Berlin

[stickswinger]

So I'm currently here with a school trip (I'm a teacher). I'm after tips for when I come back here soon. This place is amazing. Any rebels in town? Or been? What can you recommend beyond the museums?

[Sunmage]

The Parties are awesome.

If you do 3 clubs a week you need months to get through!

Have fun!

[dkz]

Awesome. I'm going to Berlin this summer. If you have any tips about things to do and stuff to see I'd love to hear about them. As I've understood, Berlin is a city that is best enjoyed if you have read up a bit about it. It has a rich history, but it doesn't necessarily show on the surface. But I guess going to checkpoint Charlie is something you have to do. And to see whatever is left of the Wall. There's also some interesting history surrounding Alexanderplatz.

[stickswinger]

To be honest checkpoint Charlie sucks. The museum is horrid for the price you pay. It's also surrounded by scammers and crap sellers.

DDR museum is really cool. As is the Jewish holocaust museum. It has an amazing layout and displays.

I really want to rent a bike next time as the city looks like it would be awesome to cruise in.

[dkz]

Ah, I see. Thanks for the tip. I'll remember that for when I go there. So I don't get scammed into paying for a crappy museum!

[Brian.]

Berlin is one of my favourite cities and I'm heading there in a week for the 5th time. I echo the sentiments about Checkpoint Charlie. If you want to see it then take a wander by but don't buy any of the tatt off the street sellers. The museum there is poor but I agree with the DDR museum, they have loads of really great things that you would have seen in people's houses at the time.

 

There are loads of organised tours but you will have a better time by grabbing a map and walking places. The public transport system, especially the U-Bahn is great value, just don't forget to validate your ticket, there are inspectors and the fines are large. At night things don't seem to get going until late but when they do they tend to go on until the morning in a lot of cases.

 

Ohh and the beer is fantastic.

[Raikas]

I spent a week there last September for the marathon and I'd totally second the "just walk around" recommendation - there's a lot to see just by wandering around.  Whether you're looking for clubs or musuems or just random places you've seen in movies, it's a great place for all of it.  I think the only times we took the u-bahn were when we were in a rush and for going to Charlottenburg (which I enjoyed, but if you're not much of a fan of that period in history you might not be unhappy to skip it).

 

 

This will probably sound silly, but what I was really blown away by was the cheapness of groceries! Totally easy to eat cheaply there!