Kleistpark Hug on Flickr.
Today I hug Kleistpark. A couple of times a week, when I have to drive through Schöneberg on Potsdamer Straße, I would pass by a rather peculiarly out of place colonnade. I say "out of place" because this particular part of town is fairly gritty, and this colonnade seems to mark the entrance to quite a grand monument. When I finally had the chance to get out of my car to explore what I discovered to be Kleistpark, I discovered much more than I expected. Originally set aside as a hops garden in the 17th Century, in the 18th Century, the park became Berlin's botanical garden. After World War II, as the park faced onto the headquarters of the Allied Control Council for the occupation of the city, it was closed to the public for almost 50 years until finally being reopened to the public after German reunification. It just goes to show what you can discover when you get out of your car to look around.