Swimming & Running in Berlin, in December
 

Hello--

I'll be in Berlin for 4 days this December, vacation and sightseeing mostly. I'd like to keep some sort of workout schedule, maybe swim 1-2x while there, and run about the same.

All of the pools listed in my Lonely Planet Berlin book are only open in summer. Surely there must be at least 1 indoor pool in Berlin that will be open?

Would the park area around Str des 17 Juni be a good area for running? I'd prefer to get off of main roads (certainly I may need to start on them), and I really like trails. Are there such areas along the river?

I'll be staying at the Hilton, but could certainly take the U/S-bahn to workout. Anyone have ideas to help? Any locals want to run with me?

Thanks!

For swimming, please check http://www.visitberlin.de/english/be...ort_wasser.php

I regularly run in Berlin and find it a very suitable city for jogging but of course it all depends on the weather. You can find parks and green spaces all over town so it's more of a climate issue.

The Hilton has a pool, but it doesn't look ideal for fitness swimming (although if it's empty, it could be okay).
http://www1.hilton.com/ts/en_US/hote...pool_large.jpg

I have been there Pictures of pool and hotel and it's far away from being a lap pool for real swimming, even if it is empty. However it might be okay for some sort of relaxing after a workout in the also small gym.

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.d...htskarte.shtml (see route Route No. 2, Tiergarten with Government District)

Tiergarten would be very nice for running. It is basically a huge park in the city center, like Hyde Park or Central Park. Otherwise along the canal where the embassies are, I believe it is called Hiroshima Steig.

Certainly your concierge can answer that question in one minute with the best possibilities close to you.

For swimming there is an old Schwimmbad in Art Deco style but I don't remember the name. Can anyone help me out?

Till

The old Art deco style bath: http://www.berlinerbaederbetriebe.de/index.php?id=77
It is next to the underground station U-Rathaus Neuköln. It is beautiful and I can only recommend to use the sauna at least once.

Probably your next schwimmbad with a 50-m swimming pool is: http://www.berlinerbaederbetriebe.de/index.php?id=76

I've never been there but my girl friend visit this for fitness-swimming quite often. You should easily reach it from the hilton. An overview of all public swimming pools can also be found there: http://www.berlinerbaederbetriebe.de/index.php?id=12
However they don't have any english information. You should just ask one week before you travel again, so that a German can check whether there is scheduled maintance.
cheers
757DUD

Thanks all for the help, I appreciate it. I'll re-post about a week out.

Now just trying to figure out what to see and do in Berlin. I was there back in 1994, but it seems like an entirely different city now (but not as different as when my brother was there in 1987).

I'll be there in Dec as well for 3 days for sightseeing and relaxation and I'll also be staying at the Hilton. I run here but I didn't think about running there even though Tiergarten would seem to be idea. This is my first trip to Berlin but I'm developing an idea of things to see based on the NY Times travel section and Frommers. I posted a link another thread. Also there are tours like Berlin Walks that are only about 3 or 4 hours but you can hit a number of the major attractions. After that I just plan to walk around and check things out.

InterContinental Berlin has a very nice fitness centre, with large indoor pool.

As the hotel is located very close to Tiergarten, you can run in the park very easily

I like the IC swimming pool very much indeed :) ! I am told the swimming pool in the Pullman Schweizerhof, across the street from the IC, is even better.

There are plenty of public indoor pools, but they're often full of paddlers - quite difficult to get a workout. Many fitness centres have pools, in particular the Elixia chain is pretty good and they have day passes. Their branches at Hermannplatz, Ostkreuz and Prager Platz in Wilmersdorf have big, beautiful pools - and of course the full range of gym equipment and saunas and steam baths.

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Ok I arrive in Berlin next week (and Munich on Sunday), anyone have any updates on pool access?

I got an email from Active.com last night about keeping fit over the holidays, with a link to running routes on Runners' World. Surprisingly, they had several routes for both Munich and Berlin.

I've been keeping an eye on the weather, and it hasn't been too bad lately. Hopefully that will continue. But I'm bringing my tracksuit just in case (I do live in the desert after all).

Thanks!