Sommerbad Poststadion (outdoor swimming pool), Berlin, Germany, August 2010

[buggerluggs]

My first report...

Last Summer I took a trip to Berlin and stayed at a place called ‘Tent Station’. For about €16 a night you get a tent, a mat and access to some nice showers. Promoted as ‘the only campsite in central Berlin’, Tent Station’ resides on the grounds of an old outdoor swimming pool ‘Sommerbad Poststadion’, in the Mitte/Tiergarten districts of Berlin. You can rent the pool house as well. Well cheap too.

So, with my niggling abandoned places obsessive-ness, I took a wonder.

Little padding pool to ‘wash your feet pre swim’ are still there, and big massive diving boards. The big leisure centre building on the grounds is locked off and I wasn’t fancying my chances with 24 hour Tent Station staff. The actual Leisure centre is only closed from May-October and the flags are still flying in the carpark citing the name of the place.
Fantastic use-age of a closed down urban leisure centre, not forgotten just yet, just re-cycled and re-loved.

PS.
If you decide to visit Tent Station, do take some sort of mattress. School boy error on our behalf, and proper skint, we nipped to the nearest sports shop and bought ourselves some half price kids Disney lilos.


Here’s a mini report of the empty swimming pool awesomeness. Plus my first crack at HDR in one of the pics......

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After some digging on the interweb here’s a shot of the pool packed out in 2001. Urgh, imagine all those horrible children.

http://www.jutta-leder.de/a-sommerbad3.jpg

The summer after, in 2002 things go downhill.

http://www.jutta-leder.de/a-sommerbad4.jpg

In 2006 the local residents started a petition to get the pool back open. According to rough Google translation the reason was that "the summer swimming is important for our district. Many people still remember an open bathroom." Well, no wonder it went downhill.


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6136/6036606242_9201361e93.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15439076@N00/6036606242/)
Outdoor main pool (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15439076@N00/6036606242/)

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6198/6038640559_4ec552375f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15439076@N00/6038640559/)
Life Guard (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15439076@N00/6038640559/)

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6135/6036051169_ef59e584d0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15439076@N00/6036051169/)
Main pool and sunhouse (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15439076@N00/6036051169/)

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6149/6036050773_20163aa6a4.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15439076@N00/6036050773/)
What a Dive (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15439076@N00/6036050773/)

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6070/6036050459_2c3a0633fb.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15439076@N00/6036050459/)
Schwim (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15439076@N00/6036050459/)

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6201/6036050025_487450f2a9.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15439076@N00/6036050025/)
Massive dive (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15439076@N00/6036050025/)

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6196/6036049861_60a7420bc1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15439076@N00/6036049861/)
Deep end (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15439076@N00/6036049861/)

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6072/6036049609_a986d24f32.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15439076@N00/6036049609/)
Swimming n that (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15439076@N00/6036049609/)

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6210/6036049247_985ddf0b60.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15439076@N00/6036049247/)
Spot of netball? (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15439076@N00/6036049247/)

Any suggestions/ feedback would be ace. Fingers crossed I’ve smashed this Flickr thing! :o