Can anyone enlighten me on the attraction of Berlin and convince me I should visit?

Question

My girlfriend has her heart set on a trip to Berlin this summer. I have to say I am a little sceptical as it is not a place I would have ever thought of as a holiday destination. I turn to you for inspiration on the German capital...

Answer 1

I gotta admit that I was a bit like you - I thought about going to Berlin but I kept putting it off, thinking there were better places in Europe to see instead. But I found a really cheap airfare from London to Berlin, and went.

I'm SO glad I went there. Its one of the most interesting cities I've ever been to. There are three cities to see in one - the capital of Prussia and the 19th century German Empire; the capital of the Third Reich, and the epicentre of the Cold War. It seems like everywhere you go there are reminders of major events of 20th century history. To stand on the eastern side of the Brandenburg Gate was an amazing experience for me, and the grand boulevards of the Prussian capital are incedible. There are lots of great museums as well, the ones on Museum Island are free on Thursdays between 6pm and 10pm - I wish I'd known that before I bought a ticket on Thursday!

A 30 minute train ride on the S-Bahn takes you to Potsdam, where you can see 2 magnificent 18th century palaces built by Frederick The Great (the king of Prussia) - Sanssouci and the Neues Palais. The gardens of the palaces are beautiful as well.

There are cities in Europe that are better to visit ... Paris, Rome, Venice, for instance, but you wont be disappointed in Berlin. Its also nowhere as expensive as Paris, Rome or Venice - actually quite a cheap city :)

Answer 2

Well Honestly their are some nice things in Berlin.

If you are going to Germany there are SO many places to consider.

I guess the big questions would be to ask her what it is that she wants to do and see exactly in Germany and then you could choose the best region and place to go to.  I have been to Berlin a few times but I prefer other places in Germany instead.  Nothing wrong with Berlin, but I liked where I went in Weimar and Hamburg and also the Baltic Sea and down by the Alps in the south.

Answer 3

we say: Berlin ist eine Reise Wert

means: Berlin is worth a travel

and it's truly right.

There are too many things to discover, sometimes it's just enough to sit down in a street café and whatch all them people. But there is so much to see, Museum Island...just fantastic, some historical places like Check-Point Charlie, Russian Monument of Soldiers. Parts of the wall, Bars, Kneipen are open 24 hours. At some places there are Beach-Clubs, yes, at the river and they are crowded.

the best is you visit the site of that link below, its a sightseeing tour.

ich bin ein Berliner! (JF Kennedy)

Answer 4

I lived and worked in Berlin for seven years; four of them I lived in the infamous Kreuzberg district ("little Istanbul"), and I really had a great time there. Berlin is so rich in cultural events; there's everything for every taste. Besides of the very good links already posted above, you should buy a city magazine when you're there to find out what's currently going on and what might interest you.

Berlin's public transport system is excellent, even at night and on weekends, and if you really got lost somewhere, a taxi will arrive within minutes. I'd recommend you buy a city atlas from the BVG, Berlin's public transport company, at one of their sales offices like in the U-Bahnhof (subway station) Alexanderplatz. That's the best map you can get, and it includes all public transport lines (U-Bahns, busses and trams).

Especially in summer, Berlin is wonderful. Don't miss a boat cruise on the river Spree and its canals. The guided bus tours through the city are good, but the boat tours are even better. And take the bus line 100 once from Bahnhof Zoo (Zoo station) to where it ends and back. They have double deckers; make sure you sit on the upper floor. It's a public bus, but also good for tourists, as you'll see a lot of the city.

I have a lot of favorite places in Berlin, mostly in the Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain district; it would be too much to name them all. I'm sure you'll find out a favorite spot for yourself.

Someone above wrote they are trying to build a Disneyland Germania. Well, that's not true. The most outstanding new buildings were not even built by German companies, like the Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz; and the Daimler-Chrysler building, well, it's ugly, I admit, but Chrysler isn't German, and Daimler is from the South. Berliners themselves try to keep the historical parts of the city intact, and partly succeed, like with the Hackesche Höfe in Mitte district, or the above mentioned museum island.

One last reason to inspire you to go: Berlin is the most multinational city in Germany, and it's in close touch with recent history. You can see old castles and medieval buildings everywhere in the country, but there's simply no other place than Berlin where you can really FEEL what happened since reunification.

Oh, one more: Berlin has lots of parks, and besides soccer, barbecue is Germany's national sport. Buy a disposable grill, lighters, and some charcoal, and have your own!

Answer 5

you did not mention how open your girlfriend feels going ELSEWHERE in germany? the list of things-to-do, points-of-interests are/can be long given it's historical/cultural importance in the past 100 years. these are a given. however, it can be VERY individual how you would feel in that city. most of the faces on the streets still wearing the past, i, myself NEVER felt good in berlin, compared to, say, munich, hamburg or nurnberg. yes, it's a fast-developing city, yes, there is a lot going on there,but if it's MY holiday and i need a convincing, wholesome, healthy, uplifting experience - i would go elsewhere...

Answer 6

if you read the answers of ShlomoNYC than you will come to the conclusion that he got a problem with Berlin.

He is a liar!

not one statement of ShlomoNYC is true!

when you visit Berlin you'll find out yourself.

Berlin has not even one no go area not for black people and not for jewish.

I can get angry about such a liar like Shlomo!!!

Answer 7

We liked Berlin more than we liked Munich.  I wish we had more time there- it's such an interesting, complicated city, from the ruins of a church bombed during WWII to the Communist-era apartment buildings to the fancy shopping on Ku-Damm.  

The one thing that did take us aback was the amount of graffiti we saw there.  However, after travelling around the rest of Germany and seeing graffiti everywhere, we came to the conclusion that it's a cultural difference- in the US, if there's a lot of graffiti, it usually means the area is a bit sketchy, not a good area; in Germany, it seems that graffiti is a culturally appropriate form of expression, because you see it even in nice areas.

Answer 8

Your girlfriend is a genius. It is exactly because Berlin is not one of the usual tourist towns that makes it special. If all you want to do is to go clubbing and barhopping then you can do that anywhere.

It's also possible to stay drunk in Berlin but you don't mix with uncouth tourists when you're doing it. There's hardly any Americans and the Berliners don't hog the sunbeds.

Have a look at the BVG web site (link below, when you open the home page look across the top for the English version). BVG is the city transport consortium. The site contains loads of information for visitors.

If you buy a Welcomecard (available from all Berlin airports and railway stations) then you get a bus/tram/UBahn/SBahn?RE train travelcard. It's an excellent way to get around.

The Welcomecard also includes a book of discount vouchers for dozens of attractions. I've included a link direct to the Welcomecard page.

If you do nothing else except to work your way through that book of vouchers then you'll have a fantastic week.

As a rough starter, things to do and see:

The Natural History Museum (UBahnHof Zinnowitzerstrasse). This has the largest barchiosaurus skeleton in captivity and also has great new diorama display.

The Egyptian museum. This has the world famous bust of Queen Nefertiti. Considering that she's over 4000000 years old she's gorgeous.

Treptower Park Soviet War Memorial. This sounds like a drag, but you really must see it. It's not a war grave site - it's an enormous and incredibly impressive statement of what the Soviet Union was all about. (S Bahnhof Treptower Park).

The Furnsehturm (tv tower). This has a revolving restaurant and if the weather is clear you get fantastic views all over the city. (S BHf Alexanderplatz).

Potdammer Platz. Here and the K'u Damm are "where it's AT". You should note that the new skyscrapers are all deliberately different. Apparently the city fathers decided that visitors would like at least one of them.

The Liquidrom (SBhf Anhalter Hauptbahnhof). This is a salt water swimming pool that you just float in and listen to the music piped through underwater loudspeakers. Have a massage afterwards, very relaxing.

Take a river boat trip. They're not expensive and they sell good value cold beer.

Avoid Berlin "fish and chips". These seem to be made by people who have heard about them but never seen the real thing.

Do not ever drink "international" lagers such as Stella, Carlsberg etc. Berlin is a city full of microbreweries. One of the easist to find is the Georgbrau which is next to the Nikolai Quarter in the town centre. They sell first class home brew and good German food to go with it.

Go to their equivalent of Harrods - KaDeVe. The top floor is home to an enormous chocolatier display and food market.

Go shopping down Friedrichstrasse (S/U Bhf Friedrichstrasse). If you have a decent street  map (download from Google Maps is good) you will find that you are close to Gendarmenmarkt. This is very impressive square if you're prepared to be impessed by German architecture. Between G'Markt and Fried'stasse is Fassbinder , one of the best chocolate shops in the country.

Wherever you are staying you should use the Zoo as your centre of operations. From here you can get a bus or U/S Bahn to almost everywhere.

I recommend that you take a trip on bus route 100 from the Zoo to Alexanderplatz. This takes a scenic route around the Tiergarten and past many tourist sites - all on your welcomcard ticket so you're not paying expensive tour bus rates. You should have your Berlin guide book with you though (the AA Guide is probably one of the best) because the 100 is a service bus and there's no commentary.

Take the RE train from the Zoo to Grunewald for a spot of skinny-dipping with the locals.

As well as all this there is the usual stuff about the Cold War, Checkpoint Charlie, World War 2 and so on. Most visitors go to Marx-Engles Platz to have their photos taken against the big statues of the men themselves.

Have a trip around the Berlin Ring S Bahn. It takes you well into the old East and the West, beyond the centre bits. You'll be amazed at the differences that you see.

Eat at Deponie 3. It's a 5 minute walk from Friedrichstrasse station and is probably one of the best restaurants in the city.

Another great one is Thai Inside (SBhf Alexanderplatz). If that's not to your taste then eat at Mau Thai; they don't serve noodles (odd) but the proprietor is Norbert Frankenstein so it can't be bad.

There is so much to see and do. It's impossible here to describe it all. Unless you wander into the darkest areas of the East or South it's a very safe city too.

For what it's worth, my favourate hotel is the Hotel Tiergarten (see link below). This is two stops on the U9 (UBhf Turmstrasse) from the Zoo (or a 20 min walk through the park) or two stops on the SBahn (SBHf Bellvue) from the Zoo and 2 stops from the main railway station (Hauptbahnhof).

The breakfast is to die for, and the staff are superb - especially the manager (larger than life). I've been staying there for many years.

When you have been to Berlin in the summer you will want to go back in December. There are dozens of Christmas Markets. Most are different from each other and are good but three of them (Spandau, Keiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and Gendarmenmarkt) are absolutely superb.

Take a careful walk in the road in front of the Brandenberg Gate and you'll see a line of bricks marking the route of the Wall.

Visit the Reichstag. It's free but the security queue can be an hour long.

Go with her with good heart. It's Wunderbar (until the Yanks discover it). I've been a regular visitor since the Wall came down.

Answer 9

It's huge, seedy in parts, grand in others, full of curious nooks and crannies, and a fundamental part of history, I like the city a lot...but if you like lying on a beach, it's probably not for you.

The Reichstag is a high point (literally) especially if you can get inside, the graffiti left by the russian soldiers, that captured it during ww2, is still on the walls.

Answer 10

You wont regret it as there is so much you can do!!!

The people are very straight forward so just take things easy! Lots of nice cocktail bars!  TV Tower, Mauer Museum, Checkpoint Charlie, Potsdamer Platz, KaDeWe (Kaufhauf des Westens), Alexanderplatz, perhaps you manage to go to Potsdam to see Park Sanssouci! Very nice and romantic! Don't forget to drink "Berliner Weisse" either red or green (taste depending). Typical drink in the summer and very tasty!

Answer 11

I love Berlin. There is so much to see, be it cultural, historical or the plain weird. It's easy to get around, we walked practically everywhere. It's very cheap to eat out, and the beer is also very cheap as it doesn't have to be imported from anywhere. We went on an amazing walking tour which was free, you could pay a tip at the end if you wanted to. It was the perfect way to see all the sights and then we could go back later (their site is www.newberlintours.com) and we also did a fab pub crawl to get used to the nightlife before we hit it by ourselves! (www.insidertour.com   -   click on Original Pub Crawl).

I can't wait to go back!

Answer 12

Actually Berlin sucks - the Germans are trying to create a modern Disney version of Germania - it does not work. Berlin cannot compete with Paris, New York, Hamburg or London.

It is one of the poorest cities in Germany - poorer than Warsaw  or Prague. Worst of all: the city is run by communists and in the streets n***s attack Blacks, Jews and other minorities. There are too many no go areas in the German capital. I would rather travel to Munich, Hamburg or Cologne - Hamburg is my favorite German city.