Once driving through East Berlin, we passed by the ruins of an abandoned industrial site. The big, red-bricked tower looked so imposing that we had to stop. On the rusting entrance sign was written in bleached-out letters: "VEB Bärenquell."

When inside, the whole area didn't look like a typical lost place. The big pine in the courtyard was already 7 meters tall. But there were no signs of human oblivion at all. Graffitis were painted on every wall - outside and inside the buildings. The whole site appeared to be more like an art gallery than a (typical) vandalized lost place. Somehow, there also was this atmosphere of concentration and cleanliness - the atmosphere of a museum. And somehow it was an "art gallery"; free to enter for everyone capable of climbing over the three-meter tall wall.

Probably for safety reasons, all the wood, insulating material, and other combustible stuff were removed from the buildings and piled up in the courtyard. Sharp metal sheets and window glass had been compiled in separate heaps. Inside the "gallery," there was nothing but blank walls and empty floors. In some rooms, not a single piece of broken glass could be found on the floor.

The property is still secured with razor wire and new fences, and we even found recently installed, TÜV-proofed fire extinguishers.