Tempelhof Airport - In A Berlin Minute (Week 16) [HD]

Picnic on an abandoned air field.

A few years after planes stopped taking off from the historic (and at times controversial) Flughafen Berlin-Tempelhof, this summer the centrally located city airport opened as a public park. Vast fields, wide tarmacs, grass pushing through cracked asphalt - perfect for riding bikes, flying kites, walking a group of Dachshunde and meeting friends. Thanks to Andreas Rohde and Andreas Janke I joined a big group last weekend for a fun picnic right off the tarmac.

It felt a little odd to have a park that mostly lacks trees, bushes or hills - so you can see the entire park at once, which makes walking across it a little daunting. But zooming around on Marisa's bike I easily made it over to the empty airport building (once among the 20 largest buildings on Earth) and realized that the lack of trees is made up by the abandoned airplanes.

Two nights ago I finally bought a bike (Summer, please don't be over. People of Berlin, please don't steal my bike.). Now I can't wait to ride down to Tempelhof airport this weekend.

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Category:

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• Berlin
• Tempelhof
• airport
• Flughafen
• plane
• park
• kite
• picnic
• German
• New Yorker
• Germany
• Deutschland
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• reisen
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• In A Berlin Minute
• HD

[ciance]

I was stationed at Tempelhof Central Airport from 1979 - 1982. I just went back during the week of September 4, returning almost 30 years later. It was poignant, sad, exhilarating all at once - it made me want to go back and do it all over again. I could not go down to where I used to work, which was 7 floors underground. Of all my places I've been to in my life's experience, this place is the King of Memories. I will go back next year, 2012 to take the tour. I ran out of time this visit.

[GNYBerlin]

@ciance Wow, what an amazing experience that must have been. Only having been gone from places a few years at a time and then returning is already triggering a lot of thoughts and feelings. But your case is very special and of course connecting to such a different era. It sounds like you'll find Tempelhof looking different again next year since there more plans for turning it into a park. I hope they'll keep the building unchanged for your sake.

Thanks for sharing.

Luci

[RixdorferWurstmusik]

One of the coolest things before they closed it down was the mainhall. There was that board on which, on other airports, the letters are constantly changed to announce the next flights, but at that time there weren't even enough takeoffs on a day to fill the board. Lots of deserted check in terminals, not a person around and all in all it was more quiet than in a library.

Eerie, unique and exciting. A dying airport!

[GNYBerlin]

@RixdorferWurstmusik Wow, what an amazing insight. Now that I've seen the inside of the terminal (you can see the board you describe in my Berlin Festival video, now listing the bands), I can totally imagine that feeling. Having the festival crowd in the terminal was quite surreal.

[RixdorferWurstmusik]

imao this is one of the coolest things ever to happen in berlin. the amount of free space in the middle of the city is breathtaking. everyone can do whatever he likes - jog, bike, skate, kite, bbq, fuck ... whatever and will never run out of free space. I'm afraid this state will not be for long and the senate will fuck this place up sooner or later.

[GNYBerlin]

@RixdorferWurstmusik I totally agree. I love that place. It made me buy a bicycle. Some people seemed to be against the park - I wonder how they feel today - and I wonder how long this will last...

[ciance]

@GNYBerlin P.s., I hear the Mayor of Berlin doesn't quite know what to do with it, except his once a year red carpet fashion event. They should declare the whole base a landmark. I too, hope they leave the buildings alone and intact! I should write him a letter! :-)

[ciance]

@GNYBerlin @GNYBerlin Thank you Luci, I loved it. It was the same but different, changed yet not. My German companion took me more seriously as we moved throughout and I told him what used to be there (like a bowling alley on the 7th floor and how all the stairs descended into water about at about the 7th or 8th level underground, quite spooky seeing the stairs descend into watery darkness). The Russians didn't want the allied forces poking around down there. I love Berlin, truly.

[VladiGB]

En España sólo pueden sucederle dos cosas a un edificio así: abando, especulación inmboliaria o construcción de un centro comercial...

[SogniAzzurri]

That looks amazing but a bit empty. Maybe they will plant some trees later on ? Berlin is so ecological and green.

[GermanFireFighter95]

Super Video über ein sehr Geschichteträchtiger Ort!!!! Thumbs up!!!

[rbockberlin]

SERRR SCHEENES VIDEO. coole blicke, feiner schnitt. danke.