Since 2004 Germans can extend their traditionally short summers by checking into the Tropical Islands Resort in Krausnick. Located in a former airship hanger for zeppelins, the tropical theme park is located just 37 miles from Berlin’s city center. It stands on the site of the former Airfield Brand-Briesen. In 1938, the Nazis began development of the airfield. The Soviet Army occupied it after World War II. In 1992, following German reunification, the site was returned to the German Federal government.

Former airship hanger turned into a Tropical Islands Resort

Turned into a theme park at a cost of cost approximately 78 million euros, the hanger is the biggest freestanding hall in the world. Its inside air temperature is held at 80°F, humidity at 64%. Tropical Islands Resort is open around the clock every day of the year and allows overnight stays. Visitors may choose a variety of admission options, which include lodges and guest rooms along with tent rentals and simply crashing on the beach with a mat and blanket. The maximum number of visitors the park can accommodate per day is 6,000.

Tropical Islands Resort lodge with waterfall

The Tropical Islands Resort in Krausnick is home to the biggest indoor rainforest in the world with 50,000 plants and many birds. The park’s tropical sea is designed to look like the waters of a coral island and includes 660 feet of sandy beach. An indoor landscaped water park the size of four football fields contains pools, lagoons, water slides, waterfalls, whirlpools, and saunas. Visitors can enjoy replicas of buildings from Thailand, Borneo, Samoa and Bali, a number of bars, restaurants, and evening and day shows. A 43,000 square foot children’s play area is also available.

For more information, contact tropical-islands.de.

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.