Review of Germanwings flight from Rome to Berlin in Economy

Hello and welcome to my 2014's Rome-Berlin flight report. You can read how I got from Argentina to Italy in my previous report. I hope you find this report of a now defunct airline interesting. Also I have a kind of special tourist bonus at the end
http://flight-report.com/en/report-8751.html

That sunny morning I left my hotel at Fiumicino and took a shuttle with an Alitalia's crew. The Leonardo Da Vinci Airport reminds me the Buenos Aires-Ezeiza Airport in the 80s. Old and dark terminal.

The FIDS for that day

Two hours before the scheduled departure time, there was an increasing queue but the counter remained closed. I know Germanwings was a LCC. For me, it was surprising that two capital cities like Rome and Berlin weren't connected by Lufthansa. At least at that time.

Finally after checking in, I passed security and went airside. Clearly, FCO is not a spotter friendly airport.
Alitalia B772 and Qatar Airways A330

A nice Thai B744 and a Norwegian 738

More queueing. This time for boarding on time.

Walking to the jetbridge

I think the seats were similar to those Lufthansa's Recaro infamous slim seats. The hard airport seats are much more comfortable than them.

A Germanwings A320 next to us

As you can see. Seat pitch was OK for my (limited) height. And the middle seat was empty the whole flight

In flight magazine, GW. So creative…

Safety card

The plane had the older Airbus cabin but was well maintained and clean

Finally boarding finished and we were ready to go

Fiumicino ATC and its curious checkerboard

We started taxiing

Wizz Air A320

A Vueling A320 was behind us

An Iberia A321 was in front of us

Ready for take off

Off the ground

Bye bye FCO

The Fiumicino Village and the Tyrrhenian Sea

Cruising altitude

Germanwings destinations. This was the IFE for this flight

My ticket fare allowed me to get that bag containing a small sandwich, a tiny mineral water and a microscopic cookie

And don't forget the free drink. Tea for me, please.
The cabin crew was nice

I haven't seen before a fuel cavity on the upper wing surface of an A320

Nice views

We started descent. I think that's Berlin Brandenburg Airport. I hope my great-grandchildren will live enough to see that airport opening lol

Some socialist architecture visible

The Fernsehturm (TV tower)

You can spot the Weltballon at the distance

Almost there

We landed on time. No doubt we were in Germany

Yes, the old Berlin-Tegel. A concrete monument. Seems that Stalinist architecture was trendy in Western Berlin, too.

Disembarking

That was my A319

I got my suitcase and took the bus to Kurfürstendamm Avenue where my hotel was.
If you remember the Brazil's World Cup final match, you might agree with me that traveling to Germany wasn't the most clever idea for an Argentinean.
When I got to my hotel, the German TV was broadcasting the World Cup celebration at Brandenburg Gate. Including the so called "Gaucho dance" made by the Germany football team… lol

Now the tourism bonus. I decided to explore the former Tempelhof Airport. A nazi eagle is still visible

The Airlift Memorial outside the airport, remembering the Western Allies flights during the Soviet Blockade

Tempelhof is an icon of Nazi monumental architecture and had been called one of the greatest buildings of modern age

Starting the guided tour

Departures FIDS at one of the gates

An endless corridor

Arrival

The main hall full of avgeeks

The check in counters remained almost intact

The main FIDS and former restaurant

The baggage carousel

Outside, the nazi eagle that was on the top of the terminal building, after WWII was decapitated and its head is shown

A Douglas DC-6 used in the Berlin Airlift

When tour finished I went to the runway. Walking on a closed airport is a very strange feeling. I felt quite nostalgic and happy at the same time.

I hope you enjoyed this flight report. Comments are welcome!