Five nights in Berlin - question 2: what shall we do?

Question

This September will be my second visit, and my boyfriend's first. Last year I raced around and did loads. He, however, is less energetic so this time I want to go for quality not quantity.

I'd like to show him: Soviet War Memorial at Treptower Park, Reichstag, Grunwald/Wannsee, and of course we'll go and see the Wall, Potzdamer Platz, Brandenberg Gate, the cathedral, maybe a day trip to Dresden... but is there anything else that we shouldn't miss?

Any suggestions for things to do in town and/or day trips out of town will be much appreciated. Being male, he's interested in the War and stuff. It's also his first time abroad!

Also, where should we eat in the evenings? And where are the good pubs? By "good" I mean local places, not full of tourists (I know, we are tourists, but... I live in London, if I want to meet Aussies and Kiwis I can do it right here). We don't want to get drunk or go clubbing, just have a few quiet beers and soak up the atmosphere of being abroad.

Thanks

Answer 1

go to travelchannel.com click on samatha brown passport to europe you should find lots to do in berlin. hope this helps :)

Answer 2

Around the central area (get a BVG Welcome Card as soon as you arrive, it's travelcard that you use on RE trains, S+U Bahn, busses and trams. Follow the BVG link below) you can easily get to almost anywhere.

Berlin was supposed to be protected from air raids by three enormous towers called Flakturms. These things were truly huge and would have done credit to any respectable Norman castle builder. When built they were about the size of the central keep (the White Tower) of the Tower of London.

They were at Friedrichshain; The Tiergarten (by the Zoo) and Humboldtshain. These towers were vitually indestructible and survived the air raids (which they couldn't prevent) and the Russian seige; only surrendering when they couldn't exist any more inside.

The towers were built as three sets of two. One of the pair was huge and contained radar and command centres; the other was enormous and carried the anti-aircraft batteries.

After the war they were all completely demolished except for part of the Humboldtshain gun tower. You can get to it from Gesundbrunnen S-Bahn station. The rubble from the demolished part has been piled up around the surviving part so it doesn't look so impressive now.

When you look at this remember that it was originally a cube as tall as it is wide. That's big.

You must also visit the remains of the Anhalter Bahnhof station. It was smashed beyond repair during the war. There is a nearby S-Bahn station.

All that is left of this terminus station is part of the front wall. Even now you can see that this was a maginficent building in the real turn-of-the-century railway terminus style. When you see pictures of what it used to be like you will be even more impressed.

Not far away from this is the Technology Museum. Part of that is built in the old roundhouse of the engine shed that served Anhalter Bahnhof. This museum also contains several things from the War, including a ships engine recovered from a sunken Royal Navy vessel. There are also some splendid locomotives and, if you can find it, a cabinet containing examples of post-WW1 banknotes from the time of German hyperinflation. Fancy a 5Million Mark note?

Visit the Reichstag. It survived the war in very bad condition but is well worth a visit now. Because of the queues to get through the airport-style security checks you should allow a couple of hours alltogether but it's well worth it. An evening visit to the dome on top is even better.

The Jewish Holocaust Memorial near Potsdammerplatz is a collection of black monoliths. It's supposed to be "meaningful" but I guess that I'm just empathic enough to understand it.

Underneath this is part of the old Fuhrerbunker; but you can't go in, the entrance is destroyed.

In Treptower Park is the Soviet War Memorial. This was built during the early days of the Cold War but it does commemorate the WW2 Soviet dead. This is a Very Impressive Monument to Soviet Power and no doubt left the East Germans in no doubt as to who Won.

It's about 5 minutes walk from Treptower Park S-Bahn station. While you are near the station have a drink in one of the charming little "cafe" huts on the riverside. If it's a sunny afternoon you may find it 'romantic'.

Near the Zoo is the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. This is the one with the broken tower. Inside there is an interesting exhibition of photographs and models showing the central area before and after the bombing destroyed it.

Go to the Natural History Museum (Invalidenstrasse). This building still shows the pock marks of wartime activity if you look closely. It was in the old Russian Sector and much of East Berlin was not properly patched up after the war.

This museum also houses the largest complete Brachiosaurus skeleton in captivity and has  superb interactive exhibits in the dinosaur hall and near one of their maginificent iron staircases.

Going east from the Brandenberg Gate (still has some wartime chips and holes if you look closely and which is very close to the Reichstag and the new Hauptbahnhof) is the road "Unter Den Linden". This is wide boulevard that was used by the old Brandenbeg kings and by Der Furher for grand cermonial parades. Use your imagination.

While you are in Berlin make sure that you try out some of the more modern attractions.

Unless you already know the city then the simplest way of planning this is to look through the Discount book that comes with your Welcome Card. If you work your way through this then you'll sample most of what the city can offer and save a lot of money too.

For eating I really recommend the restaurant "Deponie 3" (follow link for details). This is 5 minutes from Freidrichstrasse S-Bhf, under a railway viaduct arch so you can't miss it. It's probably the best value and most welcoming eating place in the city centre.

If you fancy something different then eat at the "Thai Inside" (follow link for details). This is a very unassuming place near Alexanderplatz S-Bhf, but your taste buds will be your friends for life after eating there.

For drinking please NEVER buy any of the "international" branded lagers. Always buy the locally brewed stuff. It's excellent. Berlin has loads of micro-breweries so there are many different flavours to sample. As a start I suggest the Georgbrau at Lustgarten.

One of my favourate pubs is a small place on the corner of Alt Moabit and Stromstrasse (U7 SBhf Turmstrasse).

It's not all good eating.

Berlin "fish and chips" seem to be sold by people who have heard about fish and chips, but never actually seen any.

Don't bother with Berlin Curryworst unless you want to eat an orange rubber saussage with pink mildly spiced tomato sauce dribbled over it. These things probably contributed to their wartime defeat.

Allow some time to vist Potsdam. This suburb is relatively unscathed by the war and has a semi-medieaval air about it. I can't place quite why this is so.

On the way, stop off at Grunewald. This is the large lake where Berliners go skiiny-dipping.

Also, you should visit Spandau. Go by S-Bahn because the station is the only thing worth looking at. Stop off at the Olymiastadium on the way. It's been modernised but the old n**i architecture is still evident.

I've been visiting the city for about 13 years.

See my answer to your place to stay question for my favourite hotel.