Arriving in Tegel on Thursday, Need help!?

Question

Hello, I'm arriving in Tegel Airport on thursday, around 4.30pm. I then would want to catch a bus to any trainstation to verify my railpass (and make some reservation), then go to Nordbahnhof (the bus stop I need to get for my stay). Questions:

1. Can I make reservation at Nordbahhof on eurail trains? Or must I make it specifically at Westbahnhof and only westbahnhof? Keep in mind I will reach this place maybe 5,6pm in the evening (when the station may be closed).

2. I need a pair of gloves and a scarf really badly and hope to buy some on the first night itself. Maybe even a jacket. Can you give a suggestion on where to buy? Maybe a at a H&M chain or somewhere closeby? (Would it be closed by then too?)

3. Suggestion to some guides for the next day. Really indecisive on wether I should take the Brewer's Tour, NewBerlinTour or alternatively just take a bus and roam Berlin on our own.

Would really appreciate any help. Thank you.

Answer 1

Regarding the tours:

If you want a specialist tour, I would recomend the New Berlin Tour or the Insider Tours.

For a general tour, both the above are good, but a much cheaper way is to buy a bus ticket (they are the same ones as the U and S bahn and can be bought either on the bus or at any U Bahn or rail station: get the day ticket for €5.80) and go on the 100 bus. It goes past all the main sights and you can buy a cheap map to point out the main sights which are available from most tourist shops (mainly on Unter den Linden) -or just use your travel guide if you have one. If you fancy a tour that is a little bit different, both the NewBerlinTour and Fat Tire do bike tours which are quite good fun too.

Berlin is an amazing city and I'm sure you'll have a great time whatever you decide!

Answer 2

It's best to take the TXL bus line from the airport directly to the main station (hauptbahnhof), there you can watch out for ticket selling points (don't know if they're opened then, but if not there - nowhere at this time).

From the Main station it is only 10 minutes by the bus 245 to Nordbahnhof.

Maybe you can buy some clothes at main station, but it might be more expensive than elsewhere, most of the shops open at 8 o'clock (some maybe a bit earlier, but I'm not aware of it). There is, however, a mall not that far away by train from Nordbahnhof. You have to take any S-Bahn two stations direction north (Gesundbrunnen). But it's opened only from10.00 am!

Regarding your Tour: If you wanna save money, take the Bus 100 or 200 from Alexanderplatz to Zoologischer Garten (or other way round). You can use them with a normal ticket but they cross many of the main sights of Berlin and with a day ticket for example you can hop off and on when/wherever you like. The 100 is the classical line, and the 200 comes - also/instead some other - across more modern sights (potsdamer platz, some embassy).