Unfinished

It was to be the biggest, grandest airport ever. And it could have been if it was ever completed. Even in its unfinished condition it shows the glimmers of what could have been. Despite never being completed it has been used for several different purposes.

This would be Templehof airport on the outskirts of Berlin. The property has been used by the military going back to the Prussians and for very early aviation. Orville Wright did a demonstration here in 1909. In 1933, having outgrown the terminal built in 1929, the Nazi party commissioned a new building that was to be the largest airport in the world. The architecture echos the Germania style and the curved shape was to resemble an eagle in flight.

Construction started in 1936, but was halted

In 1941 due to the war. During the war there was a small prison Columbia House located on the grounds and forced laborers were brought here to help assemble planes for the Luftwaffe.

Initially seized by the Soviets during the fall of Berlin, it was turned over to the US as it was in the segment designated to US control. In 1948, the Soviets decided to blockade West Berlin,

Believing the adage that if one controls Berlin, one controls Germany.

However, the Soviets underestimated the determination of Berliners to hold out and the Allies ability to fly in supplies. A plane landed every three minutes with them coming through the air corridor stacked five high. The Brisih even employed an aquatic plane. In September of 1949, the Soviets realized that West Berliners were going to deal with only having electricity two hours of the day even if it was 2-4 am and survive on the airdropped supplies . The blockade was ended but flight counties for a few more months.

In 1951, civilian airlines began using the airport again and shared the other half of the building with US armed forces. In 1975, civilan flights were stopped due to the limitations of the airport For large jets that could be accommodated at Tegel airport. Many people from the GDR or east Germany fled to the airport to be airlifted out of the country before that escape routes was cut off. The. In the 1970s, the Polish airline LOT had several plane hijacked and forced to land at TempleHof so in German, they joked that LOT means also lands at TempleHof.

In 1985, the airport reopened for smaller craft and private planes. In 1996, the decision was made to creat a new Berlin airport. In anticipation of that, TempleHof sadly was closed in 2008. However, the new airport did not open until 2020!!

The design of the airport enabled airlines to service passengers as well as their planes in one area. Some of the grandiose Nazi work still exists such as the red and black limestone design in the entrance hall. The planned grand 4-5 story ceiling was mixed when that area was finished after WWII. Many of the design elements are incorporated in modern airports. It had a VIP lounge, and a beautiful restaurant overlooking the taxi area.

The part controlled by the US military contains remains of a 70s mode snack-bar in orange and brown, a regulation basketball court complete with a scoreboard, and what was once a bowling alley.

For now, a referendum preserved the airport in its entirety. The outdoor space Is used as a park and part of the building are leased out or used for special events. Still I feel sad it was never finished as planned, but it has been designated an historic building so will not be destroyed. There is so much history here; I didn’t begin to cover!

Our next stop was the East Side Gallery, but Amy’s purse strap had broken and the workaround was not working. We tried to find a leather repair shop, but it didn’t pan out. We passed a bicycle shop and she was inspired to ask them for help. She said, those guys like to fix things! I went ahead to get train tickets and as I was heading back, she was coming my way with a repaired purse.

She said at first the guy said “You are bringing me a black leather purse?” but then looked at it some more. And then another guy came out to look, so it was game on! She offers to pay but they said just leave us a good review, which, of course, she did.

The rain was pretty persistent by the time we got to the east side gallery and light was failing. It is an outdoor exhibiting done on the former east side of the wall by artists after the wall fell. It’s an interesting mishmash of optimistim, Salvidor Dali-influence, and downright dark work.

It’s also near the iconic Oberbaumbrucke bridge. (I believe that is redundant because I think brucke means bridge!). It has two levels one for autos and one for trains, which incidentally we took over the bridge. So this stop was a twofer. Amy insisted I buy an umbrella because I looked miserable. I have to admit; I was.

We dashed back to our room to get cutesy for our nice dinner out at Crackers, a restaurant Amy found on a Reddit thread. It was quite nice—they even checked our coats! I had a vegetarian squash entree and Amy had a strip loin that she could almost cut with a fork!

I finished the evening at the hotel bar having a Slrys whisky neat while Amy took a call o. Our room.