At the Military History Museum in Gatow

The Museum at Berlin Gatow Airfield is an interesting experience for anyone passionate about recent history, particularly the Cold War military episodes. As a child who grew up in a communist country, where the daily media propaganda included frequent mentions about Pershing 2 missiles or outlining the power of MiGs airplanes, who at the end of the Cold War were falling down from the skies given the lack of technical updates, the visit was a real-time experience of observing from close the remains of the military stockpiles of a war who never happened

Regardless of your location in Berlin, it takes more than one hour to arrive there. I took from Rathaus Spandau S+U Bahn the 135 bus, direction Alt Kladow. From the bus station Seekorso, there are another 20 minutes of walking, through an elegant one-storey villas, following some big direction signs leading to the place.

The access to the overwhelming museum area - most of it open air - is free. Berlin Gatow Airport was built in 1934, being part of the general military buildup in Germany, being used as a major Luftwaffe secret pilot training complex. In July 1945, the airport was took over by the British occupation forces, being intensively used during the Berlin Airlift in 1948/49. During those times, approximately one third of the Allied aircraft used those premises.

Since 1994, the site is operated by the Bundeswehr, that created here a learning center for Bundeswehr soldiers in addition to the exhibition area. 

The museum is a branch of the Military History Museum of the Bundeswehr in Dresden, with a special focus on air warfare. With an impressive collection of around 500,000 exhibits, it is considered the depository of the largest collection of aerial assets from the Cold War worldwide.

It mostly offers exhibits from the two Germanies, but also covers 'allied' Eastern countries, such as the then Czechoslovakia. Actually, given the pact that the countries members of the Warsaw Pact used exclusively Soviet-made weapons, browsing the museum offers a good approximation of the military capacities of the USSR at the time. 

The impressive exhibition space is organised based on various military divisions and specialities: air transport, nuclear weapon carriers, radar, air defence artillery, training aircraft, fighters, electronic combat and reconnaissance aircraft, fighter bombers and ground-attack aircraft etc.

A special section is dedicated to the episodes of the Berlin Airlift, when for almost one year the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' access to the sectors of the city under their control causing a dramatic humanitarian crisis.

The explanations of various types of weapons or missiles are extensively offered mostly in German, but there are enough materials available in English which can offer additional information.

Most of the exhibits are installed outside, with some hangars where also temporary exhibitions are hosted. People can come there by car - with a big parking space available near the main entrance - but also by bike, with plenty of space to move fast in between rocket launchers and MiGs.

Although it looks like a very specialized museum which is not accessible from the popular areas, the place was full of people, from all over the world, keen to catch on camera spectacular views of times which hopefully will never return. 

As a history lover, I've refreshed some stories and concepts about the Cold War and I also had the chance of a better understanding of that period of time. If you are like me, you will definitely consider worth spending a full half-day here, because it can be better than one full week spent in the library.

A Historical Walk in Karlshorst, Berlin

As a historian passionate about the Cold War period, Karlshorst was on my first 50 places list to visit during my first year in Berlin. At the time, I was breathing and eating Berlin history for breakfast, lunch and dinner and still wanted to know more and more, as a hungry student so passionate about the new information and yet dedicated to come back and revisit the previous notes.

After a while, I calmed down and tried to live also - and eat normal food too - acquired different routines and set up different priorities. I started to read more in German by German authors and make my own opinions, eventually ending up revisiting some places and even correcting the initial impressions. Karlshorst returned to my intellectual radar after reading some memories from the after-WWII times in this part of Berlin by author Barbara Honigmann who grew up in this area and shared her stories from the time of the first years of the Soviet presence. 

A couple of weeks ago, loaded with some fresh enthusiasm, my notebook and my camera, I returned ready to revisit old places and eventually discover new ones.

Karlshorst is situated close to both Köpenick and Lichtenberg, and a couple of stations away from the Tierpark. My journey started on Treskowallee, the most important artery in the area, around which in the 19th century, Karlshorst developed. Around 50 buildings on this street are classified as historical monuments. Part of the former communist Berlin and situated in the close vicinity of the Soviet headquarters, on this street used to be located during the Cold War embassies of 'friendly' states such as Popular's Republic of China or Libya. 

At no. 119, there is the entrance to the horseback riding arena, covering an enormous park.

With the capitalist order winning - regardless what naysayers say, communist never won - the green area is little by little diminishing in favor of new modern blocks of buildings. Compared to Lichtenberg, for instance, you will not find here many Plattenbauten, with small one-storey houses being the most frequent architectural presence. Which is not bad at all. 

As for now, the green park is mostly untouched by the construction fever and remain predominant. As it is early Sunday, on the way exploring the area, we crossed path with  many local people spending time here, either walking their dogs, jogging, or just walking around breathing deep the fresh air of the summer.

The horseback riding arena was quiet for another couple of days, until the 23rd of August, when a competition was held here in the morning.

For most of the time though, the park is mostly quiet and the human presence remains very discrete, which makes even more enjoyable the nature walking.

At the end of some wild alleys, small villas tucked behind green yards and flowers are trying to be as non-intrusive as possible.

The usual Sunday silence continues on the main streets as well. We are back to the S-Bahn station where all the food and fun locations seems to be concentrated, such as a Kulturhaus and a music bar, but as for now, they are deserted. Our next destination is at the end of the Rheinsteinstraße - with average rows of buildings, freshned up by some colours in the walls once in a while - following the arrow indicating in Russian and Latin lettering: Museum Berlin Karlshorst.

Before entering the labyrinth of history, another green stop, at Rheinsteinpark, with its huge alleys and equally enormous playgrounds, completely empty too.

On our way, the architectural views are changing, with more Western - Swiss-chalet - looking houses challenging the average greyness. 

The museum is at the very end of the street, a former casino for military personnel, with Soviet armored vehicles stationed in the yard. The institution was established in 1995, being supported financially by both the Russian Federation and Germany.

One of the tanks, a 32-tone made in the USSR with 5 places, with a freshly wreath in the colours of the national flags of the Russian Federation, has written in Cyrillic alphabet: 'Za Rodina' - 'For the country'. The journey back in time starts fast-forward.

In this building, the surrender of Nazi Germany was signed in the night of 8 to 9 May 1945, after one week of fierce fights on the streets of Berlin. The Potsdam Conference which took place in the same year between 17 of July and 2nd of August, at Cecilienhof Palace recognized the status quo and set up the technical details of the beginning of the Cold War, including the famous bi-polar separation of Europe based on 'spheres of influence'. 

The conference room in Karlshorst was reconstructed, the empty space being brought back to life through the black-and-white movie playing on some screens on the upper right side of the room. 

The information in the museum is displayed in the small details, in German and Russian with a short explanation in English, including testimonies of oral history and propaganda images. One of the few things I acknowledged during my history studies is that there is no absolute historical truth, but different versions of the event, and what prevails usually is the crossing of different sources. Whatever your scientific angle or just curiosity, the museum is informative and reflects predominant conceptions specific for the Cold War historiography.

As I was already familiar with the information from the previous visit, my focus this time was on visual representations. For instance, the 'Diorama attack on the Reichstag', produced in 1967 by Grikov Studio in Moscow, which has a sounding of armed fight background, reproduced thereafter on many visual rendition of this historical episode all over Russia and the communist world.

There is also a stained glass reproduction of the monumental statue from Treptower Park, representing a Soviet soldier rescueing a German child, based apparently on an episode taking place during the battle of Berlin. Symbolically, it is aimed to outline the friendship between Soviet Russia and the Communist Germany. In most such representations I've seen, the Soviet human always looks taller or bigger or anyway with clear superior physical treats compared with the non-Soviet presence. 

More joyous is another stained glass representing the fireworks of victory, with a two-dimensional building of Kremlin.

I left the museum after more than one hour of historical exploration and additional food for thought about a period I am familiar with for many - including personal - reasons. 

Before leaving Karlshorst I don't know for how long, my experience told me that there might be something left to see. As the building of the museum was until 1963 part of the headquarters of the Soviet Military Administration of Germany (SMAD) and the streets around used to be blocked for security reason, a couple of meters away I've found the larger compound. 

At no. 4 Zwieselerstraße the former abandoned building after the last Soviet soldier left Germany - officially - a former military German school at the beginning of the 20th century occupied after 1945 by Moscow officials, including KGB and GRU representatives, is since 2012 a family-friendy block of buildings. It also was a bunker there, among many other facilites, but once abandoned it used to be for a long time one of the many abandoned places in the city, an attractions for many - me included. However, the pressure of real life of offering more leaving facilities for the nowadays Berliners, took over and the construction was adapted accordingly. The past is lost for good, save for a small note near what used once to be a high security entrance. This is how history goes. 

A Weekend Walk around Mariendorf

As I spend most of my outdoors time in the popular areas of Berlin, there is little time left for discovering more about the rest of the city. In Mitte, Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg or Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf I have the best restaurants, museums and shopping destinations, therefore why should I adventure further more, outside my comfort zone? But living in the comfort zone is relatively unknown to me, therefore, I often enjoy taking a break from my usual walking routes and offering myself an adventure on the road less traveled.

This time, it happened in the area around Mariendorf, a former village with a history which starts in the 14 century, which went through a dramatic demographic development only in the second half of the 19th century. During the Cold War, it used to be part of the American sector, and was usually out of the touristic radar of the big city until now. This detail even was enough for spending one full Sunday afternoon there. 

I started my walk at Ullsteinstraße U-Bahn station, on the U6 metro line. The red-bricked Ullstein building was from its construction, in the 1920s, in a special German Expressionism architecture style, until 1957, Germany's highest building. The headquarters of the famous edition house Ullstein, it hosts an array of institutions and leisure destinations, among which the German Press Museum and the Amber Suite club.  

The architecture around tries to suit the massive red-bricked building, with an array of constructions which look like futuristic blocks. Before, the entire area around Tempelhofer Damm was just a small port used for trade and storing goods brought to Germany. Layers of the former buildings were integrated into the modern constructions erected lately, such as the Tempelhofer Hafen Shopping Center. For instance, the small pieces of pavements and rails used for carrying tons of goods, mostly by horse-drawn carriages.

Or the hand crane in the front of the fashion stores, a remnant of hard work facing the world of leisure.

But it is one of the few summer days and I want to soak myself as much as possible into the warm rays of light. The small port used nowadays mostly for agreement boats looks lovely under the sun and the many coffee places open only for the summer are an invitation to 'dolce far niente'.

There are even some interesting options for children, such as a 3D Minigolf and a Kinderland playground. 

Right now, I am more curious to discover more from this area, which is so close from the former popular Tempelhof airport, but without any tourist or traveler in sight. The trip continues with some walking alongside Tempelhoferdamm, populated with many cheap stores, but with some patches of colour in the front of small boutiques too.

The foodie offer is overwhelming, as it seems that every ground level is hosting a restaurant or fast-food. The affordable Turkish restaurants alternate with some colourful Indian and Asian ones.

The impression over architecture is not so good, as the majority of buildings are in the grey unattractive style of the end of the 1960s-1970s. However, some funny discoveries like this children drawings can make a significant visual difference. 

I give up to the temptation of taking a street completely unknown, just because I am curious and I know that sometimes there is a reward. At the end of the Friedrich-Karl Straße, a relatively uneventful street with many building renovations under way, an empty big playground is an invitation to move and play a little bit around.

The side streets usually look covered in green, with wild green trees making a green bridge from the both sides.

After so much green and even much gray buildings, the colours on Attilaplatz wakes me up. The architectural volumes are probably aimed to shake your visual habits too.

 Taking about visual habits, maybe you want to have a stop and a selfie at the Selfie bar. Why not?

However, despite some small discoveries, I am a bit disappointed as it seems there is nothing too interesting happening around. Even the store at the Manufaktur Fassbender&Rausch, the one who produces the amazing work of chocolate art in Gendarmenmarkt is closed since April. When almost all the hopes were lost, I see a colourful arrow recommending a children farm. Which is closed for the time being, but once step further and I am at the ufa fabrik, a former film studio aimed to be demolished in the 1970s, creatively turned into an international cultural center. 

Covering an impressivev 18,566 square meters of land, it offers a variety of activities, from ecological pilot projects, to social networking for people of all ages and backgrounds, mostly organised in the many coffee places around the area.

Concerts are also part of the daily activities, especially in the summer, taking place in a futuristically covered outdoors hall.

There is also a modest street art corner, the only creative area I've seen during my all walk around Mariendorf this time.

The green view is soothing for the eyes and an encouragement to explore more. For a couple of seconds, the view from Stubenrauch Bridge make me feel I am somewhere outside the city life, hiking in the wilderness. 

My eyes are on the hunt of unusual and special corners on Mariendorferdamm, and once in a while my searches are rewarded as in the case of this wall statue of a Prussian warrior.

I can even see some curious architecture games, along the same Mariendorferdamm street, where the display of cheap stores, slot machines and fast foods continues.

There is another park, with some curious playground machines, where children can waste their energies as much as they want.

The rest of the park looks 'normal', with lanes for jogging, benches and even some courageous swans daring to go out of the lake to break bread with the locals.

Up in the skies, on Friedenstraße, some stylish roof edges of a school institution that I couldn't resist to not photograph, are the diversion to the agerage gray building around.

When it is time to leave from the 1960s style of metro station at Alt-Mariendorf, on my way to my usual fancy travel places, I can count few of my blessings of visiting such an under the radar but otherwise normal to live in neighbourhood. Until the end of the summer, I promise myself to be on a mission to keep discovering more than that.