Berlin paper plane game
Fly along the Spree, past the Brandenburg Gate, all the way to the TV Tower.
Old apartment houses and brick workshops, then a modern block with a round corner. Get past the Bear DJ, then the Traffic-Light Man.
Twin towns on the Spree
Berlin began as two small trading towns, Berlin and Cölln, on either side of the River Spree. In 1961 a wall was built through the city, and it stood until 1989. Today Berlin is Germany's capital and its biggest city.
“I'd fly along where the wall stood, from one side to the other.”
The landmarkThe TV Tower
Berlin's TV Tower, the Fernsehturm, was finished in 1969. At 368 metres it is the tallest structure in Germany. Inside its silver ball, about 200 metres up, visitors look out over the whole city.
Who keeps the wish in Berlin.
An Elite wakes first; the Boss guards the wish itself. Hit their weak points for a BONK!, land the last blow for a KO!, and each one grins and takes a bow.
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The Elite
The Bear DJ
Plays until the sun comes up · Keeper of the Spree
A bear has stood on Berlin's coat of arms for centuries. The city's name probably comes from an old Slavic word for marshy ground, not from the German Bär, but Berliners kept the bear anyway. In 2024 Germany added Berlin's techno culture, its clubs and its all-night dancing, to its list of living heritage.
The bear pulls one ear cup on, nods to the beat and drops the needle on a record. The record skips, and the bear stops nodding for exactly one beat. The bear lifts his paw off the record, nods once and plays the plane out.
“One slow song for a paper plane, please.”
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The Boss
The Traffic-Light Man
Never crosses on red · Keeper of the crossings
In 1924 a five-sided tower with traffic lights went up at Potsdamer Platz, a busy Berlin square. A policeman sat inside and switched the lights by hand. The tower came down long ago, but a copy of it stands on the square today.
The Traffic-Light Man checks his pocket watch. His lamp is red, so the plane will have to wait. His bowler hat slips, and he grabs for his pocket watch. The Traffic-Light Man snaps his watch shut, tips his bowler hat and lets the plane go by.
“I'd wait for green with him, just this once.”
Berlin cleared. The TV Tower's silver ball shone over the river as the sun went down.
- The Bear DJ never stopped the music. He just nodded the plane past.
- The Traffic-Light Man checked his watch the whole time. I think I was right on time.
The plane reaches Berlin from London.