FabSwingers.com forum: Berlin

By *ancyDrew OP Woman
over a year ago

Glasgow

I'm going to Berlin for a long weekend. Any recommendations of places to see/visit?

Am going to the Stasi Museum and the Museum of Computer Games (who knew?)

Cheers

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By *edangel_2013Woman
over a year ago

southend

Their houses of parliament. For the life of me I can't remember what they are called.

You have to book in advance. It's free though and the views are amazing.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Their houses of parliament. For the life of me I can't remember what they are called.

You have to book in advance. It's free though and the views are amazing."

Reichstag ?

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By *erbyDalesCplCouple
over a year ago

Derbyshire

Checkpoint Charlie museum

Museum Island

(You can go to the top of the cathedral tower here too)

The Reichstag (also up to the top)

Brandenburg Gate

Holocaust Memorial

TV Tower

Berlin Wall (there is one bit that was saved)

You can also find mp3 walking tours that are good, some are free, some a couple of £s, I can't remember which site we got ours from, but they are very good too.

Have fun

Mr ddc

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By *ancyDrew OP Woman
over a year ago

Glasgow

thanks everyone!

It will be the longest flight I have ever been on (a whole 1hr 40)!!

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

The ramones museum is good.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

There's some bus tours you can do, worth doing.

Also have a look at the buildings as you walk around, they're peppered with bullet holes, especially around the windows.

There's a statue by a park that's also riddled with bullet holes.

Lovely city, most people speak English, you'll enjoy it.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"thanks everyone!

It will be the longest flight I have ever been on (a whole 1hr 40)!!

When we went, it was when that volcano went off and grounded all flights (lucky bastards eh). We decided to hire a car and drove it. Looooong drive, coming home was a 24.5 hour drive pretty much just stopping for meals and to swap drivers.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous, I'm....

Tiergarten and Sanssouci, little idylls of peace and tranquility.

Have fun

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By *cousehottyMan
over a year ago

Liverpool

"I'm going to Berlin for a long weekend. Any recommendations of places to see/visit?

Am going to the Stasi Museum and the Museum of Computer Games (who knew?)

Cheers

x"
the beer hall is a must great experince

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By *erbyDalesCplCouple
over a year ago

Derbyshire

"I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous, I'm....

Tiergarten and Sanssouci, little idylls of peace and tranquility.

Have fun

Ooh, I forgot the Tiergarten and the Victory Column. You can go up that too!

(Okay, everyone, so I like to go up tall things to compensate for my lack of stature, stop sniggering

)

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By *ancyDrew OP Woman
over a year ago

Glasgow

You are all marvelous people, thank you! Really appreciated

I'll send you a postcard! x

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By *edangel_2013Woman
over a year ago

southend

If you don't mind walking google Sandemann walking tours. They do a free one in Berlin. It's great to get your bearings and note down places that you'd like to go back and explore more. Ask to go on Sams tour. He was amazing.

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By *ancyDrew OP Woman
over a year ago

Glasgow

I had thee bestest time! Utterly in love with the city. Def going back. We packed a lot in but barely scraped the surface. I adore Glasgow, but Berlin may have tipped it.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Don't pay for taxis

Don't pay for city tours

Use public transport

An einstageskarte (one day ticket) will get you on every bus, tram, underground and local train (s-bahn) for a whole day for about 6.50 euros

Bus 100 & 200 are city centre circulars and will get you to most places in the 'centre' of town

Fassbender & Rausch (opposite Gendarmenmarkt) for stunning chocolate

RitterWelt for make your own chocolate

Monkey Bar (above Bikini Hotel) for great cocktaiks and views over the zoo and Tiergarten

KaDeWe for department store shopping, including a great food hall

The Saturday market at Winterfeldtplatz is great (U Bahn Nollendorfplatz)

The East Side Gallery - a mile long section of the wall given over to murals (U Bahn Warschauer Strasse)

The artists gallery just of Rosenthaler Strasse (S-Bahn Hackescher Markt)

Take the S-Bahn to Tiergarten stop on Sunday and visit the flea market

Some smaller museums :

Museum Der Dinge (basically Museum of Things) a huge collection of miscellany

Anti-war Museum (I was emotionally drained when I left)

I've been about 12 times in 4/5 years and haven't even scratched the surface

It is an AMAZING city

If you don't enjoy it, you didn't do it right

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Ah didn't see you were back

Glad you enjoyed it anyway x

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By *iamondjoeMan
over a year ago

Glastonbury

"I'm going to Berlin for a long weekend. Any recommendations of places to see/visit?

Am going to the Stasi Museum and the Museum of Computer Games (who knew?)

Cheers

Ugly memorial city. Rude natives. Highly recommended.

***** 5

Though Germany is now a fine, upstanding member of the international community, boasting one of the strongest economies in the world, it wasn't too long ago that the nation struggled with a harrowing Jew-killing addiction.

For instance, there's the Holocaust Memorial - three football-pitches worth of controversial concrete 2,711 stelae took 17 years to complete, sits close the Hitler Commemorative Body-Burning Car Park, and is also known as the 'Memorial To Never Doing That Thing Again'.

Alexanderplatz is a large transport hub & and public square that has been subject to redevelopment several times in its history, most recently during the 1960s, following Germany's two-time runner-up status in World Wars.

The dust and rubble was pedestrianised and enlarged as part of the GDR's redevelopment of the city centre, Communism's riposte to the DDR's 'economic miracle' of the 50s. It is surrounded by notably odd structures including the rapier-like TV Tower and compares badly to contemporaries such as Brasilia's Three Powers Square.

Grim. But you can buy loads of stuff there since the Communists went.

There's Treptov Park - the so-called 'Soviet Cenotaph' has also been named the Tomb of the Unknown Rapist - a memorial to the climactic Battle of Berlin in 1945, which doubles as a mass-grave for possibly 10,000 Soviet soldiers.

The Berlin Wall is shit.

The combined ticket for 'Museum Island' is well worth E18, if you like art, culture and ancient history. The Pergamum Museum has the altar of the same name, as well as the brilliant blue-glazed Ishtar Gate from Babylon... And I'm sure I saw the iconic bust of Nefertiti in the New Museum.

Berliners can be pretty damn rude: I speak a little German (his name is Fritz btw) but a couple of times when asking for minor things in QuickyMarts the person behind the counter said loudly in English, "I DO NOT UNDERSTAND YOU. ASK AGAIN IN ENGLISH." Wankers.

If you like clubs, techno still rules the house in Berlin, but there's so much more to the nightlife in what is probably the best clubbing city in Europe.

Ditto for bars - on our first night we ended up in a Viking bar, drinking mead from horns - you never know what's around the next corner...

In short:- Steer clear of the historical stuff.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Also keep an eye out for the Romanians claiming to be charities there are tons of the buggers.

It's worth getting the 3 day transport ticket very good value. Also avoid the zoo it's full of animals that have been driven mad it was very sad.

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By *ouple in LancashireCouple
over a year ago

in Lancashire

we spent 5 days there last month, for myself it was my 3rd visit and the previous 2 were in 85 and 86 so it was interesting to see the city without the division of the wall..

spent most of the time in what was the east and did what we wanted to and will visit again..

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By *igeiaWoman
over a year ago

Bristol

I've never been but there was an episode of Travelman with Richard Ayoade (who I would do bad, bad things to but that's beside the point) where they went for a weekend in Berlin. It's probably still on 4oD?

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By *ancyDrew OP Woman
over a year ago

Glasgow

Didn't see many beggars at all, of any race. I found the whole place to be uber tolerant, no drama anywhere. People (and us) out drinking til all hours, no raised voices no mobs no dickheads - even on the underground.

Re: speaking German - I failed GCSE German and managed to get by - I just started any convo with "Meine Deutsche ist nicht so gut!" and everyone was totally cool. (Well one guy in a restaurant was a bit dickish). Everyone is really chilled. Travelling about was relatively easy - the U-bahn is straightforward enough. The mix of architecture was stunning too.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I lived in Berlin in 88/89 when the wall came down, it's a great place, I havnt been back since the wall came down so I'm sure it's changed massively. There's absolutely tons to see and do tho.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"I'm going to Berlin for a long weekend. Any recommendations of places to see/visit?

Am going to the Stasi Museum and the Museum of Computer Games (who knew?)

Cheers

Ugly memorial city. Rude natives. Highly recommended.

***** 5

Grim. But you can buy loads of stuff there since the Communists went.

The Berlin Wall is shit.

If you like clubs, techno still rules the house in Berlin, but there's so much more to the nightlife in what is probably the best clubbing city in Europe.

Ditto for bars - on our first night we ended up in a Viking bar, drinking mead from horns - you never know what's around the next corner...

In short:- Steer clear of the historical stuff.

Great summary Joe

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Also keep an eye out for the Romanians claiming to be charities there are tons of the buggers.

It's worth getting the 3 day transport ticket very good value. Also avoid the zoo it's full of animals that have been driven mad it was very sad. "

I've never seen any beggars per se

Like all big cities you get d*unks round transport interchanges but I've never seen beggars or Romanians in numbers where it would bother me.

Part of the beauty of Berlin is how cosmpolitan and tolerant it is.

It is the only city where I have walked hand in hand with another man and been given death stares or received tuts or comments.

I wish I had bought there when the central properties were still affordable.

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