Insider Guide to Berlin

Posted by TravelKorner on May 21, 2015 in Destination - Germany, English | Leave a comment

Berlin is a historic city, with a modern feel. A seductress for history buffs, who swoon in the city’s heart bursting with museums. A green city with its urban forest spreading outward from Tiergarten along arteries of roads and canals. 

Berlin is super charged with social and political history. Simply put, Berlin is alive!

Berlin’s edgy bohemian reputation offers a lot for top tier travellers seeking ritzy hotels and fashion boutiques to Michelin-starred dining spots, to droves of sun worshippers converging on beach bars along the banks of the Spree serving afternoon spritzes, to the masses of  tourist groups exploring the city by river cruises, busses, bikes and foot.

Parts of the Berlin Wall remain as a sobering reminder of the hyper-charged cold war era, transformed by the graffiti from artists who covered its remnants into a symbol of Germany’s social progress. Berlin is a  city reborn by a fusion of its past with its modern spirit, global visitors should check out the Weltzeituhr (world time clock) in Alexanderplatz. It is a city where travellers from Asian countries can satisfy their interest in the city’s vibrant modern offerings, while those from the Americas and Europe explore its traditional culture.

Access

After arrival in Tegel lies five miles northwest of the centre, take a Jet Express Bus TXL runs from the airport to Alexanderplatz for €2.30 or a taxis will cost €25. Schönefeld airport is 11 miles east of the city, and an Airport Express train one-way fare is €3, while a taxis will set you back about €45.  Brandenburg, the city’s new airport, was due to open 2012 but has been delayed until 2016 or 2017 or…

Check in

Travellers taking a short break to explore Berlin, should consider the centrally located modern, sleek design and elegant atmosphere Hotel MANI rooms starting at €74. A little more room can be had at Andel’s Hotel where rooms start at €85, and include a stunning city view from the sky.bar on the 14th-floor. Those seeking a five-star experience might consider the Hotel Adlon Kempinski offering doubles from €207, as well as the luxury boutique hotel Das Stue offering rooms doubles for €208. The hotel situated in the diplomatic district, nestled in the lush Tiergarten park and adjacent to the Zoo, it’s a ride to all the shopping, art & entertainment hot spots in both East and West Berlin.

Checkout Events

For six nights in early July is the Classic Open Air concerts in Gendarmenmarkt, one of the most beautiful squares in the city’s historic centre. Popular classical and modern melodies resonate alongside the magnificent classical architecture of the Konzerthaus, the Französischer and the Deutscher Doms.

Twice a year (January and July) the city becomes an international location for fashion, the Berlin Fashion Week, attracts fashion enthusiasts, buyers, trade experts and media to shows, awards ceremonies, gather information and to attend exhibitions and off-site events. Highlights for the summer event include Bread & Butter, a leading international trade fair for street and urban wear, at the legendary Tempelhof Airport.

Share a few laughs with Berliners at the Berliner Gauklerfest. Every year 30 national and international jester groups with jugglers, magicians, acrobats and clowns meet in Berlin, transforming the historical Schinkelplatz into a place inspired by fantasy and mysticism.

On Tour

Berlin is huge and difficult to walk everywhere you’ll want to visit, so consider some alturnative transportation modes on zero, two, four and more wheels. Berlin has more bridges than Venice, so a river and canal tours are a beautiful way to see the city, Reederei Riedel offer a variety of tours on the Spree and local lakes. Fat Tire Bike Tours – based at Panoramastrasse 1a, – runs a variety of themed jaunts.  The “Raw  Berlin” plan on five hours to complete the 10 mile route. Several bus companies offer a Yellow Line hop-on/hop-off sightseeing tour 18 or single 2.5 hour tour.

Visit History

The Tiergarten, although Berlin’s second largest city park, it is the most popular with 520 acres of trees, gardens, small lakes and canals surrounding the Siegessäule (Victory Column). The column consists of four solid blocks of sandstone, three of which are decorated by cannon barrels captured from the enemies during three wars in the late 1800’s. The face on the statue of Victoria aloft the monument is locally known as the Goldelse (Golden Else) as it is said to be based on sculptor Friedrich Drake’s own daughter, Margarethe.

At the eastern end of the park is a postcard moment at the Brandenburg Gate, the 18th-century triumphal arch, is the only remaining city gate of Berlin and since the fall of the Wall in 1989 the Gate symbolises German unity. From the Gate follow the old line of the Wall south on Ebertstrasse to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, where 2,711 concrete blocks provide sombre context in remembrance of the Holocaust victims.

The Berliner Dom, in Lustgarten park, was bombed in 1944  and reopened in 1993 after being rebuilt to its original state. Although it is not, Berlin’s most striking church, it is open to visitors (€7 – with the exception of no charge to attend the 10am Sunday mass). Adjacent to the Dom, Museumsinsel (Museum Island) is Berlin’s prime cultural pocket.

Five key institutions all come under the Berlin State Museums banner, and while take a whole afternoon to explore. The Pergamonmuseum (€13) bears antiquities excavated in Turkey, Greece and Iraq in the 19th century. The Alte Nationalgalerie (€8) showcases works by such German masters Carl Blechen and Caspar David Friedrich, as well as works by Monet and Manet. And the Bode Museum (€8) is a houses a trove of Byzantine art. Save money and spend more time by purchasing a three-day Museum Pass (€19) providing entry to the whole “island”.

The Wall

On November 9, Berliner’s celebrate the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall which ultimately led to the re-unification of East and West Germany. A visit to Mauer Museum near Check Point Charlie, the historic crossing point from East to West Berlin, and where Allied and Soviet forces faced-off will provide some context the life on both sides of the wall. The Museum is teeming with photographs, paintings and documents dating back to the museum’s first days, just after the building of the Berlin Wall on August 13, 1961.

Of particular interest are the exhibits showcase original artefacts used during the escapes from East Germany – escape cars, to hot air balloons, from homemade mini-submarines to deceptively hollow surfboards – each a testament to the ingenuity of the human mind when faced with perilous circumstances.

A visit the East Side Gallery, the largest remaining section of the Berlin Wall, stretching for a mile along Mühlen-strasse. After the Wall came down in 1989, hundreds of artists from all over the world gathered to transformed the eastside of the Wall that had been untouchable till then.  With their paintings, they gave the Wall a new face, for a new time, this was the foundation of East Side Gallery. Making it a special place, where art transforms not only the physical barrier of a separated Germany but the provides a symbol for reflection of two cities. One no longer divided by a wall, but still by providence and extravagance.

Shop Till You Drop

For individual retail options, hop over to BIKINI BERLIN, this unique combination of shopping, offices, cinema, recreation, urban oasis and hotel is just opened. The centrepiece of the group of buildings is the Bikinihaus, the lower three floors are home to retail and gastronomy offers.

The third to sixth upper floors house exclusive office spaces. The highlight of the complex is a large rooftop terrace facing the Berlin Zoological Garden, Germany’s oldest and best-known zoo and a panoramic view of the monkey enclosure.

Bikini Berlin houses some of the best designer outlets in Germany, guys should check out Rooks & Rocks to update their fashion line. Gals will want to stop in at Odeeh for a look at the latest offerings from the designer duo of Otto Drögsler and Jörg Ehrlich, then pop into the Drybar for a quick blowout before heading for a night out.

Opposite Bikini Berlin and nestled into Breitscheidplatz sit Berlin’s Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche. Damaged by Allied fire on December 23, 1943, and destroyed in April 1945, its shell has been left as an anti-war statement, in the 1960s a chapel sprouted from the ruins. Guide tours are free with donations graciously welcomed.

Across Breitscheidplatz is Kurfürstendamm, locally known as the Ku’damm, this very broad, long boulevard can be considered the Fifth Avenue of Berlin — full of shops, houses, hotels and restaurants. In particular, many fashion designers have their shops there, as well as several car manufacturers’ show rooms. Finish the afternoon of marathon shopping by dropping into Reinhard`s am Kurfürstendamm situated in the historic Kempinski Hotel Bristol, for a aperitif. A local favorite, the Holler-Schampus, is Sekt with Elderflower syrup and fresh mint €7.50 or a simple glass of dry Riesling €6.30.

Break for Lunch

For something nice and spicy as well as popular with the locals, Monsieur Vuong a modern Vietnamese restaurant service a healthy portion of  glass noodle salad with chicken for €7.20, !

Behind the Gate from the park side is Pariser Platz and located in 6at is he restaurant, Theodor Tucher, a popular eatery of international journalists and politicians. They offer a beautiful  German signature dish called Tucherbein (more commonly known as Schweinehaxe), a savoury braised pork knuckle set on roasted vegetables and puréed potato for €13.90.

Dining with the locals

Gastro choices in Berlin are as eclectic as the inhabitants, from tradition German food served at Mutter Hoppe on Rathausstraße 21 near Alexanderplatz try their specialty (+49 30 2415625) Berliner Slaughter Plate €11 ; to the Volt on Paul-Lincke-Ufer 21 in trendy Kreuzberg neighbourhood, for their Plum-Leek Ravioli €14.

The historic Zur Letzten Instanz, a 16th century restaurant that was frequented by Charlie Chaplin and even Napoleon was served in here. A great eatery to rub elbows with actors, journalists and politicians like Barbara Walters and Angela Merke, is the Borchardt. Mixing traditional German and French cuisines their Schnitzel is prepared perfectly.

INFO BOX:

Tourist Information Office – Visit Berlin has six offices, including those in both airports and the new main train station, that offer a 48 hour WelcomeCard (€18.50) covering transport, museum, shopping, tours, and restaurant discounts.

Events Classic Open Air (July 3-8, 2014) Gendarmenmarkt near the corner of Taubenstrasse and Markgrafenstrasse; Berlin Fashion Week, (July 08-13, 2014); Berliner Gauklerfest (Aug. 1-11, 2014) Schinkelplatz near the Schlossbrücke to Museuminsel; Berlin’s International Beer Festival (Aug. 1-3, 2014) along Karl Marx Allee between Strausberger Platz and Petersburger Stratsse.

Shopping: Bikini Berlin Budapester Strasse 36-50 – look for Rooks & Rocks, Odeeh and Drybar.

Sights: Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche, Breitscheidplatz; Berlin Zoological Garden, Hardenbergplatz 8; East Side Gallery, Mühlenstraße 17; Check Point Charlie and Mauer Museum, Friedrichstraße 43-45; Berliner Dom, Am Lustgarten; Pergamonmuseum, Bodestrasse 1-3; Alte Nationalgalerie, Bodestrasse 1-3; Bode Museum, Am Kupfergraben 2; Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Cora-Berliner-Straße 1; Siegessäule Straße des 17 Juni – Großer Stern.

Tours: Berlin City Tours; Reederei Riedel; Fat Tire Bike Tours; and HotRod City Tour.

Accommodations: Kempinski Hotel Bristol, Kurfürstendamm 27;  Hotel MANI, 136 Torstraße; Andel’s Hotel, Landsberger Allee 106; Hotel Adlon Kempinski, Unter den Linden 77; Das Stue, Drakestrasse 1. Dining: Monsieur Vuong, Alte Schönhauser Strasse 46; Theodor Tucher, Pariser Platz 6a; Mutter Hoppe, Rathausstraße 21 near Alexanderplatz; Volt, Paul-Lincke-Ufer 21; Zur Letzten Instanz; Reinhard`s am Kurfürstendamm, Kurfürstendamm 27; Borchardt, Französische Straße 47.