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FACTS ABOUT BERLIN:

- Berlin is the capital of Germany

- It is the largest city in Germany.

- The city is divided into 12 boroughs.

- Almost 3.5 Million people live in Berlin.

- Berlin is one of the cultural capitals of Europe.

- During the Cold War the city was divided by the Berlin Wall. West Berlin belonged to West Germany but - like an island - was surrounded by East Germany (GDR).

- East Berlin was the capital of the former GDR.

- The area code is: 030.


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If you only ever want to visit one place in Germany it has got to be Berlin. It's not only the German capital but one of the major party centrals in Europe. Berlin is one of these places where no matter what you're up to, you will find it.

Berlin is huge and by huge I mean huge as in massive. Last time I've been there officially about 3.5 Million people lived in Berlin and that's without the affluent suburbs. This figure makes it the biggest city in Germany and apparently the second biggest in the EU. In relation to other Megacities like Tokyo, New York, Rio and Mexico it may sound small but by European standards it isn't. You also have to consider that Berlin has almost no skyscrapers. It simply covers a huge area (892 square kilometres).

 


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The good news for tourists and visitors is that Berlin has an amazing system of public transport. Getting from A to B normally is not a big deal and surprisingly quick. The best way to travel is the S-Bahn. It's kind of a local train that runs above ground (most of the time) and connects the different areas of the city and even the suburbs and surrounding areas including nearby Potsdam.


Then there is the subway (U-Bahn). It has a lot more stops but doesn't cover the suburbs. You can get pretty much everywhere within the city though.

Berlin TV tower at night (c) K. BuschWith S and U-Bahn you have two pretty reliable and quick methods of public transport but there is more to come. Berliners don't seem to like walking a lot so they have the Tram and busses as well that cover pretty much every corner of the city.

The best about all this is, you buy one ticket and you can use it for two hours with all of them. Two hours is more than enough to get anywhere in Berlin even if you get lost. Since public transport is so good it doesn't really matter where you stay; at least as long as there is an S-Bahn station nearby.




Berlin doesn't really have ONE city centre. The obvious reason is that it was divided during the cold war. Former West Berlin centres to some extend around Zoologischer Garten with the famous shopping mile Kurfürstendamm and Gedächtniskirche (Memorial Church).

Former East Berlin is supposed to centre around Alexanderplatz but that's not exactly the impression you get when talking to the locals. Alexanderplatz is a huge square in district Mitte (literally translated: Centre). Here you would find the TV tower, city hall (Rotes Rathaus), Berlin Dome and the famous boulevard Unter den Linden. Nearby is the Museum Island with the world famous Pergamon Museum, Humboldt University and last but not least the Brandenburg Gate. Another place to visit and also nearby is Gendarmenmarkt. It's awesome.

The list already indicates that Alexanderplatz is some sort of city centre at least when it comes to sight seeing it's just the locals that couldn't care less. The city is divided into districts and when you live in your part of the city you tend to forget that here is more. Living in Berlin in fact feels like living in a small town where you know neighbours and all that.

Since Berlin is now reunited another city centre was built on Potsdamer Platz. Back in the bad old days the area was pretty much a wasteland. After the reunion that suddenly turned into "plenty of space right in the heart of the German capital". You can imagine what happened. Trillions were spent to build a shiny new city centre. The problem with it is that no one likes to go there.

It's kind of impressive what they build - especially the Sony Centre - but it's sterile. The whole place is offices, shops and this kind of stuff. No one lives there and no one wants to live there. During the day you'd see it being busy but at night it is a ghost town.



Brandenburg Gate in BerlinWhen you walk up Unter den Linden from Alexanderplatz you end up at the Brandenburg Gate. It is the national symbol for the reunited Germany. The Berlin Wall was just behind it (coming from the east).

The square in front of it (Pariser Platz) is now rebuilt and resembles the original design. There you also find the best hotel in town (Adlon). If you are on budget don't bother asking for a room. Actually, even when you are not exactly on budget don't bother. It's really expensive.

Walk through the Brandenburg Gate and you'll see a massive straight road in front of you. That's the Straße des 17. Juni and it leads right through the Tiergarten. This huge park right in the city centre is quite remarkable. It is densely wooded with a number of clearances. Once you leave the busy road you'll feel like in the middle of a forest.

Berlin is pretty big as initially mentioned. There are plenty of things to see. One area I found interesting is the area around Hackescher Markt. It was rebuilt after the reunion and gives you a good impression how the old Berlin city centre would have looked like without World War II and 40 years of Communism.


Personally I don't think that Berlin is a particularly pretty city - there are others – but its vibrant night life, art scene, countless museums, theatre and operas, Jazz clubs, Techno temples, small live clubs as well as big stages make Berlin one - if not the - cultural capital of Europe.

The most interesting parts are well hidden. Cinemas that have only a few seats and show art movies from the 50ies, theatre performances in cellars, art exhibitions in ruins, you name it. Best look for this kind of event in Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg. This is where the "hip people" and starving artists live and work.





Things to do

Pergamon Museum: It is one of the most famous museums in all Germany. It was built to host the Pergamon Altar but also other monumental buildings. Also on display and rebuilt from the original parts are the Market Gate of Miletus and the Ishtar Gate from Babylon. Besides these monumental buildings it has a fine collection of Greek art (Antiquity Collection), artefacts from Mesopotamia in the Middle East section and a whole section with Islamic art. The museum is located on Museum Island in Mitte. Bring plenty of time!


TV tower on Alexanderplatz: On a clear day you get a stunning view over the capital. Just around the corner from there are City Hall, Nikolai Quarter Museum Island, Berliner Dom and Humboldt University. A nice walk would lead to Gendarmenmarkt, Friedrichstraße, Unter den Linden to Pariser Platz with Brandenburg Gate.


Berlin City Hall (c) K. BuschBerlin Wall: Not much is left of it but there is a walking tour that starts at Checkpoint Charlie, passing remains of the Berlin Wall, the exhibition "Topography of Terror" and the Martin-Gropius-Bau. The latter you should check out. It is Berlin's exhibition centre. Whenever something really interesting in regards to exhibitions is going on it would be here.


Another great place to see the wall is the East Side Gallery in Mühlenstraße. From 1990 parts of the wall were painted by artist from all over the world. This part of the wall is over one kilometre long, making it the longest remaining part. Unfortunately this East Side Gallery is not very well looked after (as in not at all). Some of the paintings are damaged others destroyed. Still it is cool and behind the wall you'll find the Strandbar, on a nice day a really good place to hang out.


Pariser Platz / Potsdamer Platz: If not part of your Alexanderplatz tour you should visit these to. Pariser Platz is quite impressive and you can breathe history here. Right there is the Brandenburg Gate, right next to it the Reichstag where you can watch the German government doing well whatever they do all day.


Tiergarten: Great place for a BBQ and chilling out on a sunny day.


Zoologischer Garten: The Berlin Zoo well worth's a visit, pretty much around the corner from there are Gedächtniskirche and Kurfürstendamm. If you like shopping try the KDW (kaufhaus des Westens). It is the most famous shopping centre in Berlin and actually quite cool. Build as a temple for shoppers worshipping the evil goods of Capitalism and to piss off the poor devils in communist East Germany it still is a consumer Mecca in a rather pretty historical building.



Nightlife

The best thing to do when in Berlin is buying one of the city magazines. They list everything that is going on in town. I can list only a few places that I liked but we all know that is down to taste and whatever was going on that night.



Theatre and stage:

If you do understand German give it a go. The theatre scene in Berlin is wicked. My personal favourite is the Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz. Be prepared to see the things on stage you've never seen before (at least not in a decent theatre).


The Berliner Ensemble has a pretty good reputation. They mostly play Brecht but not only.


Wühlmäuse is a comedy theatre in Pommernallee 2-4. It is run by one of the most famous German comedians and well known to have the best stand up comedians on stage.


Friedrichstadtpalast is the largest revue theatre in Europe. If you like that kind of stuff here is your chance.


If you like opera, there are three of them in Berlin: Staatsoper unter den Linden, Deutsche Oper and Komische Oper. Other than that; you can also enjoy classical ballet. The best address to do so is the Staatsballett Berlin.



Jazz

B-Flat (Rosenthaler Straße) – they have live music on every night and are considered one of the first addresses for Jazz in Berlin.


Badenscher Hof – a small but really cool Jazz Club in a residential area Wilmersdorf. They'd normally have good acts on stage but check in advance.


A-Trane (Bleibtreustraße 1 / Ecke Pestalozzistraße) – live Jazz every night. A cosy night club not too far away from Zoologischer Garten.


Quasimodo – Berlins oldest Jazz Club. Check out their web site for the latest listings




Techno

Tresor – was one of the most famous Techno Clubs in Germany. It was opened in 1991 and had a huge impact on the German Techno scene. It was shut down in 2005 and since re-opened in a different location. (Tresor 2 / Heizkraftwerk Berlin-Mitte/Köpenicker Straße).


E-Werk – was one of the classic Techno clubs in Berlin. It was shut down in 1997 but re-opened in 2005 not as a dedicated Techno Club but they still have music events. (Mauerstraße/Wilhelmstraße)


KitKatClub - is a rather infamous club in Berlin but you might enjoy it. It is well known for it's rather … let's say explicit performances.


Bunker – another famous location that was shut down. The building now houses an art exhibition. Last year the ROTOR closed down as well. Don't know what's wrong with Berlin.



Live

If you get a chance check out the Waldbühne. It is an awesome location. During summer there are loads of live acts and they show movies as well. I'm not sure if that's still going on but I watched "Pulp Fiction" there with another about 20.000 people.


Kulturbrauerei – a very arty location with stages, exhibitions and more. It's located in a former brewery and an ultra cool location. Check it out. It's in Schönhauser Allee 36.


Tempodrom – that used to be a tent in the Tiergarten that also had an outdoor stage. That's gone but the new Tempodrom is not too bad either. It's now in Möckernstraße.


Columbiahalle – is always good for a concert. There is room for up to 3500 people so it's not too bad. Check out the listing.


FRANZZ Club – that used to be the hottest address in East Berlin. In 1997 it was shut down because the guy who ran the place refused to pay a bit more rent. It was turned into a Bavarian restaurant that – needless to say – didn't do so well in Berlin. The good news is, the FRANZZ Club was recently re-opened. Give it a go.


KNAACK – another excellent location in Greifswalder Straße 224, live acts and DJ's


Olympiastadion – on any normal day would host sport events but for bigger gigs – let's say the Stones are in town - is the location of choice.


Tacheles – a so called Art House in Oranienburger Straße. They have loads of stuff going on including cinema, live acts and performance art. Their Café Zapata is a pretty cool place to chill out and have a coffee or beer.



Places to stay

Best get a hostel. Since I always stay with friends I can't recommend any but you can book online on websites like http://www.hostelworld.com. I'd stick to Friedrichshain, Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg. From there you can get anywhere quickly. You might even consider renting a bike.


A few suggestions: Citystay Mitte is very central, so is the St. Christopher's Berlin. The latter has a good reputation with me since I stayed in one of their London hostels. Wombat's City Hostel got pretty good reviews and is close enough to all the cool places. The same applies to the EastSeven that got even better reviews.


 

Written by: Kristian Busch


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