Berlin's airports have an interesting history, and they are currently building a brand new terminal at the one that used to serve East Berlin prior to unification. It's apparently a disaster that makes Trudeau Senior's Mirabel debacle look like a minor hiccup. It's due to open late next year, and so far it's 100% over budget and is taking better than twice the projected time to build. So the old commercial hub of West Berlin at Tegel has had its lifespan extended a couple of times and is staying active until the new Brandenburg Airport opens.
Since my homeward schedule included 13 hours overnight in Berlin, I checked nearby hotels on line, and then found a German novelty - available only in Munich and Tegel/Berlin. I had emailed the company to see if I could reserve one of these cabins, but found they are only available on a first come basis and cost 10 Euros/hour - 30 Euro minimum, 12 hour maximum. So I figured I would check them out on arrival, my alternative being a nearby hotel if they were both in use. It turned out that they were both available, and the whole time I was there no one came to even look at them. If they're to yield any sort of return, the owners had better do some serious advertising.
Finding the cabins was no problem, but I found a whole lot more. Since they are a couple of floors above the main departures level, and the other facilities on this upper level are apparently unused, I found I was alone once I went up to the "Sky Conference" area where they are located. Access to this area has probably since been restricted, but opposite the elevator doors is a reception desk that was unattended. About 20 metres further on, the area opens up into a large lounge which would have had food and beverage service in the past, but now is effectively abandoned - used only by a few airport staff members for eating packed meals and "quiet time".
The rest of the trip was pretty routine, with the layover in Chicago and short stop in Phoenix just nuisance factors. My 80 Euro upgrade to XL Economy for the long haul was worthwhile in terms of having an empty seat next to me, and room to move around; but the seats were very short under the thigh. I tried to change the routing, but all flights were full - spring break was happening in the U.S. Getting a decent night's sleep at Tegel instead of sitting up somewhere for 13 hours made all the difference in terms of wear and tear on this passenger...
Sequel - October 2021
Berlin's airport nightmare finally ended a year ago with the opening of Brandenburg Airport on October 31, 2020 - after 24 years planning and execution, 10 years late, and cost overruns that authorities prefer not to publish.
