Airports and Bridges and Swans

While I work on researching job opportunities in Berlin (focusing on companies looking for a native English speaker), I know I need to ensure that I am fully taking advantage of each day I’m here as there is no way of knowing how long it will be.  So, I have been taking off on frequent little adventures: mostly jogging and walking the city which allows me to discover new parks, churches, bridges, restaurants, fun neighborhoods, hidden treasures and more!

Boats and trees and canals

This past Sunday, I decided I should walk around my new neighborhood and just get a feel for it (I’m now staying at Rainer and Luana’s apartment in the city til September 12).  This little neighborhood walk turned into seven miles worth of me wandering along the canal for quite a stretch and then back through the city.  Towards the end of this epic urban hike, as if I am magnetically attracted to it (I think I may be!), I happened upon Tempelhofer Feld.  This old airport is one of my very favorite things in this city full of amazing things.  I just think it’s really wonderful that the public voted to make this huge chunk of green land a space for all to enjoy!  How many closed down airports do you know of where you can freely roam the fields, the taxiway and the runways? 

Clouds and runways and airport terminals

 Where you can come across an old plane that has been there for many decades; or a shooting range where the U.S. military used to train?  Not only that, but at Tempelhof, you can always find people flying kites (not wimpy little kites, but the big kind!), rollerblading, biking through, jogging around, laying in the grass just relaxing, grilling; you can happen upon a pick-up soccer game or a baseball game (they have a few teams in Berlin!). How many old airport fields do you know about where you can go quench your thirst at a beer garden or casually stroll through one of the actual gardens where people have planted sunflowers and other wonderful plants?  Or where you can happen upon an art installment mini-golf course that tempts you at every passing?  It’s just a wonderful, big, beautiful open space and I absolutely love it!

Sun rays and airports and circuses

Bridges and boats and canals

I went on another urban hike today (just shy of seven miles) just in time for sunset and dusk on the canal.  I used part of the same route from Sunday, but rather than turning off the canal when I came to what I now call “The Bridge”…I continued along the canal another hour or so.  This bridge is special because it’s made of stone and has an area for people to sit right in the middle with a lane of traffic going by on either side.  Anytime you come here, you will find people sitting, either in the middle section between the lanes, or on the sides closer to the water below.  Although apparently, there is a bit of controversy about this space as I’ve been told that some people believe that too many people come here to loiter and smoke and drink.  But I don’t see that controversy.  I just see people enjoying a friend’s company in this beautiful setting or taking in a peaceful moment for themselves as they pass over the bridge on their bike.  They stop for a moment to stare off into the horizon and just breathe the fresh air.  Visitors of The Bridge all come and take it all in in their own way and that is the very beauty of it.

Swans and graffiti and vines

Weeping and willows and relaxation