BerlinA tale of three airports as the travel industry emerging from a pandemic and the realities of a post Brexit Europe start to hit home. We leave from Manchester airport, a cornerstone gateway of the North West powerhouse. Currently crippled by staff shortages and hamstrung by inadequate management who failed to predict ordinary folk may return to air travel, despite a fair number of seats on planes sold. Thankfully we weren't faced with the horrendous security and check-in issues that defined Manchester Airport in the spring of this year. The staff shortages now exist airside where huge numbers of passengers, forced to arrive early (because of the previous check-in issues) now spend much longer in the airport facing huge queues for a coffee or a beer, if indeed any facilities are open.
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| Berliner Dom on Museum Island, Berlin |
Things must improve in Berlin's brand new showcase Brandenburg Airport located to the south of the city. Well, they would if you had an EU passport. They facilitate a whizz through the shiny new electronic border control gates. Those in possession of an non-European passport (courtesy of Brexit) are forced to endure a painfully slow manual process, which takes hours......and hours.
Thankfully we have a cheerful German border guard who has drawn the short straw to look after the disgruntled queue of UK citizens reminding us at regular intervals in a comedic English accent "Please do not blame me, blame Mr Johnson".
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| An electronic music duo by the River Spree, Berlin |
Finally, things do improve and the new airport has excellent rail connections to the city via the Airport Express (FEX), regional trains S-Bahn commuter trains. Within 40 minutes we are at the excellently located Hackescher Markt, our base for a weekend break in Berlin.
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| TV Tower, Berlin |
Unaccustomed such a prolonged start to a short weekend break you'll forgive us for heading straight to the nearest available stein of German beer. Thankfully that wasn't to far away at the Hofbräu Wirtshaus Berlin, a newish Bavarian beerhall which boasts to be one of the largest in Europe. The short walk passing the iconic TV tower and Marienkirche Church at Alexander Plataz on the central Karl-Liebknecht-Straße is the perfect way to knock any lingering travel grumbles into a cocked hat.
And yes, the beer hall is comparatively new to Berlin but after a couple of beers, yummy pretzels, a schnitzel (with veggie option) that arrives in minutes we were soon be humming along to the local Oompah bands banging out those Bavarian tunes.
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| Ampelmann says GO! Berlin |
We've been to Berlin a fair few times, and for the Bowie fans out there I've previously blogged about Bowie's Berlin
here.
Having seen the tourist essentials, we now have the luxury of being free to wander off the beaten track and take a look at Berlin from another angle over a long weekend. So this is a summary of some interesting things for folk who may be looking beyond the checkpoint Charlie experience.
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| Berlin Tempelhof airport, Berlin |
And so we start with the third airport of our story.
Berlin Tempelhof airport closed in 2008 and redevelopment plans were rejected, with Berliners instead championing the historic buildings and airfield area to become a cultural hub and a wide open space for a variety of leisure activities, including a fairground (closed for the season).
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Fairground at Berlin Tempelhof airport, Berlin
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There are daily tours that allow access inside the terminal buildings and more, but just dropping by you'll have access to the visitor centre and Tempelhof Feld. Here, joggers, cyclists and dog walkers all enjoy the wide open space of the runways against the backdrop of the huge crescent shaped terminal building that stretches over a kilometre in length. It is one of the the largest buildings in the world so bring your walking shoes.
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| Berlin Tempelhof airport, Berlin |
The grandeur and decoration of the impressive facades never let you forget this airport was built by the Nazis in the 1930s. The Nazis adopted the eagle as a national symbol and the "imperial eagle" is a prominent design feature throughout. In the entrance of Eagle square, all that remains of a once towering five metre eagle statue is it's head. A poignant reminder. Lest we forget this was also once the site of a concentration camp where warplanes were built using forced labour.
Now it's a fascinating living museum and recreational oasis, a short twenty minute train ride from the centre of Berlin.
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Berlin Tempelhof airport, Berlin
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If you still have a few steps left in you after exploring Tempelhof the nearby Viktoriapark is home to a waterfall (turned off on our visit) and splendid views of the city from it's high vantage point.
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| Hauptstrasse 155, Schöneberg, Berlin |
And whilst you are in this pleasant area of West Berlin head over to Schöneberg to check in on David Bowie's Berlin Apartment at Hauptstrasse 155. It's become a bit of a tradition on our trips to Germany's capital to say hello and then grab a falafel and halloumi kebab from the excellent Turkish restaurant Imren, just a few doors down. Another of our Berlin traditions is a photo from the many photoautomat located around the city. I've had the pleasure of watching myself grow old in the form of a strip of black and white passport photographs.
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| Photoautomat, Berlin |
Don't buy anything in Berlin until you've been to the Mauerpark flea market in the bohemian neighbourhood of Prenzlauer Berg. You'll find everything there including souvenirs, antiques, second hand clothes, unique art, furniture. The private stalls are all flanked by a huge variety of food outlets. It's open every Sunday and it's must see for any serious shoppers.
I picked up an unused surplus Swedish army jacket from 1973 for 15 euros. Absolute bargain!
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| Mauerpark flea market, Berlin |
One of our favourite things to do on a European trip is go to a gig, and it's the key driver for many of our short breaks. This time we were watching Suede at Columbiahalle, a great venue not far from Tempelhof Airport. There are a raft of wonderful venues across Europe, Paris has Le Cigale and of course the Bataclan, which we visited 6 months before the terrible terrorist attack. Belgium has Ancienne Belgique in Brussels, Amsterdam has the fabulously named Paradiso. Italy has a lot of open air venues and in the summer piazzas become temporary concert venues. Often you will see bands paying in much more intimate settings than the UK and although the double whammy of the pandemic and Brexit hit the touring music industry hard, it's fabulous to be once again searching out these gigs and planning our trips.
If you do see a gig at Columbia Halle then make sure you pop to Castel Montecroce Pizza restaurant around the corner. They are not used to tourists but the food is perfect per-gig fodder.
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| Berlin |
And finally a word on where to base yourself in Berlin. Hackescher Markt is an area of ex-east Berlin in central Mitte. It's well connected to several S-Bhan lines and is in walking distance to the river Spree, the Museum Island , Alexander Platz and the TV Tower.
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| Hackescher Markt station and Museum Island, Berlin |
The shopping is great with a Butlers opposite the courtyards of Hackesche Höfe which houses boutique shops and restaurants. There are a couple of excellent German brewery bars in Das Lemke under the railway and Restauration 1840 which sits amongst of host of outdoors restaurants on the square adjacent to the railway.
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| By the Spree in the sunshine, Berlin |
A late night drink can be found at the Kilkenny Irish Pub under the station.
And there are plenty of culinary options beyond sausage and beer with several excellent vegetarian restaurants in the vicinity. The Adina apartments are a two minute walk from the station and have a small kitchenette so you can take full advantage of the convenient local supermarket should you so wish.
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| Hackescher Markt by day and night, Berlin |
The return journey to the UK was much more conducive to the weekend break, a tidy five hours from leaving the hotel to putting the key in the front door back home.
We're already planning our return to Berlin.
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| Berlin's Brandenburg Airport |
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