A tropical beach vacation in Germany? It’s possible. Sixty kilometres south of Berlin, an old airship hangar has been converted into a tropical resort, complete with a sandy beach, a real tropical rainforest and a constant temperature of 25 degrees.
The hangar is actually on an old airfield that was originally developed by the Nazis, and then handed over to the Soviet Army after WWII. After the reunification of East Germany (and the fall of the Berlin Wall), the airfield was returned to Germany and the hangar was built to store huge airships (zeppelins). The company that owned it went bankrupt in 2002 and a company from Malaysia bought it and voila — an indoor tropical paradise that the Eiffel Tower could lie down in (if it needed a rest).
Tropical Islands Resort is home to the biggest indoor rainforest in the world (with 50,000 plants), a sandy beach, two large pools, a lazy river, waterslides, whirlpools, a sauna, a spa, mini putt, bumper cars, live entertainment and even a tethered hot air balloon ride. You can also spend the night inside, in a tent or lodge nestled into the rainforest, or in a hotel room. The resort is open 24 hours a day, 365 days per year (except the sauna and spa, which are closed between 1 am and 9 am — so no 3 am massages).
The best part? Guaranteed good weather.
