My 19 yr old son will be in Berlin for a week soon. He'll visit a local German freundin while there. What are your favorite sights & activities in Berlin?

(yes, we bought 2 travel guides, too.)

Thanks!

Museumsinsel. ^

For starters:

A visit to the KaDeWe Department Store, the largest in Europe, especially on the upper floors where a myriad of foods can be viewed and consumed.

A trip on the 100 or 200 bus originating at Zoo station, preferably sitting in the upper level above the driver...a great way to see major tourist sights and get one's bearings.

Later, a walk from the Brandenburg Gate into East Berlin via Unter den Linden all the way to the Alexander Platz (site of the TV Tower and observation platform).

For public transport, a day or week pass provides access to all public modes and is much better than trying to deal with expensive, single ride tickets. Sold from most transit ticket machines and at the BVG ticket office in the parking lot of Zoo station (credit cards accepted there!).

Checkpoint Charlie. Even more amazing if you were there before the wall came down.

Holocaust Memorial

Deutscher Bundestag ( German parliament )

Chancelors Office

Potsdamer Platz

Hotel Adlon (one of the best in Germany, really nearby the Brandenburg Gate)

Maybe he want's to go to Potsdam (half an hour ride by S-Bahn) and see the place where all four winning parties after WWII met and decided what to do with Germany)

Potsdam itself is a really nice city

Stasi Museum

much more... I guess the German Freundin will be familiar with the area and show him around anyway...

Well, I don't know if my favourite sights and activities would agree with 19 year old's tastes!

Head down to Kreuzberg for bars and clubs; Prenzlauer Berg for brunch and and a few funky shops; wander around the courtyards of the Hackesche Hofe; go up the TV tower on Alexanderplatz for a view of the city.

For something completely different, try the Tadshikische Teestube where he can buy his Freundin a champagne and tea cocktail:
http://www.berlin-hidden-places.de/yuba_web3/regional_en/mitte/mit_tadshik_en.htm

Checkpoint Charlie. Even more amazing if you were there before the wall came down.

It is something you have to see, but sadly its very tacky. Almost as tacky as the pieces of "wall" for sale around Berlin.. most of it was used in roadbuilding, yet 3 times the actual volume of wall has been sold:rolleyes:

There's a nightclub on Joachimstrasse near the Ku'damm - 4 floors, and somehow, German DJs always seem to hit the mark and aren't afraid to be creative ;)

Second Prenzlauerberg - its quite cool and pretty upmarket.

Checkpoint Charlie. Even more amazing if you were there before the wall came down.

Go to the museum. not very big, but some amazing stories of escape are told there.

Go by the old Palace of the Republic (on Unter den Linden east of the Staatsoper) and see another piede of GDR history before it disappears.....

Go by the old Palace of the Republic (on Unter den Linden east of the Staatsoper) and see another piede of GDR history before it disappears.....

there isn't much left (http://www.dhm.de/zcam/) ...

The Pergamon Museum, on Museum Island, is one of the most amazing museums in the world. The Germans removed the entire temple of Zeus from Pergamon, Turkey, and built a museum around the reconstructed temple in Berlin. After, have a kebap in Kreuzburg and soak up the Turkish atmosphere.

The Pergamon Museum, on Museum Island, is one of the most amazing museums in the world. The Germans removed the entire temple of Zeus from Pergamon, Turkey, and built a museum around the reconstructed temple in Berlin. After, have a kebap in Kreuzburg and soak up the Turkish atmosphere.

I fully agree. The Museumsinsel is one of the best places in Berlin. The renovated and reopened Bode Museum on he Island is by the way great, too.

But don't tell anbody Pergamon is Turkish. It was a Greek culture later dominated by the Romans in a part of the world later occupied by the Osman Empire and the today owned by the Turkish Republic. Germany bought the altar from the Osman Empire. These guys had no problems to sell the Greek altar to Germany in 1879, it had nothing to do with their culture.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Pergamonmuseum_Pergamonaltar.jpg

By the way: The Doner Kebab you have in Europe is something like the Pizza you have in the US - for sure not Italian. The "European" Doner Kebab was invented in the seventies in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Here we enjoy it with salad and yoghurt dressing and this is unknown in Turkey itself where you will find it with peppers, pickled cucumber and chips. Enjoy!

I'll second a visit to the KaDaWe. Certainly worth the trip. While you are there, stop by the Gedaechtniskirche (I'm sure I mispelled that), for an interesting sight.

There is also plenty of shopping up and down Ku'damm, and around the Zoobahnhof.

Then there is always the Zoo. If you have the time, a trip by car or train into Potsdam might also be interesting. There are plenty of nice places to walk there.

I'd second pretty all the suggestions above and add the AquaDom and sea-life centre which is next to the Museuminsel.

m.