It's true that pipes sticking out of the ground in the woods led to two friends finding and exploring an old bunker in northern Germany. An Imgur user posted a photo album about the matter in 2014. However, we recommend avoiding online display ads that promote the story. The ads led to a dramatized version of the tale with fictitious character names.
Since at least December 2021, online advertisements have claimed: "These Pipes Were Sticking Out of the Ground, This Is What Was Underneath." Upon further inspection, they led to a 69-page slideshow article about two friends and the urban exploration of an underground bunker in northern Germany. The core plot elements were true. However, the seemingly endless article used fictitious names like "Mike Peter" and "Dale Hufford," and appeared to dramatize the otherwise true story. Additionally, we also found YouTube videos titled: "Two Guys Noticed These Pipes Sticking Out of the Ground."
The Ads
One of the ads misleadingly showed a completely unrelated picture of two men exploring a field with what may have resembled pipes above the ground:
This photograph had nothing to do with the real story.In reality, however, this picture did not show pipes. A red tape dispenser was visible on the ground that was used to mark off various sections of the land. The context of the photograph was that the men were using "ground-penetrating radar to inspect an area" in an attempt to find "a Nazi train carrying gold and diamonds [that] was buried in Poland at the end of the Second World War." (Spoiler alert: They never found it.)
Here's the full-size image:
Experts use Ground-penetrating radar to inspect an area where a World War II Nazi train is supposed to be hidden on November 10, 2015 in Walbrzych, Poland. (Courtesy: PIOTR HAWALEJ/AFP via Getty Images)Another ad that also mentioned the pipes "sticking out of the ground" showed the following photograph which, unlike the one above, was not misleading:
A view from one of the entrances to the bunker.The Real Story
On May 21, 2014, an Imgur user posted a photo album. It began by mentioning pipes that were sticking out of the ground and ended with the tale of something found underneath, just as teased by the ads.
Here are six highlights from the full Imgur album. (We have made corrections on some of the grammar, as English was not this person's first language.)
So when visiting an old friend in northern Germany (formerly GDR), he told me about these weird periscope like pipes in the woods. They often played there as kids and knew about the bunkers below, but never were allowed to get near them. Last week, we decided to check them out and this is our report. (Sorry for my bad English, I'm trying my best.)
The pipes. (Courtesy: hellomynameisthatthingfromthewalls/Imgur.com)It was not very hard to find, circa a hundred meters from the periscopes, and surrounded by coniferous trees. It was covered with a wooden lid that was easy to remove by crowbar.
The entrance. (Courtesy: hellomynameisthatthingfromthewalls/Imgur.com)What you can see here is what we would see for the next few minutes... nothing but endless, hospital-like hallways. The acoustics were, in a word, haunting.
"Endless" hallways. (Courtesy: hellomynameisthatthingfromthewalls/Imgur.com)Proceeding onwards, the graffiti clearly read, "Hello Satan, I love you." Not something you want to read down there. The smell at this point turned out to be really bad, like rotten organic stuff and old water. Sewer-like, if you will.
The Satan sign. (Courtesy: hellomynameisthatthingfromthewalls/Imgur.com)This was the first time on the whole tour that I literally panicked. Terrified by the silhouette of this pile of rubbish, resembling a crouching or sitting man, I screamed and nearly knocked over my friend. My bad... he was scared to death as well.
The pile of "rubbish." (Courtesy: hellomynameisthatthingfromthewalls/Imgur.com)When already heading back to where we came from, my friend found this spooky gem. It was the biggest room so far, but only visible through little square holes in the walls, like tiny crenels. So he put his camera through and took this sweet shot of a weird, big machine.
The "machine." (Courtesy: hellomynameisthatthingfromthewalls/Imgur.com)The user ended the slideshow of 30+ photos in the album by writing: "Nonetheless, it was the spookiest trip of my life."
Additional Research
According to comments from a Reddit post, it might have been an old Soviet bunker from the Cold War. The name and exact location of the bunker in northern Germany were not provided. However, we did find additional resources for any readers who might be interested in learning more.
In sum, yes, two friends did find a bunker in northern Germany underneath pipes that were sticking out of the ground. However, we recommend reading the full account on Imgur rather than relying on dramatized versions of the story promoted by online ads.