One of the nicest aspects of this place is the crowdsourcing of things to see, do, drink and eat in places you’ve never been to. Family Moles are off to Berlin next week for a week. We’ll do Brandenburg Gate/Reichstag (tour booked)/Holocaust Memorial, Checkpoint Charlie and the Wall, Museum Island and the DDR Museum, model village (a family obsession). Music is taken care of by a visit to the Staatsopera for a summer concert – classical being the safest joint option, and it looks like a great building to visit. Sadly the half that would enjoy Berghain or Tresor are too old. Hansa Studios do do a tour, but I don’t think it’ll mean enough to half of us, ditto the Bowie Berlin walks.
so….over to you. Places to eat and drink also.
ps You can get there by train in a day from London – Eurostar at 8am, several changes, into Berlin around 9pm. Trans Europe Express! (though wrong city for Kraftwerk)
Berlin – Your Holiday Suggestions Please
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We’re staying a bit NW of the Western end of the Tiergarten.
In which case, a walk from there to the Brandenbeg gate through the park is essential. Take a trip up Siegessäule (Victory Column) and pretend you’re in a Wim Wenders fillum. I suffer from vertigo and had to be led by the hand, but the view from the top was worth it.
I walked from Ostbanhof through the Tiergarten in 1990 and it was like that bit when Dorothy clicks her heels and everything goes from B&W to Technicolour.
We were there back in February and had a fabulous time. I did a similar request on here and got some great responses, so it might be worth having a look back.
It’s a great place to spend time…all the places you mention are well worth doing as is a train/bus trip out to Potsdam. We had lunch up the TV Tower where the food was adequate but the view breathtaking.
Another bit of advice is to get one of the transport passes available from stands when you get to the city or from the airport…terrific value. Some even include reduced entry to some of the tourist sites. The public transport there was fantastic and easy to negotiate.
Enjoy, you’ll have a great time.
Found it here @nick-l https://theafterword.co.uk/atm-berlin/#comments so thanks to all who contributed last time!
Check out what’s going on at HKW (Haus der Kulturen der Welt). This is the former Congress Hall in the middle of the Tiergarten, and they usually have something to offer during the summer – great world music gigs on the rooftop, overlooking the river Spree (and with only a few metres distance to the Chancellor building: I once saw Chancellor Schroeder on the balcony, smoking a cigar and slightly skanking to Count Dubulah…).
On Friday 7 they have three gigs (Dengue Dengue!!), a DJ set and an exhibition for 18 euros, on Saturday 15 there’s the Pluri Rhythm Festival (entry free), again with gigs, DJs, street food, children area, etc.
Was there at Easter and the Stasi museum is a must see. Also had the biggest and best schnitzel of my life here: https://www.blechbilderbar.de/ In the East in Friedrichshain, an enjoyable area which was just a bit relentlessly alternative for middle aged me but teenage daughters loved it.
Sans Souci Schloss, the East Side Gallery, Museuminsel (you’ll never see more than a couple of them in a day), Treptower Park, the Holocaust Memorial … you certainly won’t go short of things to do.
Envious – fabulous city. A boat trip to Potsdam is a wonderful way to visit this fabulous neighbour town and takes you past Glienicke Bridge where the spies were exchanged at the height of the last cold War.