfield

Lost Places – Spreepark Berlin – cooler than Chernobyl?

The Spreepark was once the only amusement park in Berlin, opened all year.
Built in the GDR (DDR) in 1969 around 1.7 millions people per year visited Spreepark from 1969 till 1989. At that time it was officially named VEB Kulturpark Plänterwald (Cultural park Plänterwald) and Kulti by the people. The 45m high Ferris wheel was the main attraction. A TV Show named Spuk unter’m Riesenrad (Spook under the Ferris wheel) made Kulti more popular.

Ferris wheel

On the Ferris wheel

Fasten your seatbelt

Lost Places – Railway Maintance area

I cannot tell any story. I guess the Deutsche Bahn just didn’t have any purpose for this area any more.

Lost Places – Chemical Cleaning W. Spindler / VEB Rewatex

To the photos

As my second lost place I chose the laundry and dye factory of Wilhelm Spindler, which I used to pass by often with my grand-parents.

Wilhelm Spindler founded the company W. Spindler in 1832, which was soon be led by his son Carl. The family was patron of this part of Berlin, called Spindlersfeld.
However in 1873 it had been headquartered to its current place. At that time it was the biggest chemical cleaning factory in Germany.

The company financed the S-Bahn railway from Berlin-Schöneweide via Oberspree to the final destination Spindlersfeld. This part was opened in 1892.

In 1922 the company was transformed into an incorporate corporation and taken over by Schering AG.

After WWII Schering was dispossessed and the VEB Blütenweiß (VEB blossom white). In 1961 after some merges it was named VEB Rewatex (from the German reinigt und wäscht Textilien – cleans and washes textiles).

Since 1989 apart from “normal” employees, 600 female prisoners and foreign employees from Vietnam worked in the VEB.

After the reunion Rewatex was converted into an incorporate company REWATEX AG and was taken over by Larosé-Hygiene-Service-GmbH in 1992.

Only until the mid 1990s there were operations on the area Spindlersfeld.

The windows were partially sealed with plastic. Due to the wind it always made strange sounds, letting me believe there are people every. At first it was a bit scary and weird.

Lost Places – Tuchfabrik Anton & Alfred Lehmann / VEB Berliner Metallhütten- und Halbzeugwerke

To the photos

My first urban exploration let me to a former scarf and plush factory.

Founded in 1880 by Alfred and Anton Lehmann as A&A Lehmann – Fabrik von Mohair und Seidenplüschen, Nouveautes, Shawes und Wollenstoffen. Fabrik mit Spinnerei, mechan. Webstühlen, Färberei, Druckerei, Appretur in Schöneweide bei Berlin.

They had success with their company and in 1888 the son of Anton, Richard Lehmann, started working as department chief. After his father’s death, Richard started managing the company and got involved in local politics and public departments like being patron of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft (today Institute of Max Planck).

The world economic crises in the 1920s also effected the textile industry of Berlin. Buildings were rented to other companies.

After the Nazis gained political power and because the Lehmann family were jews, although it didn’t play a big role in their life, they escaped to England in 1939.
All family members but Richard and his wife, migrated.

Later on, when the Nazis established anti-jew laws, the Lehmann property was claimed property of the Reich. In December 1942, Richard and his wife were picked up by Gestapo and were deported to Concentration Camp Theresienstadt.

After the war, the VEB (Volkeigener Betrieb, public company) Metallhütten- und Halbzeugwerke (factory of steel work and wrought material) was founded 1st Jan 1951.

The VEB employed around 2300 people in 3 shifts and the products ranged from copper wire, pure aluminium and red brass mountings.

The damage of the environment due to emissions and impurified cooling water was really high.

In the 1950s the cultural centre “Ernst Schneller” and a kindergarten for the employees’ children had been built.

After the reunion of Germany, the production was giving up and the cultural centre was used as a discotheque “CISCH” for some more years.

I was told by different men I met on the area, that the NVA (the army of East Germany) ran a print shop and that there would be a huge tunnel system under the area.
Concerning the tunnel system I can say that it seems to be flooded...

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