The Bademeister

The great thing about Berlin are the unusual, historical sights that you see when you least expect it. Like when I headed for a swim today at Ernst-Thälmann Park in the east of the city.

This mega-sculpture on Greifswalder Straße depicts one of the former bosses of the German Communist Party, Ernst Thälmann. It is about 15 metres high and made of copper. You don't get sculptures like that anymore. Up close it's a pretty tough-looking piece of work to be honest - especially when half covered in graffiti. But it fits the area quite well, because ETP isn't exactly the most charming of Berlin's public parks. And Thälmann's story isn't such a happy one either: after leading his party from 1925 until 1933, he was arrested by the Gestapo and - after 11 years in isolation - was shot dead on orders from Adolf Hitler in 1944.

Rumour has it that after the "fall of the wall" the sculpture was due to be ripped down. But, as so often happens in Berlin, somehow it hung on and it is now in a bit of a state of limbo - half-loved, half-despised. I, for one, hope that it stays.