This New Year's Eve coincides with my Dad's 50th birthday and so I'd like to do something special. He's never flown Business Class before and I have enough miles on BA to take us both somewhere in Europe. I've checked the likes of Paris, Amsterdam and Prague but availability of Business Class redemptions is limited.

Berlin however is coming up with loads of availability on the 31st December, and I've found one or two decent 4* hotels in Alexanderplatz area for around 120 EUR (including the Park Inn and Hotel Indigo) or in the Kurfürstendamm area for around the same price.

I've done my research and worked out that the area close to the Brandenburg Gate is probably best avoided, it sounds far too busy especially for my Dad who isn't very strong on his feet due to an accident several years back.

I'm therefore wondering what the atmosphere is like in the rest of the city, is there somewhere we could see the fireworks from a safe distance? Or maybe join in the main event but avoid getting too close to the front where the crowds will be worst? It would be nice to walk around sampling some local beer/currywurst earlier on in the evening but retreat to a less busy area before it starts to get really crazy. I also see lots of talk about drunken people letting off fireworks in public - any tips on how to stay safe in this instance?