I might agree on the sentiment but East Germany was not part of the USSR, technically.

The USSR proper had some very interesting periods, in terms of architecture. Like all countries that could start basically from scratch, they were free to experiment and dream; some of those dreams turned into nightmares, but others did advance the state of the art.

Well while it was not annexed by the USSR like Armenia it was behind the Iron Curtain.

The Warsaw Pact was an alliance of nominally-independent states. They all relied on the USSR in one way or another, but they had their internal dynamics and cultural differences. Their architectural efforts were often manneristic towards Soviet styles, rather than original.

I think USSR relied on many of them actually. Eastern Germany and Czechoslovakia provided best tech and foreign currency source, and the whole area between Germany and USSR was planned to get nuked in case of an all-out war between NATO and USSR, in order to protect USSR's mainland. Fun times for Central European countries I guess, getting shafted from both sides continuously for centuries.

It wasn’t “centuries”, it was barely 50 years. The USSR itself didn’t last 80 years, and before WWII most countries in the area (with the notable exception of Poland) were just fine - in fact, they were pretty happy after the fall of the Austrian Empire. Warsaw Pact countries were still relatively free to chart their own path in non-military matters until the Prague Spring of 1968.

Russian influence on the region is a related but separate issue, but let’s not paint central Europe as some sort of perennial victim.

Luxury and Soviet Era went together very well indeed for Party VIPs. This would have been a prime example when it was new.

Never been to Schönefeld, but even Tegel is a bit of a disgrace for the main airport of the German capital.

There's always Berlin Brandenburg, which should open any day now.[1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Brandenburg_Airport

-In Tegel's defense, it was built when area was definitely at a premium, seeing as it was in former West Berlin which simply didn't have the luxury of expanding into the surrounding farmland.

The other West Berlin Airport - Tempelhof - was marvellous, though. Built during Weimar Republic years when air travel was for the wealthy few, the terminal was (and is!) as monumental as a palace.

I also have a soft spot for Tempelhof. The shape of the structure and the interior are magnificent.

https://www.fotocommunity.de/photo/im-flughafen-tempelhof-ho...

I know that it probably wouldn't work as a modern airport but I wish that there had been a way. It's so weird and... Berlin. Love it.

Tempelhof was started during Weimar, but it was rebuilt by the Nazi government, which is why it looks how it looks (and why nobody wants to reuse it, given a chance).

It blows my mind how far behind schedule BER is. According to Wikipedia, construction started in 2006 and was scheduled to complete in October 2011 (aka about 5 years was allocated for construction). It's now almost October 2018. We're now 7 YEARS past the originally scheduled completion date. It's claimed that the airport won't open until Fall 2020. That means the airport won't open until at least 9 years past the original opening date. If that happens, construction will have taken 14 years when it was originally scheduled to take 5 years.

Based on its history I'm skeptical about the airport opening in 2020.

It probably would have been cheaper to flatten that damn thing in 2011 and start from scratch.

It's a fascinating story, though, of hubris, corruption and about what happens when you try to change an existing massive structure in the middle of construction.

One of the funnier stories was the first attempt to open it. Fire management systems were non-existant (actually they were there. The components were piled high on pallets, alas with no working plan to implement them).

So airport management suggested to hire 800 minimum wage folks. Supply them with cell phones (a total no!no! For emergency response), folding chairs and hi-viz vests to then distribute them strategically throughout the airport.

If they noticed something suspicious, like smoke or fire, they would call it in.

I leave it up to your imagination what the higher ups of the fire brigade thought of this brilliant plan. Especially with the memory of a catastrophic fire at Dusseldorf airport not too long ago.[1]

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BCsseldorf_Airport_fire

> but even Tegel is a bit of a disgrace for the main airport of the German capital

Yes. A total disappointment. And the "main" terminals are the worse, the low cost ones are less crappy.

You've clearly never been on the Moscow or St. Petersburg Metro. They're astonishingly beautiful.