So I did a relatively spontaneous trip to Berlin for some relaxing, some partying, some photographing and some exploring. Ends up I did a lot of relaxing and only very little of the rest. Nevertheless, on one sunny Sunday afternoon, I was stumbling through the city without a clear destination but with my full camera gear in my backpack. While waiting for a subway train to take me from somewhere to somewhere else, a marquee text on the display panel informed me about where the Monument Day was to be celebrated by the Subway Company. I thought "Meh, why not?" and started my journey.

Crossrails

It was evening when I arrived, but their little event would be open for another hour. I checked the program and to my surprise it was a lot more interesting than I had expected. Had I known about this earlier, I would have spent the entire day here. The closest thing to my location was a walkabout at the current station. They didn't say what kind of walkabout but I just assumed it would cover some spots one doesn't normally get to see. At the starting point, an employee of the subway company greeted me with a smile from behind a little counter. "You need to sign this disclaimer before you can enter the tunnels." Wah?

Blue Pillars

As it turned out, the "walkabout" was just some temporary stairs leading from the station onto the tracks of a part of the subway that was closed for maintenance. From there, I could just walk into the tunnels at each direction for a considerable distance. There were at least 20 employees making sure none of us tourists did anything inappropriate, but apparently taking photos with a tripod was no problem. Neither was chatting with the security guys about their highly effective surveillance systems and how they still hardly ever caught graffiti writers. It's an understatement to say that I was pleasantly surprised.

Vantage Point

It was a short and legal "exploration" devoid of any adrenalin, but it still was worth the trip. More trips to places like this are on the to do list for sure.

You can find two more pictures in my Gallery:

Berlin Subway