Badeschiff in a Thunderstorm

One of the 'only in Berlin' things is the 'Badeschiff' - this translates as 'Bathing Ship'. Apparently the Spree River that runs through Berlin is not safely swimmable, and so this ex-cargo ship hull was converted to a swimming pool and floats in the Spree. On the banks are a beach and bar setup.

Normal entry to the Badeschiff is 5 Euros (3 Euros for discount/student entry). However, as it's World Cup time they are showing all matches at the Badeschiff beach and also the adjacent sports hall. On each game day entry is free after 4pm.

So - not one to miss a bargain (and also we've never been before) we have been trying to check it out. Summer has been unkind to us so far this year and so the first 2 weeks of the World Cup weren't ideal bathing weather. We tried in earnest to go on Friday 4 July and arrived then at 4pm. The line was huuuuuuuge. For the first time in weeks the weather was beautiful (A sunny 30 degrees), and add to that that entry was free and Germany was playing that day....FORGET IT! We had to leave as we had another engagement elsewhere.

So we tried again today. A bit of a mistake. It had rained heavily in the morning but had backed off when we left the apartment.  Thunderstorms. We got there bang on 4pm. No one waiting.

 Inside the beach area there was still surprisingly quite a few people (obviously bargain hunters too) but all sheltered under the various awnings and bar area.

 We went toward the pool but were immediately told it was closed because of the weather. GEEZ!! I thought it would have been great to swim in the rain (it was still 30 degrees outside) but no. I don't know the physics of it all, but maybe there's a great risk of lightning strike?

So we just had a look around...

And observed how bad the weather seemed to be getting...

 And decided to leave...

And just as we did so, the thunderstorm hit with full force!
We couldn't move from our position it was so severe...

 It was an incredible amount of rain, by far the heaviest sustained downpour we have experienced during our time living in Berlin. What a great day to choose to go to the Badeschiff!

The rain didn't let up and so we had to ride through it. Honestly, it was fantastic fun!!

At the Oberbaumbrücke you can just see the Badeschiff floating in the spree, and it was incredible how heavy the rain was. Wow.

 As we rode home, everyone else stuck in the downpour was scampering for cover. I overheard 2 American girls as they ran for a tram say how amazing it felt to be in the rain, how free they felt. That seemed to sum it up. I don't know why, but getting absolutely drenched and deciding there's nothing you can do about it IS so liberating.

We got home, soaked to the bone and jumped straight in the shower. Might try again tomorrow - forecast...Thunderstorms!