Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
usually take place at 3pm Sunday. Exhibits in the foyer are a bit ho-hum but still im-
part fascinating nuggets about the planetary system, astronomy in general and the
history of the observatory. Kids love having their picture taken next to a huge meteor-
ite chunk.
Speaking of kids... Generations of East Germans still have fond memories of the
Kulturpark Plänterwald, a small state-run amusement park created in 1969 and
privatised and renamed SSpreepark B
rlin in 1990. Dwindling visitor numbers forced it
into bankruptcy in 2001, leaving the Ferris wheel and other carousels standing still
ever since. The grounds became off limits, which didn't stop urban adventurers from
trespassing and frolicking among the abandoned dinos and dragons. Legal tours were
eventually available until the city of Berlin purchased the lease for the land in March
2014, with plans to reanimate it as an amusement park. Stay tuned.
rk Berlin
Neukölln
MUSEUM
PUPPENTHEATER-MUSEUM BERLIN
Karl-Marx-Strasse 135, rear bldg; adult/child €3/2.50, shows €5;
9am-3pm Mon-Fri, 11am-4pm Sun;
Karl-Marx-Strasse)
At this little museum, you'll enter a fantasy world inhabited by adorable hand puppets, ma-
rionettes, shadow puppets, stick figures and all manner of dolls, dragons and devils from
around the world. Many of them hit the stage singing and dancing during shows that enthral
both the young and the young at heart.
NEIGHBOURHOOD
RIXDORF
The contrast between the cacophonous Karl-Marx-Strasse and quiet Rixdorf, a tiny historic
village centred on Richardplatz, seems almost surreal given that they're only steps apart.
Weavers from Bohemia first settled here in the early 18th century and some of the original
Karl-Marx-Strasse for about 300m, then turn left on Karl-Marx-Platz and continue for an-
other 300m to Richardplatz.
