been really hard, painful. but a grand adventure.— been really hard, painful. but a grand adventure. 60 years ago this summer _ a grand adventure. 60 years ago this summer berlin's _ a grand adventure. 60 years ago this summer berlin's infamous l this summer berlin's infamous wall went up, effectively slicing the city into two and leaving capitalist west berlin isolated deep within communist east germany. almost overnight, tegel airport became an important lifeline for west berlin is. in 1974, its brutalist inspired hexagonal shaped terminal opened, making the shortest walk from aircraft to exitjust the shortest walk from aircraft to exit just 30 the shortest walk from aircraft to exitjust 30 metres long, which led to the airport becoming one of the busiest in germany. i have been to many airports in my lifetime, but i've never had the unique opportunity to stand in the middle of a runway, one that just two years ago saw 24 million passengers leave and arrive. it's empty now, and a bit bizarre... but then again, this is no ordinary airport.