Berlin 1 — Running in Tempelhofer Feld, I love that place !
It‘s my first discovery run outside Paris.
And I think I’m in love with Berlin (like a lot of Parisians, I guess.)
There is much to write about this city, but I’ll keep it short.
10km in 55mn
Not my best, not my worst, but a great moment.
(The lap of the park — sorry, the feld — itself is around 6km.)
The beginning : Neukölln
We sere staying in Neukölln, a super cosy and multicultural district in the South of Berlin Center.
Some say, Kreuzberg was a very poor district during 30 years, then the hipster district during 10 years. And now that the prices have increased there, the new “trendy and creative area” is Neukölln (which was poor before).
As far as we could see, it’s the case.
To keep it short : Neukölln is the neigborhood that is currently in the gentrification process.
One may like it or not, but it’s very diverse and full of cool bars, galleries, restaurants, kebaps, asian shops, organic groceries, second-hand and upcycled clothes.
In short, we couldn’t find a better place to stay.
So it’s from our accomodation on Karl-Marx-Strasse that the run begins.
Then 2km running among wide streets, old neigborhoods, graffities and… ice (it was pretty cold at this time).
Oh, and one thing you have to know : for a Parisian like me, the best luxury is space.
Paris is a very dense, very narrow city, and having space is an incredible feeling !
Furthermore, we lack large public parks in the city itself. But Tempelhoffer Feld is HUGE — it’s bigger than Central Park, NY — , and pretty close to the city center !
A collective space on a former airport
A little bit of history.
Tempelhof opened in 1923 (beginning of commercial airlines) and was the first airport connected to a subway.
The Cold War was the maximum activity period, serving both civilians and the US Army to join West Berlin (surrounded by the famous Wall).
In 1975, the new Tegel airport was put into service, absorbing most of the traffic. Since then, almost only the army still used Tempelhof, despite of its central location.
The airport was finally closed in October 2008, but its history wasn’t over yet. Re-opened in May 2010, Tempelhof was the center of a big social contestation when the local government proposed to build houses and malls on the Feld.
Finally, in 2014, a poll confirmed (by 65%) than Tempelhof would remain an open park for everyone.
This huge building is the third biggest building in the world ! (After the US Pentagon and the Presidential Palace in Budapest).
It has the shape of an eagle (seen from above) as it’s the symbol of the German State.
Now it’s a refugees center :)
(I like how they recycled an empty building onto something that helps the social goals of Germany — they aim to welcome 1 million refugees !)
READY FOR TAKE-OOOOFFFF !
Off the buildings, on the feld itself (which is, maybe 4/5 of the total space), Berliners do a lot of activities. A short list of what I saw during my run :
- Parents and grandparents with their kids ;
- Walking their dogs, cats, falcon (I’m not sure for the falcon) ;
- Playing cricket, football, yoga, tennis, badmington, and even practicing boxing ;
- Eating, drinking ;
- Sleeping on the grass (only Germans can take a nap outside, by 0 degrees + wind) ;
- Running (of course), skating ;
- Reading books ;
- Doing a photoshoot.
An incredible diversity. An everybody has enough space to do whatever he/she wants !
Apparently, people built benches, tables, huts, summer gardens…
I LOVE THAT !
BBQ… I’m hungry !
Kids, kiddos, toddlers everywhere ! And they seem to not feel the cold.
Like Martin, our host, said to us :
Tempelhofer Feld is a resumate of what Berlin is : history, social battles, DIY, sense of sharing and community.
I’m definitively in love with Berlin.
Next discovery run : Treptower Park, still in Berlin.
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From one runner to the others,
JB
I’m a Parisian guy, who loves running and travelling.
With two friends, I created Welcom’ to Paris, a platform to help travellers to meet Parisians and explore the real Paris with them.
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