Trespassing Into History

The thatched-roof estate in the small village of Boye near Celle looks imposing: even the white entrance gate is thatched. The splendor continues inside - there are many chandeliers and fireplaces in many rooms, and some of the taps in the bathrooms are even gold-plated. But the impression is deceptive: the former dialysis clinic is a “lost place”.

A doctor named Uwe Merkel had big plans in the small town. In 1978, he began building a “dialysis institute”. But when the complex was completed nine years later, its medical use was nowhere to be seen from the outside...(more)

The secret plans for the rearmament of Germany had included the construction of an military airfield in this area since 1934, and in 1935, the Reich's Ministry for Aviation boguht large properties in the northern area of the planned airfield and built wooden barracks to accomodate the workers.

In numerous construction phases, a complete airfield was built until 1939, including concrete runways with illumination, radio beacon and quite a few hangars. In addition, the airfield was connected to the main line railroad and was completed by living quarters for the soldiers.....(more)

Our 2020 New Year's tour took us to an abandoned village. Well, not a “real” village in that sense, but an abandoned pioneer camp of the former GDR.

We had already driven past it several times on our excursions, but never had the time to take a closer look - this time it was actually on our list.

We found an official parking lot not too far away and went straight to the large main gate. There was a small gate next to it. It was open, so we walked in at our leisure.

It was a really nice day. The winter sun was low, even though it was only 2pm, so we had some really nice light in places....(more)