Berlin 2

The day started with a bit less tourism. We travelled to Kreuzberg (south Berlin) to take part in Parkrun. Parkrun is a worldwide weekly run or walk in the park. Karen and I have been doing Parkrun, off and on, for four years, or so. It is encouraged to visit other Parkrun events and participate. We thought it would be special to attend in Berlin. And it was!
 


 In action!















Karen and I wore our Parkrun shirts. When we arrived, we were welcomed like family members. Everyone was very friendly. There were quite a few Parkrun 'tourists' (England, Chile, South Africa, Netherlands, and others). So it was decided to give the briefing in English. Eventually, the run started... so off we set for a merry 5km. On completion, we were invited to join the Hasenheide (the name of the park) Parkrun crew at a local restaurant for a buffet breakfast. Breakfast was delightful and we got to know more of the locals. They gave us some tips for things to see and do in Berlin. 

 Adjacent to Volkspark Hasenheide was Tempelhof Airport. This was once the airport servicing West Berlin and US Air Force base. Before that it was the airport instrumental in the Berlin Airlift 1948/49 when the Soviets tried to starve West Berlin into non-existence. The buildings around the airport are like a time capsule from the 70s. Tempelhof is now used as a park, and promoes many different sports. The runways and taxiways are well used by cyclists and inline skaters. There is also a refugee camp for Ukrainians in place. 

 We decided to take the subway back to our hotel. The subways trains are frequent and subway station are quite clean. A bit of grafitti here and there. On the route, the announcer mentioned Checkpoint Charlie (the former gateway between west and east Berlin). We got off the subway and snapped some obligatory photos. The Checkpoint is not much to look at today but its history over 40 years is exciting, tragic and deadly. The Checkpoint is now surrounded by souvenir shops and a McDonalds and a KFC.





Checkpoint Charlie selfie.














We the continued on our way back to the hotel for some washing and cleaning. We went for another exploring walk in the afternoon. Of course, Karen found a market. Most of what was on sale was pretty much junk.






The markets.
Some fairly dodgy folks selling stuff.










Tomorrow will be some organised tours.

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