[Travel] Berlin advice

Herr Tubthumper · Feb 22, 2019

madinthehead said:
I got asked about Berlin by a mate a few years ago.. I got this info from a friend who has lived there for a number of years..

Mitte: A lot of nice Bars are on Weinbergweg/Kastanienalle/Linienstraße/Torstraße (I like "Odessa Bar" Torstraße 89, Ecke Gormann, "Bar 3" on Weydingerstr. 20 or "august II." on auguststrasse 2
Kreuzberg und Neukölln: "little otik" is a tiny restaurant in Kreuzberg, Graefestr. 71 where they normally serve simple but good food, in the neigbourhood you'll find some nice bars as well ("Zum Fuchsbau" on Planufer 95 f.e.), some Bars/Clubs on Skalitzer Straße you might like as well ("Farbfernseher", "Monarch", "Westgermany" or "Möbelolfe"). Or in some distance "Ritter Butzke" (Ritterstraße 26, a today mostly by the young easyjet-set partypeople joined electro club)
Around metro station "Schlesisches Tor" are some nice places as well: for example the small electro club Chalet (Vor dem Schlesischen Tor 3)
A mixture between immigrant neighborhood and international Hipster Community define the northern parts of Neukölln; especially around Weserstraße you find some nice spots in an interesting surrounding (I would recommend "Das Tier")

Neue Odessa Bar - I have had some mad nights in there.

And judging by all your friends comments I’m sure our paths will have crossed as all those places are regular spots when I’m on a big night out. I’m not keen on Das Tier these days though. The staff are quite wanky at times and it’s not as fun as it once was.

Herr Tubthumper · Feb 22, 2019

Nostalgia said:
Going to Berlin for 3 nights staying Hotel City Ost , Frankfurter Allee , Berlin 10247 DE and flying to Berlin Tegel.
Is there a bus/tram/train/transport pass for multi days that you can purchase at the airport.
Any tips on good sights to see and those that are overrated and any good bars restaurants etc.
always good to hear from people who have been rather than relying on tripadvisor, thanks.

Before I get started can you give me a few pointers. Are you a large group? What sort of bars and restaurants are you after? clubs? What sort of things are you interested in seeing and doing? I can recommend many things but it’s better if you can narrow it down as it avoids disappointment ; Twin Pigs is a nice Berlin bar with nice drinks, vibe and people....but a disappointment if you’re after a trad old wooden pub.

Herr Tubthumper · Feb 22, 2019

Nostalgia said:
Going to Berlin for 3 nights staying Hotel City Ost , Frankfurter Allee , Berlin 10247 DE and flying to Berlin Tegel.
Is there a bus/tram/train/transport pass for multi days that you can purchase at the airport.
Any tips on good sights to see and those that are overrated and any good bars restaurants etc.
always good to hear from people who have been rather than relying on tripadvisor, thanks.

I’ll answer your travel question first. You can only get day, week, month and year tickets. If you want multidays, eg 3 days, you buy three tickets. I presume you will return via Tegel, so you will only need an AB zones ticket. A day ticket valid until 3am is €7. If you are a group up to 5 people who will always travel together you can buy a small group day ticket for €19.90. All the info is here in English https://shop.bvg.de/index.php/tickets. You can buy them from a machine at the airport or online print-at-home from the link. Two things to remember 1) If you buy from the machine you can buy all the tickets you need in one go BUT do remember to validate them when you want to start using them. 2) If you buy online be sure to select the day you will use each ticket. This is vitally important as the ticket is only valid on the day you have selected and will be printed on the ticket.

All tickets are valid on bus, tram, u-bahn, s-bahn and region trains within AB zone.

Other posters have mentioned the fact you can buy multiday tickets. You can, but these are tourist cards which incorporate travel with museum entrance and discounts on attractions; useful if you plan to visit any of the attractions covered but otherwise they’re more expensive. These are called Welcome Cards and are detailed in the link. Again you can buy these on line. I know you can buy them at Schonefeld airport but not sure about Tegel.

Any questions just ask.

Dolph Ins · Feb 22, 2019

My favorite city in Europe. We came across amazing bars by just wandering around. Wall gallery is worth a look. Tall building thingy is expensive and busy,hotel opposite is cheap and quite and you can buy a beer on the roof, look out and see East and West from the buildings without knowing where the wall was. Walk through the park in centre, you could be in the middle of the country.

Lethargic · Feb 22, 2019

The Kid Frankie said:
Make sure you get your tube tickets validated on one of the little stand thingies before getting on the train. No one told me I had to do this and nearly ended up with an International diplomatic incident.

Don't go to the zoo. It's depressing. Turned my opinion completely on Zoo's in general and I've now sworn never to go to a zoo unless it's a sanctuary of some kind. Seeing the bears and big cats pacing in tiny cages was horrible.

Otherwise blinding city.

I had a similar experience with Wuppertal zoo not a pleasant visit.

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marlowe · Feb 22, 2019

When I was last there Checkpoint Charlie was still a proper checkpoint as the wall hadn't yet come down. Apparently is a bit touristy now with fake guards and all a bit tacky. I really liked the Checkpoint Charlie museum and if it's as it was that's really worth a look. It's pobably been updated since I was there to include the later history. I think it's called the Mauermuseum now or Wall Museum. It was mainly devoted to all the escape attempts and all the ingenious methods they used. One of the first attempts was when they just had a horizontal gate across checkpoint charlie. One West Berlin guy wanted to smuggle his East Berlin girlfriend out so he worked out the height of the horizontal bar and bought a low sports car (an Austin Healy Sprite apparently) in the West and drove into East Berlin. Once there he got his girlfriend and her mum to hide in the back, he removed the windscreen and let some air out of the tyres to lower the car even further. He then drove up to the checkpoint and when the guard asked him to stop he just put his foot on the gas and ducked and drove under the gate to freedom. After that they fixed vertical bars to the gate so it couldn't be repeated. That's one of the escapes that stuck in my mind from the museum. There was also a one man submarine attempt. I found the whole museum really fascinating and a real testament to man's resourcefulness and tenacity.

atfc village · Feb 22, 2019

Went just last month with a few posters on here to visit a Berlin exile ,loved the place and probably will spend my 50th their next year .Had a 6 day trip plenty of sightseeing ,also visited Potsdam which on a longer stay is a must for history buffs . Craft bar wise The Castle opposite Nordbanhof was decent ,Kaschk opposite Rosa Luxemburg platz tram stop was brillant though small . Food wise ate in Berliner Republik and Standige Vertretung a short walk across the river from Friedrichstrasse Station . Favorite restaurant though was Schwarzwaldstuben on Tucholskystrasse ,decent German food and Beer[Dunkel in my case ] at a decent price.

Cosmic Joker · Feb 23, 2019

Nostalgia said:
Going to Berlin for 3 nights staying Hotel City Ost , Frankfurter Allee , Berlin 10247 DE and flying to Berlin Tegel.
Is there a bus/tram/train/transport pass for multi days that you can purchase at the airport.
Any tips on good sights to see and those that are overrated and any good bars restaurants etc.
always good to hear from people who have been rather than relying on tripadvisor, thanks.

You are staying just over ten mins walk from one of Berlin's best beer bars, the Hops and Barley microbrewery bar on Wulichstrasse. All beers brewed on premises and all top notch, not a huge range but a few done very well. It's only small so you may not always get a seat at busy times.

If you want a historic bar/restaurant in Mitte (centre) with trad German dishes like pork knuckle then Zer Letzen Instanz (founded 1621) is the place.

Fave museums are Deutches Technik Museum - huge place with cars, planes, trains, boats, cameras, computers, industrial machinery anything engineering and tech related. Also the DDR museum which is a very fun guide round the history and culture of communist East Germany.

Chicken Run · Feb 23, 2019

All of this Berlin talk is wetting my appetite for the much awaited Deutschland 83 sequel Deutschland 86 coming to C4 soon!!!

Tom Hark Preston Park · Feb 23, 2019

The interactive DDR Museum is fascinating and a stark reminder of how half the country were forced to live under communist rule. Small things have a big impact, like the East German motoring map showing where you could go on your holidays by car, always assuming your Trabant would take you that far. Basically half a dozen countries under USSR control.

kingcole · Feb 23, 2019

From Tegel I’d jump in an Uber (under 30 euros), around 20 mins if traffic is OK and then use public transport from your base.

Try the spy musueum and don’t forget the mandatory photo op at Check Point Charlie!

Great city - enjoy

Shooting Star · Feb 24, 2019

Fignon's Ponytail said:
Yes, we got a multi day ticket at the airport that allowed us to jump on and off the trains and trams etc. Not very much money & great value. We actually found most things easy to walk between though, and saw some great places we wouldn't have done if we had taken public transport.
Worth doing the Reichstag if you can book in to it...the views from the top are amazing on a good day - and to still see the bullet hole damage to the building reminds you of its violent past.
Over rated? Checkpoint Charlie. Worth a glance, but I was more interested in the curry-wurst from the vendor just over the road tbh...Dont bother with Hitlers bunker either..it really is just a car park with a sign. Blink and you'll miss it.
Things worth seeing - the memorial to the Jews. Also the Topography of Terror (Museum on the site of the main SS Security building, just round the corner from Checkpoint Charlie) is a sobering experience, but well worth going to. Fascinating stuff.
We loved Berlin (we went for my 40th) and we will definitely be going back sometime.

Just arrived home from Berlin and agree with all of this. Checkpoint Charlie is only worth the picture of the "You are now leaving the American Sector" sign - the museum is 14.50€ each and not very good. Topography of Terror is fantastic and free. Hop On, Hop Off City Bus tour is 22€ each but a very good way to get your bearings in the city and a chance to hop off at places you like the look off. My wife and I hopped off just past Charlottenburg to "Antique-Strasse" to check out the multiple antique shops with lots of cool stuff in them. There's also a Berlin Wall Bus Tour you can take too.

Interesting city, lots of building work at the moment there which does detract from its beauty somewhat though. We had a brilliant weekend though and would recommend!

Pinkie Brown · Feb 24, 2019

kingcole said:
From Tegel I’d jump in an Uber (under 30 euros), around 20 mins if traffic is OK and then use public transport from your base.

That won't happen in Germany. The Uber POP service is banned in many (if not all) German cities after they fell foul of local labour & taxi licencing law. You can use the Uber App but you will get a regular taxi - or a limousine service. Although there have been issues with the latter not following local law.

As there will be taxis lined up outside Tegel, it would be pointless using the App. Bus & U Bahn will be reasonably swift for 2.80 euro single pp.

Deleted member 37369 · Feb 24, 2019

Chicken Run said:
All of this Berlin talk is wetting my appetite for the much awaited Deutschland 83 sequel Deutschland 86 coming to C4 soon!!!

Excellent! Loved Deutschland 83 ... and loved Berlin when I did it 4 years ago next month!

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Pinkie Brown · Feb 24, 2019

Shooting Star said:
Just arrived home from Berlin and agree with all of this. Checkpoint Charlie is only worth the picture of the "You are now leaving the American Sector" sign - the museum is 14.50€ each and not very good. Topography of Terror is fantastic and free. Hop On, Hop Off City Bus tour is 22€ each but a very good way to get your bearings in the city and a chance to hop off at places you like the look off. My wife and I hopped off just past Charlottenburg to "Antique-Strasse" to check out the multiple antique shops with lots of cool stuff in them. There's also a Berlin Wall Bus Tour you can take too.

Interesting city, lots of building work at the moment there which does detract from its beauty somewhat though. We had a brilliant weekend though and would recommend!

If you can do without the commentary, the 100 or 200 regular BVB service follows virtually the same route as the Hop on Hop off. For the price of a regular tageskarte rather than 22 euro.

Vatican Citys No.2 Keeper · Feb 24, 2019

Nostalgia said:
Going to Berlin for 3 nights staying Hotel City Ost , Frankfurter Allee , Berlin 10247 DE and flying to Berlin Tegel.
Is there a bus/tram/train/transport pass for multi days that you can purchase at the airport.
Any tips on good sights to see and those that are overrated and any good bars restaurants etc.
always good to hear from people who have been rather than relying on tripadvisor, thanks.

If you have any hankering for rock/heavy metal, there's 3 great rock bars in Frierichshain: Rockcafe Halford, Bretterbude & the Rock & Wikingerbar. All have their own individual character and appeal. Happy to give more details if they are of interest.

Would also recommend a visit to the Ramones Museum/Cafe near the Obe/Burgermeister in Schlesisches Tor. One of the best collections of band memorabilia in the world imo.

In terms of food, Curry 36 is worth a trip for the best Currywurst in Berlin.

If you're at a loose end on a Sunday, the Mauerpark flea market is worth a wander, and is a short walk from the Bernauer St Wall Memorial, which as [MENTION=8124]Pinkie Brown[/MENTION] said is well worth a look.

Also recommend a tour of the Olympiastadion if there's not a game on. Can either pay for a full tour of the ground in a group with a guide (occasionally an English language tour but you'd have to check online) or just to go in the grounds and wander at your leisure. Some great history in there from the '36 ,Olympics.

If you have time to catch a game, I'd go for Union over Hertha!

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Herr Tubthumper · Feb 24, 2019

Yes Chef said:
This seems like an opportune thread to ask, me, [MENTION=1874]Falmer Flutter ©[/MENTION] , and a few other Albion are going to be in going to be in Berlin during the Millwall Cup game, any suggestions on where to watch? Ideally they'd have a lovely beer selection. For example, would the Stone Brewery pubs show an English game? Thanks in advance

Myself and fellow Seagull Over Berlin [MENTION=238]Uncle Buck[/MENTION] are not going to the game so will also be in Berlin looking for somewhere to watch it. Keep an eye on your private messages nearer the time and I’ll let you know the options.

swindonseagull · Feb 24, 2019

marlowe said:
When I was last there Checkpoint Charlie was still a proper checkpoint as the wall hadn't yet come down. Apparently is a bit touristy now with fake guards and all a bit tacky. I really liked the Checkpoint Charlie museum and if it's as it was that's really worth a look. It's pobably been updated since I was there to include the later history. I think it's called the Mauermuseum now or Wall Museum. It was mainly devoted to all the escape attempts and all the ingenious methods they used. One of the first attempts was when they just had a horizontal gate across checkpoint charlie. One West Berlin guy wanted to smuggle his East Berlin girlfriend out so he worked out the height of the horizontal bar and bought a low sports car (an Austin Healy Sprite apparently) in the West and drove into East Berlin. Once there he got his girlfriend and her mum to hide in the back, he removed the windscreen and let some air out of the tyres to lower the car even further. He then drove up to the checkpoint and when the guard asked him to stop he just put his foot on the gas and ducked and drove under the gate to freedom. After that they fixed vertical bars to the gate so it couldn't be repeated. That's one of the escapes that stuck in my mind from the museum. There was also a one man submarine attempt. I found the whole museum really fascinating and a real testament to man's resourcefulness and tenacity.

View attachment 104898

Was based in Germany for 6 years in the RAF we used to drive into East BErlin a few times per year, we had to travel in full dress uniform so as to not be arrested as a spy.
When driving through Checkpoint Charlie all you had to do was stop and stare ahead, the East German guards were not allowed to ask anything, THe wife had to just hold her passport on the data page up to the window.
Quite scarey first time...... trips always had to be booked in advance with Brit Mil and you had to log out and then log back in to West Berlin.
You had to tell Brit Mil where you were going and how long you would be.
In East Berlin we were not allowed to buy supermarket food or clothes, we could eat in Restaurants though, Porcelain, China and Glassware were very very cheap MAin shops were in Potsdam Platz..

The wall was real and not a tourist attraction... It was always a small relief driving back into West Berlin through Checkpoint Charlie.

Getting to Berlin was another adventure, you could Fly.....( that was the normal way for my job).

Drive...The RMP would log you in as entering East Germany. You were required to drive straight to Berlin without stopping. You could not leave the main road. If you were stopped by an East German policeman, you were supposed to demand to see a Russian Soldier, if you were to fast you could get nicked for speeding, to slow and a search party would be sent. The RMP would then log you as arriving in West Berlin.

Train.

Boarded at Braunschweig and changed locos at Helmstedt. Stopped at Marienborn station for the Train Commander to have all docs inspected by the Russians.
Dinner was always served on the way through Magdeburg, usually nice, thick juicy steaks to upset the Russians commuters as we went through the station! This was also the very time the Russian guards boarded the train to inspect and so they saw the opulant westerners scoffing very rich food. They even had their own label wine! The doors were also chained shut while the train was stationary to stop defectors getting on.
Loco change at Potsdam before finally getting to Berlin Chalottenberg. I think it was 180 miles and took 4.5 hours...

Interesting times to live in Germany..... HAve not been to Berlin since the wall came down but did take advantage to visit Leipzig, Dresden and Colditz.( before it was a tourist trap)

Herr Tubthumper · Feb 24, 2019

Nostalgia said:
Going to Berlin for 3 nights staying Hotel City Ost , Frankfurter Allee , Berlin 10247 DE and flying to Berlin Tegel.
Is there a bus/tram/train/transport pass for multi days that you can purchase at the airport.
Any tips on good sights to see and those that are overrated and any good bars restaurants etc.
always good to hear from people who have been rather than relying on tripadvisor, thanks.

Herr Tubthumper said:
Before I get started can you give me a few pointers. Are you a large group? What sort of bars and restaurants are you after? clubs? What sort of things are you interested in seeing and doing? I can recommend many things but it’s better if you can narrow it down as it avoids disappointment ; Twin Pigs is a nice Berlin bar with nice drinks, vibe and people....but a disappointment if you’re after a trad old wooden pub.

Not heard back but plenty of others have offered tips and advice so I’ll leave you with them. If you have any specific questions of specific tips just ask me.

Have fun.

TheJasperCo · Feb 24, 2019

Funnily enough, just this weekend I watched a Rick Stein 'Long Weekend Away' programme on iPlayer, where he visited Berlin. Would recommend if you're bored one evening / at work.

[filmed 2016]

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