Rummelsburger Landstraße

Klingenberg Heizkraftwerk is a towering specimen of Expressionist architecture.  It sits on a lonely boulevard on the southeastern side of Berlin, next to the Spree. When the plant opened in 1925, it was Europe’s largest coal fired power plant, and the area was heavily industrialized. Today this is Berlin's 4th largest plant.

I have come to this area in search of two watertowers.  The first, which caught my eye a few weeks earlier on a cab ride, is at the south edge of the power station.  More on that another time.  

Further south is a complex of disused industrial buildings from the first decades of the century, and recently cleared lots.

The second water tower is said to be in a waterworks, located within Park Wuhlheide- a large expanse of woods which,  according to a web site, hosted Nazi Germany’s first “Work and Education” camp.  

Just beyond the parking area is a squatters encampment –Wagendorf Wuhlheide.  The homes are a mix of huts, campers, and ramshackle railway cars, and the settlement stretches surprisingly deep into the woods. Laundry is flapping in the wind, and two characters are returning from the wood with wheel barrow of logs. 

The watertower of Wuhlheide turns out to be a disappointment- stubby, surrounded by fences and trees, and virtually unapproachable. I meander through the almost empty park and find my way to Wuhlheide S bahn station.  

An email has arrived from the doctor: “I already left a message on your mailbox. Please excuse my impoliteness yesterday.  It was a bad day with too many problems accumulating and I let go of the professional attitude.  If you want to tak about the findings of our examination you can send me an email or call me."  

On the ride back, I spy a spectacular water tower.  It sits in a large rail yard- an area I know to be filled with unusual ruins.  It will be impossible to access.