If you’ve ever traveled with me, you would know that I’m a huge street art fan. Many a day’s plans have been derailed because I’ve spotted a tagged alley on the way to a museum or historical landmark. There’s just something about the raw edginess and lack of rules that speaks to me. Both community commissioned and more… freelance… works of street art fill me with awe and wonder; I think it may be that I can’t comprehend so much beauty and intricacy coming out of a can of spray paint… plus I’m kind of a sucker for a good anti-establishment story. Interestingly enough, my street art shots are what I go back to look at more than anything else from my trips.

Well boy was I in for a surprise when I set out to explore Berlin my first evening. There is tagging EVERYWHERE. Sure, a big majority of it is just names marking their territory or desiring a following — calling out to a pre-Instagram sort of world — but there were also so many marvelous imagery in both prominent and hidden locales. I was already like a kid in a candy store… but it gets even better!

Another really neat facet of Berlin is that there are a ton of abandoned sites for one to find and explore. An ice factory, military buildings, railway depot, carnival, even a US/British center for spying on East Berlin. I really only had time to explore one site, as I was leaving for Munich the next day… so of course I ended up choosing the dubbed “Zombie Hospital,” an abandoned maternity and children’s hospital only ~20 minutes from Alexanderplatz by tram. The hospital was opened in 1911, closed down in 1997, and has been left since.

This place was wonderfully spooky, with glass, brick, wood, and guaranteed asbestos-ridden insulation everywhere. I kept switching off between fearing for falling through the floor, and simultaneously hoping and dreading to come into contact with another human being. I swear my auditory sensitivity evolved in this moment, as I could hear (or thought I could hear) glass crunching two floors up and across the building. Maybe I’m being too generous with myself… it was probably because there were a series of holes in the walls and ceiling to said location… but I’m going to stick to my spidey-sense theory.

After about 10 minutes, the Kiwi I was with and I just about pissed our pants, as the crunching glass was now directly around the corner! Quickly glancing over to him to make sure I wasn’t crazy, and seeing an equally wide-eyed New Zealander crouched and bracing for a quick exit, I took a deep breath and waited in terrified anticipation of living out a dreadful scene from 28 Days Later. At this moment, I remembered rule #1 of Zombieland… Cardio, and subsequently cursed myself for my recent (aka 5-year) lapse in hitting the treadmill.

crunch…

crrrunCH…

CRRRRUNNNCHHH…

A humanoid figure appeared in our line of site and phew! it was an Australian girl who was probably more taken aback at seeing two men standing in the corner with silent fear on their faces.

After this point, things were a bit easier to handle, and we even started trusting the worn out stairs to explore the upper levels of the compound. In every room there were broken beer bottles and crumbling pieces of building, and in most places nature had begun reclaiming the structure as her own. It was crazy to think that medical practice had occurred here just 20 years ago. Another interesting point is that the site is one of the most arson-attacked buildings in Berlin as it’s an easy target for vandals.

After we’d looked around most of the area and got our courage up, we started hearing other people; my Kiwi friend took great delight in waiting behind a door for scared explorers and jumping out at them, sending the (mostly) pre-teens running away in pure terror. He would disappear a few times, and luckily was not terribly quiet, as I could tell when he was lying in wait to assail me; however, he did get me pretty good one time… luckily my flight instinct kicked in instead of fight, as I tend to instinctively throw punches when surprised…

After I’d shot enough film and tempted fate with encountering the zombie horde long enough, we decided to head out, grab a nice döner kebap and half liter and call it a day.

If you are interested in seeing this place (which I would definitely recommend), it’s located at Hansastraße 178-180, 13088 Berlin. From Alexanderplatz, take the M8 to the Buschallee/Hansastraße stop, and it’s pretty much directly adjacent to the stop, just across a easily climbable gate. Make sure you bring decent shoes, as there are bits of glass and building everywhere, and I would definitely suggest going before dark, as there are random unmarked pits about — inside and outside — some up to 3 meters with sharp pieces of metal and wood at the bottom. There are also probably squats there at night who may not be so happy to be awoken by wandering tourists with flashlights. If you make it to the top floor, don’t venture out too far from the main walkway, as the soil (and fire) has eaten away at the flooring, and there is significant structural damage. In essence… just don’t be dumb, and don’t try to sue me if you are a dumbass.

Here are a few more of my favorite shots:

Until next time, peace out homies!

Brownie

All photos shot on my Olympus OM-2N on 400 ISO Portra film 🙂