If you visit Berlin and you have a day to spend outside without needing to see the typical sights, then you should absolutely go to Tempelhofer Feld. The vast outdoor space of the former military airport in Berlin-Tempelhof has since 2010 been transformed into one of the largest urban open spaces in the world with international appeal. On the old runway, where airplanes used to take off, you now have over 300 hectare of space for strolling, skating or biking, and the big grass spaces are always full of families out for a picnic or flying a kite.
On one side of the field, you can see the former airport, on the Southern end, you can find a project for urban gardening, an important shelter in the middle of the city for rare animals and protected plants.
The space is carefully developed in a broad-based participation process and 18 civic projects by berlin residents and citizens are successfully filling the space with artistic and social ideas that created a unique offer for the millions of annual visitors from Berlin and around the world.
From the Minilofts it is fairly easy to catch the U6 to Platz der Luftbrücke where you'll find the entrance to both the former airport and the field behind it.
Photo: Holger Koppasch