Berlin - What to do in January

[ezi]

Hi,

Going to Berlin with my girlfriend in January and was looking for things to do? We're going for a long weekend Fri-Mon, planning on doing the usual museums and parks but looking for more obscure destinations which are worth a visit such as restaurants and bars. It's our first time in Germany

Thanks!

[sjabrown]

You'll not struggle for things to do. I'd recommend having a trip to KaDeWe which is Germany's Harrods. The food floor is something else and you can affordably have an early evening light meal there at one of a number of food bars dotted around the floor. Burger and champagne: yes you can have that!

Friedrichschain is worth heading to for an evening, lots of restaurants and some good bars. Generally quite a studenty area.

Plenty of bustling places to eat on Kurfurstendamm, and a good place for people watching.

It's a brilliant city, friendly folk, easy to travel around with a transport pass.

[NNH]

Go to the Palace of Tears, which is an excellent small (and free) museum about life in the Communist era. It's inside an old border post at the station, and it's a very creepy feeling to walk through the "airlock" where people would show their papers.

Also, book right now for the free tour of the parliament building, as rebuilt by Norman Foster

http://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/visits/kuppel/kup...

Mrs NNH said it was a major highlight of our trip.

[ChasW]

One of my favourite places.

Grim as it might sound the Holocaust Memorial/Museum is a must. It's a sobering re-calibration of life experience, IMO. We were in there for two hours and you could have heard a pin drop!

The yellow bus tours are good value. We bought a two day ticket. It's effectively a bus pass as you can jump on and off as much as you like.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

just been palace of tears is good, topographie of terrors, the ddr museum best was Hohenschönhausen the ex stazi prizon alot of tours are given by ex inmates and alot of ex stazi members still live close by.
hitler bunker is not worth viziting really its just an info board these days obviously, the fat tire city day tour is great its done on bikes https://www.fattiretours.com/berlin/tours/city-tou...we did the 4pm one you have a lunch stop you buy your own food though but its nice.
oh yeah olympic park is a must do too with the guided tour its fantastic we were there 4 nights and walked just under 50 miles.
what airport are you fly into ?

[Trustmeimadoctor]

oh yeah watch for pickpockets around checkpoint charlie especially!

oh and Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer the berlin wall memorial it where the first bit went up and also where the wall first came down

and the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church on Kurfurstendamm that street is worth walking down too it has the tesla showroom on it and all the big designer shops also full of rollers ferraris, lambo's every AMG on the planet i have never seen so many G wagons!

food currywurst just eat saussage its cheap and amazing DasMeisterstück for more costly saussages their sauerkraut is wonderful but tbh
cha chã - Thai Street Kitchen isnt bad either suppose it depends what your after.

where are you staying?

Edited by Trustmeimadoctor on Tuesday 27th September 12:46

Edited by Trustmeimadoctor on Tuesday 27th September 12:49

Edited by Trustmeimadoctor on Tuesday 27th September 12:50

Edited by Trustmeimadoctor on Tuesday 27th September 12:54

[ezi]

Some great advice, thanks guys

We're looking at staying in Hotel California, which is right next to Tiergarten: https://goo.gl/maps/EQ1nzawsTFq

[Trustmeimadoctor]

your staying on Kurfurstendamm its not cheap around there

[ezi]

Is there anywhere else you'd suggest? We've not booked anything yet so easy to change plans.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

We stayed here http://www.grimms-hotel.de/english/grimms-potsdame... grimms hotel Potsdamer platz we had one of the king suite's great room really reasonably priced for what it was. Nice location close to transport very nice staff we couldnt fault it really oh and its only a year old.

What airport you landing at?

[lord summerisle]

so much to do in berlin, you wont be bored!

definitely book ahead for the visit to the Reichstag. rock on the day and you'll have to wait in a long queue & hope there is a slot available at least 2hrs later.
http://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/visits/kuppel/kup...

Near to Potsdam Platz, down what is now a side street there is a DDR Watch tower that has been preserved my a group of locals, who will normally be around to show you some of the history of the area and you can climb up the tower if you want
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/GDR+Watchtower...

beer is cheap, and sold everywhere - pretty much all the U-Bahn stations will have a kiosk with food and beer available, as will pretty much every cafe & corner shop.

near to the palace of tears is Berliner Republik - busy restraunt.. where there beer is on a stock market and the price of the beers fluctuates... and every night there is a "stock market crash" happy hour at some point.
food is good too.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Berliner+Repub...

Edited by lord summerisle on Wednesday 28th September 00:40

[Moominho]

Wonderful city, and some great advice. No one has mentioned though, that it is bloody cold! Bring a thick coat!!

[Trustmeimadoctor]

Thats cos it was 30deg when i was there three weeks ago but yes it will be like budapest and prague cold in jan

[daddy cool]

Been to Berlin twice i think - last time our highlight was a tour of one of the best preserved underground air-raid shelters:
http://berliner-unterwelten.de/tour-1.13.1.html

Also went to the Stazi prison which is a 20/30 min tram ride out from the centre. Predictably bleak, but worth it if you are interested in the cold war period
http://www.stiftung-hsh.de/homepage-2

If you are going to see those sort of things, watch a few movies before you go to get in the mood - "Der Untergang" (Downfall) and "Das Leben der Anderen" (The Lives of Others) in particular.

Theres a few car dealerships on the Eastern side of the Brandernburg Gate - eg Bugatti - which are worth a look.

Always quite liked Berlin zoo as well...

[lord summerisle]

daddy cool said:

If you are going to see those sort of things, watch a few movies before you go to get in the mood - "Der Untergang" (Downfall) and "Das Leben der Anderen" (The Lives of Others) in particular.

Plus "Look Who's Back"

[daddy cool]

lord summerisle said:

Plus "Look Who's Back"

Never heard of that! I'll check it out, looks funny.

[Flying Toilet]

I go quite often through work, often stay at Titanic Comfort Hotel, one tube stop from Alexanderplatz and a great base to explore.

Depends how you feel about sport but an evening at the Ice Hockey is highly recommended, great atmosphere and drinks are well priced for a sporting event.

If your flying in grab a Berlin Welcome card before you travel, can then cover all trains/public transport right from the airport to anywhere in Berlin.

[marcg]

Munich beer hall near Alexanderplatz. Giant place with giant beers, giant cuts off meat and live oompahpah Bavarian band. Discount with city pass.
Staff (and half the customers) in lederhosen. Popular so book.

Edited by marcg on Wednesday 28th September 22:40

[NNH]

marcg said:

Munich beer hall near Alexanderplatz. Giant place with giant beers, giant cuts off meat and live oompahpah Bavarian band. Discount with city pass.
Staff (and half the customers) in lederhosen. Popular so book.

Edited by marcg on Wednesday 28th September 22:40

Seconded! We managed to get in without booking by being tucked into two spaces at the end of a big communal table, which worked out pretty well.