holocker

Just booked an award ticket on AA/Air Berlin using AAdvantage miles. SNA-ORD-TXL-MXP.

This is for May 2014 and it seems all of a sudden a lot of Business Class seats have opened up on their flights. I have been searching for months and this was the first time I have seen 2 business class seats on the same routing.

The routing has me arriving in Berlin at 7:00 am and leaving at 6:30 PM. I would think this would give me time to explore Berlin for the day. What are my transportation options from the airport and what would you recommend for sightseeing for the day.
Thanks

William13

Hello Holocker,

I assume you'll be landing at TXL. If so you can take the TXL Express bus from the airport into the city center in a matter of minutes. If you leave the bus at Unter den Linden - Berlin's central historical avenue, you can walk over to the Brandenburg Gate, visit the Reichstag and wander through the green and leafy Tiergarten - Berlin's answer to NY's Central Park. May is usually good weather - the city's long dark winter having finally relented by that time. On the other end of Unter den Linden is our iconic TV Tower, Alexanderplatz and the German Historical Museum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unter_den_Linden

Various dining options as well - The Hotel Adlon always has a nice spread or you might reserve a table at the restaurant above the Reichstag - the view is wonderful and it is a great way to skip the visitor line

http://www.feinkost-kaefer.de/dt_bundestag10/

There is a restaurant at the top of the TV Tower also - but the cuisine is unremarkable so you're basically paying for the view.

Once you've exhausted yourself you can just hop back in the TXL for the 15 minute ride back to the airport!

ralfkrippner

Please also look into the Germany forum, where you'll find lots of info on Berlin.

From TXL take a bus (frequent departures from the main entrance) into city centre (eg X9 to the for the Kurfürstendamm area - exit at Bahnhof Zoo or eg TXL to Alexanderplatz, there are several other routes available). Tickets available via easy to operate ticket machines at the bus lanes. Take a city day ticket for zones AB at 6,70 euro for all day travel on all S-Bahn, U-Bahn, Tram and bus routes in the city and to and from TXL.

I'd do a walk along Alexanderplatz, Schloßplatz, Unter den Linden, Friedrichstraße to the Brandenburg Gate and Potsdamer Platz and if you have time left hop into a bus or U-Bahn over to Kurfürstendamm / Bahnhof Zoo area with the KadeWe shopping centre.

edited to add: William13 - you've beaten me with the faster reply :-)

holocker

What time should I leave the city to get back to the airport for a 6:30 pm flight. I assume my luggage will be checked through. Is there somewhere in the airport I can store my carry on bags.

Flying Lawyer

As ralf said, take the burden to visit the Germany forum. It is all in there.

TPJ

Don't forget to visit the former East Berlin - Alexanderplatz and vicinity. It is amazing - the Wall fallen more than 20 years ago and you can still tell which part belonged to the East and which to the West Berlin (apart from areas like Unter den Linden that was already redone)

linglingfool

Depends on where in the city you're coming from -- even in traffic, the TXL or X9 shouldn't take more than 45 minutes to get back to the airport from their farthest point. If you head back to the airport at 4:30 you should have plenty of time.

See this thread for luggage storage: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/airbe...e-storage.html

I actually did a cursory search, and was surprised that there wasn't a lot of threads on long layovers in Berlin. Previous commenters have hit most of the highlights, but if it's your first time in Berlin I would suggest a guided walking tour. It covers many of the aforementioned areas, but with a little context, and can be done in about 3 hours.

Reindeerflame

I likely have a similar long layover on a planned flight from ORD-TXL-OSL, but would prefer to spend part of the time between 700 and 1630 or so taking a nap.

Do any hotels near TXL offer a day rate?