Berlin Solo for 4 days
 

I am very excited to be going to Berlin for the 2nd time! I was there in 1991, and it is a vastly different city now. I arrive on the 20th after a killer flight the day before, and depart on the 24th. I am using my Marriott points to stay at the Berlin Marriott Hotel (though I'm going to keep an eye on Priceline and see if I can get a bargain instead of using my points). I have just begun my research, and would like some input from all you knowledgeable FTers! :)

1) What can I expect it to be like in November? It looks like it's even colder than Boston, and possibly wetter. I plan to pack long underwear, and bring some waterproof boots and a winter-weight trench coat. What has worked best in your experience?

2) Is there the equivalent of the Paris Museum pass in Berlin? This was very helpful when faced with long lines/queues to gain entrance.

3) Are hop on/hop off tours worth it? Normally I would do a walking tour, but if the weather is cold, raw, and windy, I would prefer to be inside a bus.

4) I heard that the Marriott breakfasts are overpriced just like in the US. :rolleyes: Any recommendations on places to get a decent breakfast? I'm more inclined toward protein (meat and eggs) than pastries.

I am excited to see museums and sites dedicated to East German history. Anything not in the guidebooks that you think is worthwhile, let me know. Vielen Dank!

Kathy

The Marriott is NICE and in a good location. The weather is a total crapshoot that time of year. The best advice is to be prepared to layer up.

Here are a couple of links that might be of interest. Have a great time!

http://www.citytourcard.com/english/...ting-page.html

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/desti...iversary_N.htm

Bus tour: there is a regular bus line than basically passes lots of important sites like Schloss Bellevue, etc. I believe it's either line 100 or 200 and passes S- and U-Bahn station Zoologischer Garten (right at Kurfürstendamm (the big shopping street)). Of course, on a regular bus line, it's pretty easy to hop on and off, also it doesn't come with a typical tourist rip off price. Just ask at the hotel, they know about this line.

From there, you can still do lots of walking and Berlin is a great city to walk in.

The only thing I really hate are the traffic lights. I am a really fast walker but I can basically never make it across the street on a 2-lane in each direction intersection without seeing the red light when I am almost over. I ask myself what older people or people with other handicaps do in Berlin?

Anyway, have fun, you will have just missed the big party for the reunification.

Hi,
expect rainy weather, between 0 and 10 degree Celsius. In my opinion the hop-on-hop-off tours are not worth their money. However you should take from Alexanderplatz to Zoo the normal Bus no 100 and Return with the bus number 200. Then you have probably seen all sights which are normally included in the hop-on-hop-off tour.
Regarding your interest in east german history, there is an open-air exhibition about the the events in the GDR leading to the Fall of the Wall. This exhibition was mainly planed by people who where involved in these events.
The other must see is http://en.stiftung-hsh.de/. It is not in center of berlin, but you should easily reach it by public transport and is one of the most impressive memorial and musuem about the east German secret police (Staatssicherheit, Stasi).
cheers
757DUD

Just to clarify: The open-air exhibition is on Alexanderplatz which is not clear from the above post. The is a DDR museum as well close to the larger museums. I agree that Hohenschönhausen is well worth visiting, however be careful if you want a guided tour and don't speak English as most tours are in German only. Check the website for the English-speaking ones.

Thank you everyone. I should note that I am a woman traveling alone (have done so many times for business travel). Are there any areas I should avoid because of safety reasons? Thanks!

The downtown and tourist areas of Berlin are as safe as in any other big city. There are no no-go areas. Just use your common sense and don't walk alone through dark alleys. something you probably wouldn't do in Boston either.

If you like museums the Museumsinsel is a must see. Several different museums to choose from. Some of them are newly resaturated.

http://www.museumsinsel-berlin.de/in...ng=en&page=3_1

Agree - use your commonsense; all the guests we have had think it a very safe city.

*wonders how you resaturate a museum......dunk it in water again?

My significant other and I stayed at the Berlin Marriott for several days in March. Not being a breakfast person, I talked him into getting a bite to eat at the Starbucks on Ebertstrasse just behind the hotel. There did appear to be a small restaurant near the corner of Ebertstrasse and Lennestrasse that served fairly inexpensive breakfasts. As I said.. didn't try it.. but it's a nearby option.

Greg

Thanks for the response. I will look for that restaurant. Did you like the Marriott? It looks pretty nice.

I booked it using Priceline (5* Tiergarten area) and paid something like $80 a night. Not sure I'd call it a 5* but a very good hotel and fairly well located. Very modern -- not surprising considering it was where the Berlin wall was located 20 years ago.

Greg

As mentioned earlier in this thread , Berlin is a city that is best explored on foot and my recommendation is that you do yourself a big favor and join one of the guided Berlin walks. You can choose between different themes for the walks and length of time.

Couple of links:

http://www.brewersberlintours.com/
http://www.berlinwalks.com/tours.html

i stayed there last dec. on a priceline stay for $75. thought it was a great deal. sony center is across street. restaurants there. just past that is a shopping mall with grocery stores and eating places and a mcdonalds. also across street is a pizza/ itlalian place to eat called paisano. it is good and cheap. i got a 3 day transit pass at txl and they showed me how to get to the marriott. not sure when the christmas markets start but they have one across from the sony center.

By using Firefox Spellchecking.

In Germany almost all bakery shops ("Baeckerei") and butchers ("Metzgerei") offer filled rolls deli style at breakfast time. It's a good opportunity to try various local hams, sausages and cheeses and a nice cup of coffee or tea and prices are very reasonable.

Some bakeries also do more substantial warm brekkies including scrambled or fried eggs and bacon/ham.

Thank you for the suggestions. Before a long day of museums and sightseeing I like a hearty breakfast. Looks like there are plenty of options. :)

Yep, there is a great little coffeshop right outside the front door of the Marriott, across the fountain. They have a selection of sandwiches in the morning, and great coffee.

I'd just like to go a bit more into detail as I find the "deli" breakfasts very enjoyable in Germany.

At the bakeries: There are normally ready made filled rolls and baguettes on display. However, you can ask them to prepare everything fresh as well and choose fillings like at a deli shop.

At the butcher shops: First you should ask if they do fill rolls. Normally this is the case. The customer can choose from almost all prepared meats and cheeses on display as long as they can be sliced. Other fillings are more limited here, maybe only mustard and chopped onion. The latter is used especially for Mett (raw minced pork meat) and Leberwurst/liver sausage.

I'll be going in December and I've been reading this http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/10/11...l/11Hours.html as a resource guide. Berlin Walks as Frommers suggested appears to be a good tour from what I've read. I plan on using them when I go.

As far as what type of winter clothing to carry; just remember the three layer approach http://www.abc-of-mountaineering.com...ingsystem.asp: base layer, insulation layer and shell layer.

I've been looking at the Circus Hotel in the Mitte District as I've read good things about it but I'm going to try searching Priceline, Orbitz and Hotels dot com for a variety but so far I haven't seen anything that beats the Circus as far as price, location and reviews.

The article is quite good, but very "experience" oriented. I would rather visit the museums on the Museum Island than the artificial ddrmuseum, for instance.

The same applies to the culinary selection: the Paris bar is famous, but not exactly known for good steaks.
I'd rather go to Konopke (the world famous "Currywurst"),
Weinstein(wine oriented, regional) or the Prater - actually, the Anthony Bourdain episode about Berlin is not completely wrong.

Thanks. Where is Museum Island? I didn't plan on going to the Paris Bar but Konopke is on my list.

It is right in the middle of the city. It is an island in the river which houses (among many other things) a collection of great museums like the Pergamonmuseum or the Alte Nationalgalerie.

The exhibition at the Alexanderplatz is extended up to 2010 and definite worth a visit. However, you should be careful with the Trabi-Safari. Trabi comes only with manual gears, and the gears are all next to the steering wheel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manual_...ounted_shifter).

cheers
757DUD

PS: if you interested in history the Mauer-Gedankstätte (wall memorial) is also worth a visit. Here is an very authentic part of the wall, and a few meters next to the wall, you can see, how half of cemetery is still missing, because the GDR demolished the cemetery to build the wall. http://www.berliner-mauer-gedenkstaette.de/index_e.html

Thanks. Good to hear that the exhibition at Alexanderplatz has been extended. I'll definitely do that. I don't plan on using the Trabi-Safari.

Do you have any good restaurant suggestions for breakfast and dinner; lunch too. I'll be staying at the Hilton so places within walking distance or places that are easy to reach by S, U or Tram would be great.

Does anyone know if the Panoramapunkt viewing platform in the Kollhoff Tower at Potsdamer Platz 1 is open?

The website said that reconstruction is taking place. Its on my list of things to do so if it isn't open I'll bypass it.

So I completed a itinerary for my three day Dec trip to Berlin. This itinerary is based on my research of the NY Times travel section (I posted a link earlier in this thread) and a lot of research on Google, FT and taking into consideration things that I'm interested in.

I'm posting this as it may help the OP and others in determining what to see and do. Feedback is welcomed.

Day -

Musuem Island - Spend 2 hours

Potsdamer Platz - Spend 3 hours - Check out Arkaden Mall, Panaramapunkt viewing platform at Kollhof Tower, Sony Center, Daimler Center and Musical Theater

Dinner at a restaurant near Gendarmenmarkt and call it a day.

Day -

Breakfast at a restaurant near Gendarmenmarkt.

Do a tour with Berlin Walks - 4 hours

Lunch at a restaurant at Gendarmenmarkt.

East Berlin Art Mile - Spend 1 hour - This is basically along Auguststrabe .

Dinner near Humboltd University.

Hit up Watergate Club, King Kong Club, Tresor, or Kaffee Burger. There's other options as well.

Day -

Breakfast

Berlin Zoo - Spend 2 hours (is that enough?)

Lunch in Charlottenburg - I'm thinking Rogacki

Visit Tiergarten - Spend 1 hour

Pankow - Spend 2 hours

Sightseeing ideas
 

My additional suggestion when in Berlin:

- visit the Museumsinsel, especially the re-opened "Neues Museum" with (among others) roman and egyptian artefacts in a building recently renovated / reconstructed by David Chipperfield. To avoid queuing at the cashier, I would print my tickets online at http://www.smb.museum/smb/shop/ticke...=20836&lang=en

- visit Claerchens Ballhaus in the evening, pretty nice place for dancing - it is like a flashback into the 60's or 70's, free 30-60 minute dance courses are offered and simple dining is possible. Worth going there in the evening, even if it is only out of couriosity. http://www.ballhaus.de/

I'm reading the Berlin City Guide by Lonely Planet and its definitely worth a read. It provides a in-dept understanding of popular sites and neighborhoods you're likely to encounter.