Berlin

trixiem

Heading to Berlin for 4 days in August, any recommendations please?

fitzgese

go to haus am checkpoint charlie. it is a museum about the wall. also you should check out the remains of the wall. there is a bit near the above museum with a photo exhibition. the brannderburg gate is worth checking out too. also, the berlin parliament9bundapariament) has a public viewing tower and is free to get into. go in the evening if you can. i went there last year and there was a brilliant sun-set, it was very nice. if you want to get high, there is also the tv tower. it offers great views but it is pricey and the views from the parliament as just as good. an open-top bus tour is also a good idea and is not too expensive. my advise would be to do the bus tour on your first day. this will allow you to visit interesting places you saw along the way. if you are in to museums there is a great choice. there is an erotica museum which we did not actually visit(i swear ). also you should check out the deutsches historishes museum, the dom, the aquarium. a little advise about the aquarium, the crocodiles make look really fake, but they are not! the are real lives ones so a swim would not be the best idea in the world. if you have time you should check out the *******stadion. i do not know if you now can get tours. you could when i was there but then the world cup was on. either way if you have a little time it is worth checking out. one museum stood out for me and i think that it is an absolute must-the deutsche technikmuseum berlin. there are hundreds of interactive experiments, cars, trains, you name it, it is there. i would also recommend just walling the streets such unten den linden and the like. about food, it depends on yout budget and what you are looking for but i would recommend avoid eating around the touristy places and go instead to the suburbs or even the train station. everything is so much cheaper than ireland except the soft drinks. you may or may not be aware but they charge you a pfand on bottles and cans. it is about 25cent and you must return your bottle to a shop to get this back. try out some of the sausages and the beer is dirt cheap. public transport is great but i would recommend getting a map first and knowing where you are going. this will mean that your are less likey to be a target for pick-pockets and thieves. i have done a good bit if travelling around germany and would have to say that out of the eight or nine german cities i have visited, berlin is probably the most dangerous for tourists. but that said we were grand there. just be sensible and do not go around with a few thousand in your wallet in your back pocket. all in all berlin is a great place and you will have a ball. feel free to ask me any more questions but if not enjoy!

fitzgese

why did they censor *******stadion?

fitzgese

they did it again, okay it is a stadium where the world cup final was held last year and where the Olympics were held in 1936

woop

if youre a drinker do the pub crawl not half as expensive as the pub crawl in other cities, but great craic plus they show you this cool 4 storey abondoned warehouse/pub with freaky graffiti and stoned artists and their exhibitions on the second floor, tis fun

trixiem

Cheers for the info!

Fr Clint Power

I will be heading to Berlin in August and was just wondering if there are any theme parks in or easily reachable from Berlin?

Have you been to the Spandau Citadel? Is it worth seeing? Do you happen to know what exactly is there?

By any chance would any one know if there are any themed restaurants in Berlin ? I am thinking in particular of something like Sir Lancelots in Budapest which is a medieval themed restaurant complete with big platters of old style food and tankards of beer?

Any information gratefully appreciated!

seanjohn88

Train/tram is easily best way to get around. They're regular and go everywere! no matter were your going, there's sure to be a train or tram stop near it.

Bit of advice. try work out the train system before you go. I went with a group of 11 people back in febuary. Took us a good half hour to realise we were lookin at the wrong machine for buyin a train ticket. Instead of havin one machine there's two different ones, one for rural routes and another for local. (go local) Once you find your away around the train map your all set. Pretty easy to get about then.

palaver

trixiem wrote:

Heading to Berlin for 4 days in August, any recommendations please?

One of these questions ... :rolleyes:

My recommendation would be to tell everyone what you are interested in. Culture? History? Nightlife? Techno? Opera? Fine dining? Fast food? Nature? Getting to know people? Sightseeing? Business?

To read a guide book would be another recommendation to at least get an idea of the city and ask more specific questions.



@Fr Clint Power:
The Spandau Citadel is quite impressive. Check out: www.zitadelle-spandau.de. Just been there last month, it is massive!
There are concerts in the summer and there is even a restaurant with medieval themed meals. Since it's in a real castle the atmosphere is quite authentic.

Another themed restaurant is Die Tafelrunde (check out: www.tafelrundeberlin.de). Never had a meal there because I'm not into mountains of meat and this kind of restaurant anyway. Had my fare share of "medieval" stuff in Bunratty...

gamblor101

If you're into sightseeing and culture i'd recommend trip out to Schloss Sans Soucci in Potsdam. Amazing Palaces and gardens.

If you really want to impress the other half then there is a bar called Newtons. Can't remember what street it is on though. It's an homage to the famous photographer Helmut Newton (one of the walls is one of his pictures of four supermodels completely starkers, which is not unusual if you know who Newton was). If you like cigars then there is also a fantastic cigar room upstairs too.

Went to a Mexican restaurant while there called Joe Penas. Nice food and appeared to be family oriented with crayons on each table and big sheets of plain paper for a table cloth. Joe Penas in Munich is very much not family oriented but much better craic for it.