The end of an era – Berlin Tempelhof airport closing today

by Scott Carmichael on

At 9:50 pm tonight, Berlin Tempelhof airport will say farewell to its final passenger carrying flight.

Fellow Gadling blogger Jeffrey White actually lives several blocks from Tempelhof, and covered the announcement itself back in May, but today is the day when it actually happens.

After 80 years of continued operation, one of the oldest airports in the world will shut down for good. Tempelhof is where the German aviation industry was born, and was home to Lufthansa for many years. At one point, Tempelhof was even the largest aviation hub in Europe.

Of course, Tempelhof also went through a dark period when it was used during the Second World War. It was Hitler himself who is responsible for demanding the massive terminal building at Tempelhof, just like many other impressive buildings erected in Berlin during the war. When the Germans capitulated, Tempelhof was briefly operated by the Soviets before being handed over to the Americans in July of 1945.After the war ended, Tempelhof played an important role in the Berlin Airlift when Allied troops defied the Soviets by bringing food and fuel to war torn Berlin.

It is this piece of history that has divided Berliners in their support of keeping the airport open. Many East Berliners still see the airport as a symbol of the split in their city that lasted so long, and a turning point in Allied-Soviet relations that spelled the birth of the Cold War.

The decline of passenger numbers at Tempelhof started in the 70’s, but the airport saw a brief rise in flight traffic after the German unification in 1990. When the East and West united, Berlin suddenly had three airports, and after several years, airlines once again moved away from Tempelhof back to Schoenefeld and Tegel.

The closure has been in the making for several years, and the actual signature for its closure was placed back in 2005. The end of Tempelhof is all part of a new project to move all Berlin air traffic to one new airport; Berlin Brandenburg International airport (BBI) which is scheduled to open in 2011. BBI is built on the location of the current Schoenefeld airport. When BBI opens, yet another Berlin airport will cease to exist; Tegel.

The new airport will make air travel to and from Berlin much easier, thanks to a direct rail link into the city center, and several highway access point.

Despite all these new changes, it’s always a shame to see another icon of the aviation world disappear. Attempts to preserve the terminal buildings at Tempelhof failed and it is not exactly clear what the plans are with regards to the airport.

Your tax money at work – Sacramento airport to build a $767,000 giant red rabbit

by Scott Carmichael on

Can you think of a better way to welcome arriving and departing passengers than a 56 foot red fiberglass rabbit?

Well, apparently neither could the board of Sacramento airport.

Sacramento officials just approved the construction of this piece of art which should look like a rabbit jumping into the terminal building towards some stone suitcases.

The rabbit’s creator is artist Lawrence Argent, who is also responsible for the giant blue bear horse at Denver International Airport.

The total cost of the artwork is a staggering $767,000, but of course that number is tiny compared to the $1.3 Billion spent on replacing the aging Terminal B.

Personally I’ve always been a fan of most airport artwork, but like all art, it’s a very personal thing, and I’m not sure everyone will be thrilled by the sight of a giant red rabbit.

Of course, don’t fly to Sacramento expecting to see the rabbit any time soon; the project won’t be completed until 2011.

Update: Reader Matt points out that the sculpture at DIA is actually a horse, the giant bear is at the Denver Convention Center. Thanks Matt!

Catching the Travel Bug: Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam

by Josh Lew on

Welcome to Catching the Travel Bug, Gadling’s mini-series on getting sick on the road, prevailing and loving travel throughout. Five of our bloggers will be telling their stories from around the globe for the next five weeks. Submit your best story about catching the travel bug in the comments and we’ll publish our favorite few at the end of the series.

SARS. The subject was worked into every conversation amongst the expats and long-term tourists in Vietnam. The government claimed that the virus had been contained in several northern provinces, far away from Sai Gon (Ho Chi Minh City to Communist Party officials and fresh-off-the-plane tourists). Still. There were rumors about people’s neighbors being taken away in the middle of the night to be quarantined because of a persistent cough. Mostly, that was just speculation, fueled by one too many beers or one too many years in country.

Nonetheless, when I came down with a cough and fever, I had thoughts of gasping for breath in a hidden away hospital ward guarded by CP officials who didn’t want their SARS secret to get out. I wrote my illness off as a regular flu bug I’d picked up from being in a classroom teaching eight-year-old Vietnamese kids how to speak English. When my chest started to tighten and my cough to turn into a wheeze, I started to worry a bit more.

I confided in my girlfriend who took me to a doctor who had an after-hours private practice in his home. I was assured that he spoke English. He spoke great Russian because he’d been schooled in Moscow, but only a bit of English (like “Injection” and “Infection”). Between my modest Vietnamese skills and miming and his pidgin of Russian, English, and charades, I was able to get started on an IV of antibiotics. But he wanted an x-ray to rule out the unspoken disease. He kept asking me if I had been up north, to the areas that were hit by SARS. I said no, but he casually slipped a surgical mask on before starting me on the IV.
I got into the x-ray at a hospital the next day. It took two hours in the waiting room, which was not the best experience. Radiology was located by a nurses’ station and there were several people on hospital beds just parked in the hallway. I found out from a smiling but nervous lady in a neighboring seat that they were on a death watch. The nurses could keep an eye on them until the end.

The x-ray technician was unfamiliar with practicing his trade on someone of my height. It took 5 tries to get it right. I paid him 150,000 dong ($10 US) to hand the pictures directly to me instead of putting them up with the others.

My next antibiotic session consisted of me and about 4 others, sitting in plastic lawn chairs in the doctor’s back room with drips hanging from hooks in the wall. One guy smoked the entire time, but no one said anything.

A few days later, I went through the x-ray ordeal again. This time a smiling technician got it right on the second try. Through my girlfriend the doctor said that he chalked it up to a chest infection.

“No SARS?” I asked.

“No SARS.” He chuckled, said something in Russian, and patted me on the shoulder.

Check out the past travel-bug features here.

Daily deal – Creative Labs Vado pocket video camera for $80 + free case

by Scott Carmichael on

My daily deal for today is for the Creative Labs Vado pocket video camcorder.

This small digital video camera records up to 2 hours of content and features a digital 2x zoom, an internal rechargeable battery and a built in USB connector.

Recordings can instantly be sent to Youtube or other video sharing sites, or stored on your PC.

Cameras like this have become increasingly popular thanks to their low cost and durability. I’ve used several of them myself, and often prefer them over a regular digital camera because they are much easier to carry around.

Of course, the video quality is not comparable to a high-end digital video camera, but the content is perfectly acceptable for shots of your vacation or other event.

The Creative Labs Vado normally retails for $99.99, but until November 1st you’ll be able to pick one up from Amazon.com for just $79.99. To make the deal even sweeter, Amazon even throws in a free carrying case (worth $15). Just be sure to add both items to your cart on the purchase page. The Creative Labs Vado is available in silver and pink, and both cameras have a matching colored case available.

The Pirate Life on Somalia’s Coast

by Josh Lew on

The BBC recently ran a feature about the pirates who have been terrorizing ships off Somalia’s coastline. These pirates make their money by capturing ships of all sorts, from cruise ships to freighters, and demanding a ransom. Are these guys modern day eye-patch-wearing rum-lovers? According to BBC reporter Robyn Hunter, they are ambitious young men who have found a niche and are exploiting it to ensure that they live the good life in a troubled country where half of the population relies on foreign food aid to survive.

A resident of Puntland, the semi-autonomous coastal area from which the pirates operate, gave Hunter the lowdown on the attraction of the pirate life:

“They have money; they have power and they are getting stronger by the day…They wed the most beautiful girls; they are building big houses; they have new cars; new guns…Piracy in many ways is socially acceptable. They have become fashionable.”

But the heyday for these cowboys of the Gulf of Aden may be coming to an end. Shipping companies are planning on hiring security contractors to guard ships passing through the area. That will significantly lessen the chance of pirates being able to take a ship and its crew hostage without a fight. It is doubtful though, that the presence of a few armed contractors will lessen the lure of the easy money of the pirate life.