Just did a half marathon without even realising it; had one of the Forest Gump days when you can just keep going for ages. I had just intended to go up the hill to Neukölln and draw the 'stem' of my flower, but when I got out to the edge of the airport, I couldn't resist going round it.
Couldn't resist running round an airport? I know it might sound mad, but Tempelhof has been closed since 2008 and is in the process of being turned into a huge park. It has huge, windswept grassland for wild flowers, birds and kite surfers, and concrete tracks for inline skaters, cyclists and joggers - round the outside or directly down the runway in the middle. For those less sporty, there are BBQ areas, a beer garden and festivals in the summer (as well as the runners preparation area for the Berlin marathon). And so no-one forgets its original purpose or historic airlift in 1948/9, the airport building and a couple of old planes remain.
The airport was closed in an effort to consolidate Berlin's air traffic to two main airports. I am pretty amazed (and pleased) that city officials decided to turn it into a park - they must have fought off stiff lobbying from property developers. But it is not the first time old transport venues have been turned into parks. My old map of Berlin shows that Görlitzer Park was once an railway station.
Couldn't resist running round an airport? I know it might sound mad, but Tempelhof has been closed since 2008 and is in the process of being turned into a huge park. It has huge, windswept grassland for wild flowers, birds and kite surfers, and concrete tracks for inline skaters, cyclists and joggers - round the outside or directly down the runway in the middle. For those less sporty, there are BBQ areas, a beer garden and festivals in the summer (as well as the runners preparation area for the Berlin marathon). And so no-one forgets its original purpose or historic airlift in 1948/9, the airport building and a couple of old planes remain.
The airport was closed in an effort to consolidate Berlin's air traffic to two main airports. I am pretty amazed (and pleased) that city officials decided to turn it into a park - they must have fought off stiff lobbying from property developers. But it is not the first time old transport venues have been turned into parks. My old map of Berlin shows that Görlitzer Park was once an railway station.
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