Berlin layover sitesee
 

Is a 4 hour layover at Schoenefeld airport too short too see anything at all in Berlin? If so what is practical? Going to Venice from there. Any advice welcome.

hello,
the Germany forum is a better place for your request. For your convenience, I move that thread into that forum :)

regards

chrissxb
co-moderator
communitybuzz!

Your flyertalk info does not say anything about where you are from

there might be immigration issue, re checking throught the gate etc.

you should be able to hop into town by public transportation and have a quick lookaround but other than that probably not.

You could tale the S-Bahn (Line 9) from the Schönefeld S-Bahn station to the Hauptbahnhof (from where you could reach the Reichstag and the Brandeburg Tor) before heading back to the airport. The BVG site lists the trip time from the SXF station to Hbf as 42 minutes.

Note: I've never flown into or out of SXF (only TXL), so you wouul need to factor in the time it takes to reach the S-Bahn station (I'm not sure if it is in the terminal building proper, or if it is adjacent).

Check the very informative BVG website for maps and timetables:

http://217.9.46.151/Fahrinfo/bin/que...59696&OK#focus

That sounds about right, but you must also consider the frequency of the trains.It is not within the terminal, but no more than a 5 minute walk from the front entrance.

The Reichstag and Brandenburger Tor are a good 10-15 minute walk from the Hauptbahnhof front entrance. While the OP could walk around the Brandenburger Tor, there is usually a waiting line to enter the Reichstag, so given the time constraints I don't think one could count on seeing the interior of that.

I'd suggest the OP search some websites or travel books and find something of interest just slightly closer to the airport. The Alexanderplatz would be a good starting point: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexanderplatz

Also check out the several museums on the Museuminsel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_Island
I'd particularly recommend the Pergamon Museum (closest station is Hackescher Markt).

Museuminsel
 

While I love the Pergamon, I can't recommend it for a four hour layover where actual time spent in Mitte district is going to be a couple of hours. The Pergamon is nearly too big to be done in 2 hours. I would recommend Alexanderplatz or walking around the Brandenburg Gate and Berliner Dom and possibly going to Checkpoint Charlie. As stated previously, check your train schedules and make sure you do not have to go through passport control before doing this. Berlin is a wonderful city but deceptively large, geographically, for those who have never been there before.

The Pergamon is so interesting that one could easily spend half a day there. I suggested it because of its large and impressive exhibits; those can be seen fairly quickly if needed. The OP is more likely to recall it than a visit to view a handful of paintings, etc.

I mentioned a museum as an indoor activity in case of uncooperative weather. On such a brief layover stretching ones legs in the sunshine is the better option.

A couple friends transitted through Berlin Monday and the must-see attraction for them was Knut:

http://www.rbb-online.de/knut/

They had somewhat more than 4 hours though.

The S9 is a bad idea, takes forever. Schoenefeld has an express train called "Airport Express" (sic) that costs exactly the same, leaves from the same station every 30 min, and takes just under half an hour. Detailed information available at http://www.berlin-airport.de/DE/Reis...tionsplan.html. It doesn't have as many stops as the regular S-Bahn, hence no stops at Hackescher Markt. However it does stop at Friedrichstrasse and Alexanderplatz. I highly recommend this option - took me until my second trip through Schoenefeld to figure this out, and it is MUCH more convenient.

Thanks for the info, basia; that's a great tip! I couldn't get the link you provided to work though. I examined the map carefully when I last took that route, but never saw anything about the "Airport Express". Is it a new service, or just well hidden?

If you can't get the URL to open, try going to http://www.berlin-airport.de/EN/index.php? and typing "airport express" in the search box. Should get you to the same information.

The service has been around for a while, from what I remember. It is not particularly new!

The English version is at http://www.berlin-airport.de/EN/Reis...tionsplan.html, maybe that'll work better. Or check the general airport link mentioned above. I think it's been around for quite a while, but they used to be quite bad at telling people about it, and I think many people in Berlin don't know it well. It actually took some colleagues from East Berlin to tell me, Westerners are so much into TXL still. But probably the main reason people don't catch on is technically these are regional trains and not part of the S-/U-Bahn system (even though the same ticket is used). Departure won't be from the S-Bahn platform but from a regional train platform, just check the yellow departures listings at the station.
It IS a huge improvement. First time I went Germanwings to Berlin I took the S9 and it nearly drove me crazy it's so slow.

So 15 minutes difference drives you crazy? :confused:

I would always take the first train arriving. The so called Airport Express (RE to Belzig and RE to Nauen) departs at -32 and -57, so if you are there at the full hour, take the nest S-Bahn which might be even a big advantage if you do not want to go exactly to the center but change en route to a bus or another train.

Here's what you do
 

Take the S-Bahn or Airport Train to Friedrichstrasse.

Walk south (about 2 blocks) to the next big intersection, Friedrichstrasse at Under den Linden.

Walk down Unter den Linden to the west (right) to the Brandenburg Gate, noticing the Russian embassy (on left). The Adlon Hotel will also be on the left, with the American embassy (still) under construction just next to the Brandenburg Gate, which is a common symbol of Berlin (like the Eiffel Tower is to Paris).

Retrace your steps on the other side of the street.

When you get back to Friedrichstrasse and time permits, continue down Unter den Linden in the other direction (east), past the Humboldt University and the Cathedral (Dom); notice the Spree River and the museums on the island near the Dom. Opera houses and the demolition project of the East German Parliament building are also on this route (the latter to be replaced by a new Imperial Palace, which used to occupy the site but was demolished in a fit of spite by the GDR). Alexanderplatz is just beyond, and you can reboard the train to the S. Airport there.

Otherwise, you can go back to the Friedrichstrasse station.

This is a quick walking tour of some of the highlights of former downtown East Berlin with a number of historic sights. At some point there will be an opportunity for a snack.

The total amount of walking described here is about 2 miles or less.