Berlin (Other locations...)

Member Name: Alaya

Product:	Other locations...
Date:	25/11/05 (86 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Friendly people, great resteraunts, good nightlife

Disadvantages: not many people speak good english so may have trouble

Berlin would not, i admit, be everyones first choice for a holiday, but then is anywhere until you have actually visited? I visited Berlin in april for the first time with my husband after he had been himself and been highly impressed. my first reaction was to look at him as if he was mad and then to ignore him for a month until he pestered me into going. I'm very glad he did.


~~~~Flights~~~

The flights to Berlin run from all over the country but we ourselves have only experienced two airports so i shall tell you about those instead. Leeds and Bradford Airport is known to most people and is a clean and friendly place to jet off from if a little small. My husband caught a KLM flight that stopped over at Amsterdam before continuing onwards to berlin. The only problem was that the luggage decided it liked amsterdam even more and didn't want to follow which resulted in some very unhelpful people at the airline telling me there was nothing that they could do to help until my husband was safely back in britain. The luggage did infact catch up with him but he vowed never to use that airline again hence, when i went in april, we used Air Berlin which flies out from Manchester Airport. The only problem i had with manchester was actually finding the right terminals as the motorway signs are very unhelpful. The price for flying however is relatively cheap at around £130 for a return flight which makes it a good bargain in my opinion.


~~~~Hotels~~~~

The place we stayed at was a great backpackers hostel known as the Generator which is situated on Landsberger Allee, just off Storkower Strasse. Any taxi can get you there and the fares (from the airport) were very cheap at 35 Euros (especially when that included getting lost in West Berlin on the way thanks to our bad directions). Usual fares from the Airport, depending on which airport you land at (Berlin has two) range from 15 to 20 Euros. The rooms at The Generator are cheap at 52 euros per night with ensuite but are also very basic. There is no television and only a small locker for your goods although the hostel does provide safety deposit boxes for any valuables and a luggage room so you can store your bags for free without worrying if anybody has stolen anything.

The Hostel has a small bar with a games area for students who are regulars there and does serve food during the day. The food itself i would avoid at The generator as it is usually the microwave variety and not very filling. Instead catch a tram into the centre of Berlin where there is a wealth of resteraunts who serve high quality food at low prices.

~~~~Sightseeing~~~~

There are three very famous landmarks in Berlin, The Television tower which stands at well over 1500 feet above ground level. You can take an elevator to the top of the TV tower and sit in the revolving resteraunt as it slowly shows you the whole of Berlin, this costs 15 Euros but is well worth paying. The Brandenberg Gate which was made famous during WWII because the Nazi Party had its victory march through it. It was also famous because it is one of the points where the West German people could filter through to East Germany when the Berlin Wall still stood.

The Berlin wall no longer stands as many people already know but the berlin government laid out a line of cobbles tracing its path around Berlin and you can pick up brochures just about anywhere if you wish to follow it yourself. The final famous place would be the Reichstag. This is the German people's government. The queues are horrendous, taking two hours to get inside but it is well worth the wait.

Attendants at the Reichstag take you up in a lift which opens up onto a roof platform topped by a great glass dome in which are gently sloping ramps that you can walk up and get great panoramic views of Berlin.


If you wish to get immersed in history then i would suggest both Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and the Judisches Museum (Jewish Museum). Sachsenhausen, by it's very nature causes people to talk in hushed voices and at times it is almost as if you are in the past once more. On the gates at Sachsenhausen, the words "Arbeit macht frei" are wrought into the iron gates. Literally translated, the words mean 'Work sets you free', a timely reminder of just what it is you are going to be viewing. Dotted here and there about the camps are small museums detailing each part of the camps and in some places these are interactive. The German people today, while not trying to avoid guilt, are trying very hard to put behind them a difficult chapter in their history and Sachsenhausen seems almost like their atonement for that past. It is well worth visiting no matter who you are or what background you come from.

The jewish museum follows the same lines as the camp in that it dwells on WWII and what happened to ordinary people during that time. There are diaries, pictures and even household goods that have been rescued and preserved by the museum and each piece gives a little more insight into what the jewish people went through.


~~~~Shopping~~~~

Berlin has Europes Largest department store all in one building and believe me when i say, you will need an entire day just for this! set over ten floors, they have everything anyone could ever want to buy, from electricals through to childrens clothes and household goods, you name it and its most likely there! there are also markets dotted all around Berlin where you can expect to pay around the same prices as you would in markets in England. The best place i have found is a small market next to Museum Island that deals with anyting and everything unique and everything you find there has been handcrafted. There is a Fleamarket as well but as it is small it does leave a limited amount of things that you are able to buy.


~~~~~Conclusion~~~~

As you can probably tell, I adore Berlin and it's people. There are however bad points such as beggars and teenagers roaming around causing trouble in some areas. All in all however, i would reccommend Berlin to anyone, go visit!

P.S thankyou to MALU who helped me get my German words right! it's been so long i got the words wrong!

Summary: A great place to visit