Berling Shopping
 

We are going to Berling next week for a long weekend. We're staying at the Westin and would really like to get a good Black Forest cuckoo clock, nutcracker, and maybe a hand woven Turkish rug. Does anybody have any ideas where to get these items???

I would start at KADEWE, the largest department store in Germany.

http://www.kadewe-berlin.de/index2_engl.php

It's not cheap, but you get an idea what to pay ...

Regarding Kuckucksuhr, I googled this:

http://www.kuckucksuhr.net/?gclid=CN...FRn1gAodWWBP4Q

Berlin's "most Turkish" neighboorhood is Kreuzberg, particularly along the Oranienstrasse and the Oranienplatz (subway stations Moritzplatz (U8) or Kottbusser Tor (U1 & U8)). That's probably a good place to start looking for Turkish rugs (or anything other Turkish).

Berlin Kreuzberg has the largest turkish community outside of Turkey so you should definitely find what you are looking for

Better go for a normal carpet store and you won't get srewed. By the way: With the Euro at 1,30 Dollars Berlin is for shure not a heaven for US shoppers.

Thanks for all the help.

I do understand that it may not be cheaper to get the clock in Germany but I travel for pleasure all over the world and love to collect something from that area. I probably could get the same clock here, or even ebay, for the same or less but it just wouldn't be the same. I have more of a concern that I always get a bottle of liquor from the contry and now I have to pack it.

The department stores on Alexanderplatz are also worth a look. The food section was quite impressive (lots of gourmet selections and some hard to find items). They seem to try to carry "made in Germany" items -- which are hard to find, lots of those cuckoo clocks are now made in China, even in Germany.

Are you referring to Galleria Kaufhof?

Also, for food/gourmet items, don't forget the basement food/gourmet floor at Galleries Lafayette - it's just two blocks down Friedrichstrasse from the Westin.