Have you been wondering how the revolutionary 9-euro ticket has transformed travel in Germany?
Well, as expected, trains and buses are visibly fuller, sometimes crowded, although rarely overcrowded. (And if so, it’s always because of people who insist on bringing their bicycle on a train.)
Roads and highways are less congested. There are fewer accidents. People are more relaxed. Everyone is happier.
And because everyone can now afford to take the comfortable, scenic and romantic railroad, almost nobody has to use uncomfortable, claustrophobic and unreliable airplanes anymore.
Trying to find out how air travel in Germany has been affected, I decided to walk to the airport in Berlin last night. With my penchant for romantic situations, I got there just in time for the sunset.
And I was in for quite a surprise: The airport was almost empty. It was open for business, theoretically, but nobody wanted to use those gas-guzzling planes anymore. All the parking was empty. I could walk around the terminals without any security stopping me. People had taken over the runway for cycling, roller-blading, jogging and picnicking.
Links:
- More stories from and about Berlin.
- And about Germany in general.
- More airports, more sunsets, or simply more beautiful photos.
The Happy Hermit 
Thanks for the smile, Andreas, it made a hot evening more bearable. Tempelhof, if my memory serves me correctly? I have only ever been there once, and that was probably in the 1990s.
It was also quite hot as I was walking around there last night.
And yes, that’s Tempelhof, a beautiful gem of an airport. Much more elegant than all this modern glass and steel stuff.
Let’s get a 9 euro ticket?
I already have one, of course.
But yes, you should! It’s one of the best travel deals of all times.
Ha! That’s great. And not a single airship in sight either!
The lack of airships is rather lamentable indeed.
But they have all moved south, to the town of Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance, covered in this article:
You can still get a ride on an airship there today.
Fun evening I’m sure. If I ever fly into Berlin, I will make sure to avoid this airstrip.
But yes, with the 9 Euro ticket, who would need to fly in Germany?
Especially in the parts of the airport where I was completely alone between those huge buildings, it was a bit surreal.
Like time travel.
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Bist du noch im Berlin?
Nur mehr dieses Wochenende. 😢
Schade! Ich hätte dich gerne zum Essen eingeladen! Nächstes Mal!
Sehr gerne!
Leider geht die Zeit immer so schnell vorbei.
Hasn’t this airport been closed for like a decade or something? No wonder, it’s empty. I think the new Brandenburg airport must be fairly busy.
Oh.
Now, that would kind of explain things.
But then, somebody left the lights on.
And either way, it was fabulous to walk around the empty airport. (Which has much more impressive architecture than the new one, anyway.)
Ha ha, yes that would, wouldn’t it.
Yes, airports are interesting spaces and some of the older ones are repurposed as museums/ airshow spaces etc.,