Berlin - Wonderful city with soooo much to do :) (Berlin)

Member Name: famouslastwords

Product:	Berlin
Date:	08/11/08 (72 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: clean, modern, historially fantastic and exciting

Disadvantages: expensive!

Berlin - Underrated, fantastic place to visit.

Being in the spirit of writing about Berlin as i seem to be today! I thought i would continue with a little review of the time i have spent there

Ive visited Berlin twice, the first time was with my A Level history group (yes, i am a geek. lol) and the second was earlier this year without a teacher guardian :)

I honestly love Berlin and my other half felt the same. You are surrounded with history, yet you can go to some of the most modern, funky areas. Whilst im well aware there are TONNES of things to see and do, ill try and give and overview of what we got up to and how we found it....

Hauptbahnhof (Central Station)
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Hauptbahnhof really is a fantastic place to be when your finding your feet in Berlin. 15 minutes walk from Reichstag and 5 minutes from Tentstation, with links not just all around Berlin but all around Europe, Hauptbahnhof has it all. Lots of souvenir shops (although slightly more expensive than the markets), snack bars, 2 supermarkets and restaurants.

Quick snacks can be found in Dunkin' Donuts and McDonalds (Check out the 'McCafe' for bagels and soups!) as well as a stunning Eiscafe (Ice Cream Cafe). For a really nice but cheap meal, my top tip is the little Chinese resturant on the 2 floor at the Reichstag exit - around 5.00eu a meal for lovely freshly cooked chinese with noodles or rice. Excellent tofu for fellow veggies!

Very handy to note that Hauptbahnhof has a 24 hour pharmacy with speakers of most modern languages!


Reichstag (German Parliament)
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I have to confess, i am a third year politics student and a bit of a geek - but my other half is the opposite and he really enjoyed this. As i work for UK Parliament, i emailed a few months before and asked for a tour and they were happy to oblige for free! (plus this avoided the queues outside)

I think they do this for a limited amount of people a week, so if you have a bit of notice before you travel its well worth an ask!

Otherwise, id really recommend going. You dont have to tour the parliament but can go straight to the glass roof and walk all the way round to the top, giving you a fantastic panoramic view of the city. This might be too hard work for those who are disabled, but the entire building is wheelchair accessable.

I would realllly recommend you turn up early for this, queues can last well into the day if you dont! but this is completely free, so well worth a visit :)

New Berlin Tours
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New Berlin Tours offer loads of different tours around Berlin! Off the top of my head, i know they do a Red Berlin Communist Tour and a bike tour.

However, the top top tour is the free Berlin Tour. This covers most of the city and lasts around 5 hours! The tour is completly free! you just pay a tip to the (usually lovely) tourguide.

More detail can be found here;
http://www.newberlintours.com/nbt/

Thought our favourite - the new Berlin pub crawl!
There really are some amazing amazing pubs and clubs in Berlin. Open air areas with old tanks for seats and fire shows, alongside little boutiquey clubs. for 12eu the tour guides will take you round, get you in free for all the places and give you a good deal of free drinks - (PACE YOURSELVES! - this one is for the long hall!) free entry and cheap deals on drinks.

Berlin Wall East Side Gallery
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The Berlin Wall East Side Gallery is a fantastic place. A section of original wall with original artworks, most of which you will see around postcards in souvenir shops.

To make a day of it, we rented bikes from Friedrichstrasse and followed the well sign-posted wall tour. This will show you a wide selection of the city as well as taking you along to the gallery. Just remember to follow the signs and the markings in the road (might be worth to pick up one of the free maps, just in case!)

If you like your graffiti art, this is a great trip. You get to go along the river and the whole trip takes around 2 hours (allowing time to go slower and stop and look). We rented the bikes for half a day which was plenty of time to get around, stopping at anywhere we fancied on the way!

Just down from the East Side Gallery is a fantastic bar. I forget the name but you will see it from the tonnes of graffiti and the fake beach setting. Lovely for a refreshing beer on the way!

Checkpoint Charlie
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Very touristy - and 'snackpoint charlie' made me cringe >.< but really a humbing place to visit. Follow along the wall to read about the history of the check point (from memory this was listed in English, German and Spanish) or visit the Checkpoint Charlie Museum.

One little gimmick but a nice souvenir; for 5euros you can have a selection of 'checkpoint charlie' stamps put in your passport. I think you get 9 in total, or you can get 1 stamp for 1euro. There are some great shops around here too!

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
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Its hard to get into words the experience of visiting a concentration camp. The dark horrors of history from so few years ago come alive with stunning vividness. I wont say much about Sachsenhausen, because you have to see it to even begin to understand it. All i can say is i recommend that everyone should visit one at least once. We must never forget the ills of history lest we dare to repeat them.

I would recommend arranging an English tour for this trip. Its quite off the beaten track if you dont know where your going to and the tour guide will be able to explain everything to you. I know New Berlin do one, but you will see many others advertised while you are there.

Its not an easy day, but very much worth a visit.

http://www.stiftung-bg.de/gums/en/index.htm

Topography of terror
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This is a free exhibition in open air grounds whilst money is being fundraised for its new home.

The exhibition explains the history of Nazi Germany with focus on its terrorist elements. All the signs are posted in English as well as German, but you can also rent a pair of headphones with an audiotour.

We incorporated this onto part of our bike day out, but well worth a visit if you are interested in history.

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Bit of fun... see how many Berlin Bears you can get your photos with! Looks great in the album after!

Much more to tell you about, but im done in for tonight!
Will update soon with more information about Markets and nightlife

:)

For more information on Berlin Schonefeld international airport or Tentstation Campingplatz, please check out my other reviews :)

Summary: Make sure you go to Berlin at least once in your life. its unmissable.