Berlin's Historic Airport Under Threat

As part of my MINI United adventure in 2007 I traveled to Berlin, Germany. A fascinating city with its huge role during the 20th century, Berlin is home to many landmarks including Tempelhof Airport. I circled the airport in my MINI and drove by the memorial to the Berlin Airlift. The buildings are architecturally interesting and I think it would be a shame if the airport were to disappear. Sounds like this is not completely the case, but there is that possibility. Anyway, Reuters has a video that talks about Tempelhof Airport:

Berlin to Cologne

At the Reichstag, seat of the German Government

At the Brandenburg Gate, symbol of Berlin

Today was spent primarily on the road. We started the day with a rainy morning drive around Berlin. The object was to get a picture of the car at the Brandenburg Gate and to find the longest remaining section of the Berlin Wall. Because of the weather photo conditions were less than ideal, but we did manage to get a few pics.

The Berlin Wall near the Ostbahnhof in eastern Berlin

After checking out of the Berlin Hilton we drove past Tempelhof Airport. Formerly the main airport of Berlin, Tempelhof is now facing closure. The airport itself is interesting from an architectural perspective as it is an example of mid-1930's German design. It is also an historic location since it was the airport that sustained West Berlin during the Berlin Airlift.

Next, we drove west towards our pitstop for the evening: Cologne. Along the route of travel on the A2 Autobahn we stopped at the former primary auto entry point into East Germany. First we saw the "German Unity" Sculpture in a rest area on the West German side of the border.

German Unity Sculpture

We then ventured to the former GDR Checkpoint that is maintained as a memorial. You can get a better impression by watching the video:

Tonight and tomorrow night will be spent here in Cologne. During the day tomorrow: the Nuerburgring

Berlin

We took a drive around Berlin at mid-day to get an impression of this large and impressive city with its cultural, political, and historical landmarks.

Berlin Drive

We also had a chance to grab a bite to eat with my friend Joerg, an old law school friend and Berliner living and working as an attorney in the city.

Robert and Joerg

Munich to Berlin

Heading towards 130 MPH/220KPH on the Autobahn


Dachau and High Speed on the Autobahn

We spent the morning relaxing at the hotel and waiting for the best time to avoid rain along our route. By the early afternoon we were on the road again and making our way up the spine of Germany to the north from Munich to Berlin. My longest stretch so far on the autobahn, we had a five hour drive ahead.

Our first stop upon leaving Munich was a very sobering and reflective one: Dachau. The name itself has become as infamous as Auschwitz in Poland. To be in a place of such incredible cruelty and one of the greatest examples of man's inhumanity towards man, Dachau was unforgettable. At the site there is a plaque that simply reads: Never Again.

Prisoner entrance with the infamous inscription "Work Sets You Free"

The Gatehouse where all victims entered the concentration camp.

For the sake of a better world may we never forget what happened there.

Back on the road we made our way up the freeway and gave in to the lure of a burger and fries at Burger King after I pulled in to fuel the car. High speeds don't do fuel economy any favors...

I also had my first run-in with the police while parked at Burger King. They blocked my car and asked to see "my papers". They had noticed the odd license plate and being a small town of course, decided that they had better check things out. No problems and they were courteous. Thanks to Jennifer I have a photo of the police trying to figure out all that U.S. paperwork.


"Ihre Papiere bitte" German Police try to make sense of the California Car


Long freeway drives and fast food just seem to go hand-in-hand.


The rest of the day was spent on the road enjoying the scenery of Bavaria, Thuringia, and Brandenburg. We crossed a bridge on the autobahn that served as the former border of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic (Communist East Germany). The A9 Autobahn did not serve as a major conduit between the two nations so the former border caught me by surprise and we weren't able to snap pictures in time. Perhaps the more famous east/west autobahn crossing we'll be able to capture later on our way back to the Netherlands.

We finally made it to Berlin Mitte late in the evening.