Best Budget Tips in Berlin and Munich (and the rest of Germany)

In Berlin take the FREE walking or biking tour with New Berlin Tours:

http://www.newberlintours.com/nbt/

bookmarking

My husband and I just spent five nights in Berlin and found it to be a very good value destination--particularly if you enjoy art museums. We bought the 3 day Schaulust Museum pass for 19 Euro and saw six museums (including the Pergamon). Entry also included a free audio tour so it really was a bargain.

And we often ate at Turkish doner stands and cafes. When we did this dinner for two cost between 7 to 9 Euros--(and it was always delicious!)

The Soviet War Memorial at Treptow Park was definitely a highlight--and it cost nothing more than subway fare.

This Berlin trip report from Fodorite noe847 has some money-saving tips (such as the Berlin museum pass, and some budget restaurants)
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=35113035

The cheapest reataurants in Munich are usually quite easy to find. Of course anything downtown or in Schwabing will be considerably more expensive than in other parts of town such as Sendling or the Westend. However, there are two options that work almost anywhere for good, inexpensive traditional food. One is the Sportverein (sports club), that's basically anywhere you find a bigger soccer field. There always will be a sponsored restaurant that serves traditional food and is open for the public.

The other option is the Kleingarten (Schrebergarten) colony. In it's center you'll frequently find an inexpensive restaurant too.

It's totally o.k. to go to these places as a non member, but you may find all the other customers around you speak nothing but Bavarian

I find Germany in general, especially in the countryside, to be cheaper than most of the rest of western Europe.

I know you already mentioned this, but we have rented vacation apartments on our last two trips to Germany and have been thrilled with the results. The prices are wonderful; both of our apartments for our recent trip to Germany a few weeks ago were 70 euro a night for two bedrooms. Each apartment had a balcony with wonderful views, a full kitchen and lots of room to relax. It's difficult to find even a one bedroom hotel room for that price unless one is looking at zimmers.

I second the idea of the Turkish doner cafes. We visited two in Germany and the prices were pretty cheap. The takeaway wurst stands are also a great way to save money. We would take our wurst and potato salad and sit outdoors somewhere to enjoy it. The pizzas in Germany are usually quite good and often a good bargain.

Tracy

My standard advice to anyone looking for a meal (or almost anything else) in a tourist hot spot is to walk a few blocks away from the main tourist attractions. Prices of everything, including meals, generally drop the further away one gets from the attractions.

For example, some years ago we were looking for postcards in Venice. Around Piazza San Marco, cards were going for $2.00 or more each. We decided to pass on the opportunity. Later that day we were wandering around just exploring at random, and we came across a little shop on a quiet campo--we had not seen any other tourists for several minutes. Postcards were 3 for a dollar.

Saving money with food and beverage:

- In larger towns and cities go into the main train station buildings; there you usually find a multitude of fast food restaurants and snack bars with a variety of food, some of it even in gourmet quality. Typically you will find: a fish restaurant, a vegetarian restaurant, a juice bar, a salad bar, a sandwich bar, an Asian wok restaurant, a bavarian wurst & pork restaurant, a Turkish Döner Kebab stand, a bakery, a sushi bar etc. In München, Hamburg, Köln, Stuttgart etc. go into the Hauptbahnhof,in Berlin into the Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten, Ostbahnhof or Friedrichstraße. The Hauptbahnhof is somewhat weak on this side.

- You find also a good choice of this type of fast food restaurants on the main shopping streets in towns and cities.

- Bakeries offer a variety of breads, sandwiches, pizza etc.

- Department stores have caféterias which offer low priced lunch menus.

- Buy your beverages in supermarkets, bakeries or at the "Kiosk" (street stand) or in a gas station. (Often you even get chilled bottles.) Have your drink on your hotel room or on a bench in a public park.

- Or even buy some more supplies for picnic and have a picnic in a park (or somewhere else). Be sure to pack plastic glasses, cutlery, corkskrew etc. - maybe even a picnic blanket.

- The cheapest lunch you will get in university restaurants. They are open to the public but you need a plan to locate them (the university's website or ask a student).

Sightseeing in Berlin:

- The public bus no. 100 is the perfect hop on/hop off sightseeing bus. It drives from Alexanderplatz along Unter den Linden to Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten with many attractions on the way. Total driving time is 26 min. If you have the Welcome Card the drive is free, otherwise it costs 2.10 Euros per person.

Major food savings. We stop by the local Bäckerei early in the morning and buy rolls, meats, cheese, wurst for our breakfast and for a lunch we will eat on the road later. Rent a diesel car. Better mileage, performance, and cheaper fuel per liter. We shop at Flohmarkts for items and souvenirs at a very good savings and no VAT. We stay at small hotels, sometimes finding Zimmers as we go.

>and cheaper fuel per liter.
In some places, diesel prices surpassed gas today.

In Munich, we were there for 5 days, so we got a week-long partner pass for public transportation. It worked out to be cheaper than the other options, even though we weren't in town for the entire duration of the pass. We rode all around on public transportation and never had to spent another dime getting around in Munich.

Renting bikes is another nice way to get around that isn't particularly expensive.

Take your picnic lunch to a beer garten. Choose the long tables without table clothes please.
There are so many free festivals and events it may make sense to create a thread just for them. People need to know there is so much more to see and do in Germany than the standards. Be a traveler, not a tourist and save your money.
Balloon Festival in Leipzig, Dresden Music Festival, take a hike in the Alps.
Pick a few central places to stay for 3 to 4 days and day trip from there. I see so many people that move daily to a new location. You can spend too much time as well as money. You have so much time in Germany and if you waste it moving and packing and unpacking that's a shame. I'll stop preaching now. Sorry.
logos999,
That's bad news then. I just left Italy 2 weeks ago and there was still a good difference. Thanks for the update.
I like the bike idea. Never thought of it.

Berlin

It is free to get into to the Reichstag Building and see the glass dome.

For cheap food, there are plenty of places like Subway, Dunkin Donuts, and even German cafes that have chalkboards with specials listed out in front of the restaurant.

One can also find cheap meals at the Foodcourt in the Potsdamer Platz Mall.

The TXL bus from Tegel will deposit you in East Berlin or at the Berlin Haupt Bahnhof. The bus ride is about 2.3 euros.

If you go to Berlin at Christmas, it is free to walk around the Christmas Markets. Gluewein at these Chrismas markets is usually 1 euro per cup. Get drunk on cheap wine, but watch you don't fall into the Spandau with your bag of Christmas Balls.


Thingorjus

In Berlin:

Berlin's State Museums have free admission 4 hours prior to closure each Thursday.
http://www.smb.museum/smb/home/index.php?lang=en

German Guggenheim Museum on Unter den Linden (near Brandenburg Gate) has free admission on Mondays (all day).
http://www.deutsche-guggenheim.de/e/

Most upscale restaurants around Gendarmenmarkt offer heavily discounted (30-50%) lunch menus.

Any pass for public transportation is also good for the several ferries run by BVG, Berlin's Transit Authority. You will get a free 20 minute "cruise" across Lake Wannsee from S-Bahn station Wannsee to the other side of the lake, where you can take an express bus back to the city center.

300 restaurants, bars/clubs, theaters/operas, hotels, etc. are associates of get2card, a two for one card for 20 Euros for 1 week. Unfortunately, the website is in German only, so make sure you understand the terms and exemptions of this offer.
http://www.get2card.de/Touristen.5.0.html

It's the "strong demand for diesel on international markets" so they say...
Taxes are about 20ct/liter less for diesel. I sincerely believe it's the "mafia" again.

Just like they did with milk, it went up by 20% by the end of last year, and 2 weeks ago suddenly down to 56/61ct per liter. This happened EVERYWHERE on the same day.

When I was in Munich for the 2007 Christmas markets it was too cold to eat outside so I would do a hotel picnic by stocking up with sandwiches or bread and cheese at a supermarket along with some dessert or salad and eat in the hotel room. I love supermarkets in other countries and I always stop in to buy things. Some don't have bags though so remember to bring your own or some places will sell you a plastic bag that you can reuse at other stores.

Is it hard to decipher the menu? I met so many Germans that speak excellent English. Would it be safe to assume that the waiters would also speak English?

travelme, the menus aren't too difficult but in the smaller towns in the countryside we did encounter quite a few places where the waiters spoke very little English and the menus were only in German. I just bring a menu translator and hope for the best. Luckily my food is usually consistently good in Germany.

Tracy

bookmarking
thanks!

I feel like a broken record, but try Priceline. Just got back from a weekend trip to Berlin yesterday, and paid $85 per night. For that money, we got the Movenpick, which is a step above what you would expect in that price range.

Oh... There is no better fast food than a doner kebab.

Gammelfleisch-Döner...

Book marking

Travel on the subway and regional trains (S-Bahn and U-Bahn) is really easy in Munich. Even if you do not speak a word of Gernman, the stations are easy to navigate, the trains are easy to identify and maps are easy to find and understand.

Italian food is popular in Munich and very good.

One of the best things about Germany is its gorgeous scenery. If you can rent a car, it is worth it to get out into the countryside and take it in. In the Black Forest, you should make an effort to drive on some of the smaller highways through the towns and along the small rivers. The Rhine and Lake Bodensee are also beautiful. The rolling hills between Stuttgart and Munich are so peaceful - straight out of a pastoral landscape.

You can visit Neuschwanstein without taking the tour of the castle. The view, the hike up to the castle, and wandering around town are worth it even without the tour.

Seconding Logos on the Sportverein restaurants. The food quality is usually excellent (quantity too ) and the prices are lower than anywhere in the city center. There will be not a lot of english spoken though - often not even high German, but mostly whatever local dialect is prevalent.
A multilingual menu is a sure sign of "too expensive for the quality they serve" - just one step below the menu with the pictures of food.

I found Munich to be one of the cheapest places to stay we've been. There are cafes on every corner that sell ready-made sandwiches (and pretzels with butter - my husband's favourite!). Pick up a couple sandwiches and some drinks and you can eat at the cafe or in the many parks or squares.

The S-Bahn and U-Bahn are cheap an incredibly easy to use. You can stay outside the city itself and be at the main square in a matter of minutes. We actually stayed by the train station which is really affordable.

The churches are gorgeous and are free (although we always leave something in the collection box) and they are all over the city.

For an excellent hotel at a cheaper summer rate, book:

Mercure Hotel Berlin an der Charité
at booking.com

Summer special: 3 nights with breakfast: 240 Euros / per double room (not person!)

This is a modern, quiet hotel with 4 star breakfasts. I stayed there last year and would stay again.

If looking for real budget accommodations - stay out of the big cities - actually any size city. The best lodging bargains in Germany are apartments (Ferienwohnungen) and Zimmer Frei at farms in the rural areas. It is still possible to find a single room for less than $25 - doublerooms and apartments for less than $50. Farm families are some of the friendliest people in Europe and there is nothing quite like the atmosphere and Gemütlichkeit you will find on a Bauernhof. In my opinion - sitting on a flower laden balcony in the afternoon - enjoying a good German Bier or wine and cheese - watching the cows grazing in the meadow below - is one of the best vacation experiences to be had... Ben

http://www.bensbauernhof.com/

Myself and other half have just returned from Munich last weekend. We stayed at the IBIS parkstadt for about 70 for a double a night. It is close to the metro and so easy and convenient. There are definately special rates on offer and its walkable to areas to eat if you like walking on Leopold Strasse.
http://www.ibishotel.com/ibis/fichehotel/gb/ibi/5239/fiche_hotel.shtml

Its a newer IBIS and quite nice. Staff were so helpful and had great english as opposed to my brutal spoken German

Food - there is a market not far from Marienplatz that is like a farmers market and there are picnic benches in the side area where you can buy beer and sit outside with your big mug. We did this and I hit the food stalls and bought olives, sushi and nibbles to snack on at the table. Most people do this as well. i think its the Victuallier Market (Not spelled right I know!)

Great Falafel and Kebab places and very cheap. ALso German restaurants are good value as you get your dinner, veg and sie salad whereas in many european countries they charge for these as extra...at least they do in Dublin!

One of the best ways to SKI in Europe is to use the "Ski Packages' that the Hotels/Pensions offer that usually include, 2 meals and lift pass for 4,5 or six days.

By also using the shoulder season (before Christmas, and early January-Mid February) you will get the best rates for the area.

I also highly recommend the Bavarian Ben website (listed in a previous post). He has the spirit of Bavaria down pat.... along with the costs!!

travelme--tcreath is correct. Many restaurant workers do not speak English, or their English is very limited. While a lack of English is very common outside of the big cities and popular tourist areas, it is also true to a lesser degree in the big cities--especially if you're in an area of the city that doesn't have a popular tourist sight nearby.

It's certainly understandable that someone who doesn't use a particular language frequently or hasn't had foreign language classes since high school or the even the 8th grade would not be especially proficient in the language.

Hi Salwa! I see you've finally dived in! This already has several good tips- keep them coming everybody.

The Galleria department store in Alexanderplatz (Berlin) has a fantastic food department on the ground floor - lots of great stuff for picnics or stocking an apartment, and plenty of souvenirs (chocolate, mustards etc) - all for much less than you'd pay at the Ka De We food department.

It's probably already a know fact but Munich's beer gardens have a BYO food tradition. You can get a lot of great food there, of course, but you can as well bring your own sandwiches or snacks and eat them there.
But you have to buy the beverages in the beer garden! BYO beer is a total no no.

The sign which will tell you that you can bring your own "Brotzeit" looks like this:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Biergarten_Muenchen_Hinweisschild.JPG

In Berlin, if you happen to be out by the Wannsee, stop at Lorretta am Wannsee. It's near the S-Bahn station on the corner of Potsdamer Chaussee. There is a biergarten and you can get a brat, potato salad, wine, beer, and even a crepe for dessert for very reasonable prices.

Thanks everyone for your great Euro-beating, money-saving tips! I am overwhelmed by all your great suggestions!

Cowboy1968, I think your tip bears repeating that along with finding a nice patch of park or “hotel room picnic” you can also park yourself at a beer garden and only add the price of beer to your picnic lunch. Of course, remember norrisken’s tip not to sit at a table with a tablecloth.

Thanks bmw732002 for the ski information and for the perennially good tip of traveling on the shoulder seasons.

I like the idea of the farm stay bavariaben. I was thinking about this for an upcoming trip in Vermont but it sounds lovely in Germany. I’m sure it’s a nice way to get to know a local family without doing the more traditional homestay.

I love the idea of swapping a ride on a tour bus for a public bus that traveller1959 suggested in Berlin (bus no. 100).

For those of you that have done the vacation rental, what websites have you used? Have you done a swap or a rental?

Thanks so much for all your wonderful tips! Keep 'em coming!

SalwaJ, I usually use either vacationapartments.com or I just googles something like "cochem vacation apartments". The town websites usually have lots of information as well. For example, I found the vacation apartment in Schonau by using the search engine at http://en.berchtesgadener-land.com/en/live/ennavi/parser,id,51,nodeid,.html.

There are tons of ferienwohnungs all over Germany, and all of the ones I've stayed in have been lovely.

Tracy

Sorry...thats www.vacationapartments.com.

Tracy

Yikes! One more time I promise...

http://www.vacation-apartments.com/

And yes, there's no thing like a "Zimmer Frei". Zimmer frei simply means "vacancies". So when you say you were staying at a "Zimmer frei", you basically say "I was staying at vacancies" . Fremdenzimmer or Privatzimmer would be the correct words to use.

In Bavaria you can purchase a palace pass gpod for 14 days and save on admissions. Here's a link:

http://www.schloesser.bayern.de/englisch/palace/objects/jahresk.htm

One of my most pleasant summer memories of Munich is hitching up to a table with a bunch of locals in the Vikualienmarkt. Cheap beer and sausages. Free conversation once the beers start flowing.

I find that I can get by without lunch if I partake of the usually massive breakfasts that are part of my hotel package almost everywhere in Germany.

For cheap light snacks and soft drinks Aldi and Lidl are almost everywhere.

If you're visiting Bavaria and plan to tour through several castles & palaces, I would recommend the Bavarian Castle Pass as a budget tip. They offer a 14-day partner pass for Euro 36,00.

www.schloesser.bayern.de

During our 8-night stay in Bavaria we visited 8 castles, which totaled Euro 96,00 in admission fees. So we ended up saving Euro 60,00 total just by using the pass.

We visited the Würzburg Residenz, the Marienburg Fortress, the Bamberg Residenz, the Munich Residenz & Treasury, Schloss Nymphenburg, Linderhof and Schloss Neuschwanstein, which were all covered by the Pass. We also visited Schloss Hohenschwangau, which is privately owned, so it is not included in the pass, however they did give us a Euro 1,00 discount.

My second budget tip for Munich, or for just about any town/city, is to visit their churches, which are usually free. There you can usually find some great architecture, beautiful artwork, and pieces of history all rolled up into one building.

We particularly enjoy visiting churches with reliquaries. And lately we've been looking for, and photographing the "skeletons in churches". If you look hard enough, just about every church has a skeleton depicted in their artwork, or in some cases, real skeletons displayed.

For the best gold-gilted skeleton, visit the Asamkirche in Munich, which is a splendid display of all things Baroque (on steroids). Or you can stand in the "Devil's Footprint" at the Frauenkirche, and learn the history of the pact between the architect and the devil. At the Michaelskirche, for Euro 2,00 fee you can visit the Wittelsbach crypt, including the tomb of their beloved castle builder, King Ludwig II.

Robyn

My two cents:

1.) In many large cities the main business of hotels isn´t tourism but business travel. The times to avoid are trade fairs, when prices double or triple. On weekends on the other hand, many hotels might be nearly empty and some offer special fares. So when you check for hotel prices, take a look at different dates. A good tool is www.hrs.de

Also check for the details of the hotel price. In some cases the breakfast is up to 25% of the room price and not taking it can substantially lower the price (again the reason for this are the business travelers who don´t care if a cup of coffee and a bread roll cost 19 Euro since they don´t pay themselves).

2.) Public transport: the pricing system can be awfully complicated, so tourists tend to pay the regular fare which can be steep. But there are loads of special conditions.

Buses and trams in cities: my best advice is to go to a tourist information or the ticket office in large train stations, tell them what you want to do and ask for specials. There are always passes for one or several days which might not cost more than 3 single one-way tickets. There are also often group or family tickets. Also common are tickets valid only for the weekend or after 9 AM (again the main business are commuters, so if you don´t use the public transport during commuting hours, prices might drop).
Also many tickets for example to museums include the use of public transport to and from the place (i.e. buses and trams, not long distance trains).

Railway:
- Ländertickets: they offer the use of all regional trains of the German rail (all train numbers starting with S-, RE, RB, IRE) in one of the German states for a day for 5 persons for less than 30 Euro. Buses and trams are also often included (varies depending on the state).
- Weekend ticket: again unlimited travel with regional trains, 5 persons for one day for 35 Euro, but in that case it´s not limited to a state but valid in the whole of Germany. Possible only on Saturday or Sunday.
- Children tariffs: Children up to 14 travel free with a parent or grand-parent who has a ticket (best ask for information if you use a special ticket in case that there are limitations). But it might be required to note this down when ordering tickets online. Children under 6 always travel free.
- Saving if you book a specific train: If you can specifiy which train you want to take a few days in advance, you get special prices. Main problem for tourists: it has to be a two-way ticket. The savings are 25% if one of the dates is on a weekday. If both legs are on a weekend, savings are 50%. A huge additional advantage, if I understand it correctly, is that additional persons get another 50% discount on that price.
- Bahncard: they give you a discount on all tickets bought from the German rail for one year and exist in 25, 50 and 100%. The Bahncard 50 is with 220 Euro probably already too expensive for most tourists who are here only for a short time, but Bahncard 25 can be cheap and you get 25%.
For young people up to and including 19, it costs only 10 Euro. For adults, it´s 55 Euro, but for families with children younger than 18, only one adult pays the 55 Euro and the partner and children pay 6 Euro for their cards (best ask for info if you want to use this option since the rail will need some documentation).
As a special gimmick for the European Cup, the rail currently offers a Bahncard 25 for 19 Euro. Its validity depends on how many games the German national team wins (if they win the title, it´ll be valid until the end of 2008).
A nice effect of the Bahncard is that if you take a long distance ride to many cities, the use of public transport in that city from the railway station is free.

3.) Restaurants: this obviously depends on the restaurant, but on average German restaurants have a different pricing structure than restaurants in Southern European countries. The main dishes are normally rather cheap, while everything else is expensive (an old saying is that the restaurant don´t earn money with food but with the drinks). So if you want to save money, just take a main dish and one drink.

Another point is the Mittagstisch, i.e. lunch offers, mainly aimed at workers close to the restaurant. This is either a reduced option of the normal menu or maybe three dishes which change daily (normally including a vegetarian option). The price is often reduced in comparison to the “normal” dinner prices and a soup or salad might be included. Main business is 11:45 to 12:30, so better go a little later of you want to avoid the rush, though some options might be sold out.

We purchased a Berlin Card that gave us unlimited transportation for the 3 days we were there. We rode the #100 bus many times getting off and on as we did our touring about. We also took a walking tour of Berlin and got a discount because of the card. The tour was excellent and a great starting point for our stay.

For taxi rides in Berlin (maybe some other cities, too), if you are going under 2 km you can request a short trip (Kurtzstrecke) rate--3 euros as long as the trip is under 2 km. You must hail a moving cab-- request the fare before the cabbie activates his meter. It can even be less expensive than public transport depending on where you are going and the number of people in your group.

We used it several times for our party of 4 people on our November 2006 trip to Berlin. Especially nice at the end of the day when everyone was tired and the temperature began to drop.

IIRC, I think Berlin has some pretty good deals on Priceline.

Check out biddingfortravel.com.

Thanks logos - I asked a German friend why he never corrected my use of the term "Zimmer Frei". He said he had "found over the years that in the American vernacular this same term is used for "B & B" and never bothered to correct anyone. In many instances the terms Fremdenzimmer or Privatzimmer are posted on a house and underneath or next to it you may find the term "Frei" or "Zimmer Frei" indicating a vacancy. I wouldn't loose any sleep about it."

I won't lose any sleep about it but I promise I will henceforth use Fremdenzimmer and Privatzimmer when I refer to what I always took for granted was "Zimmer Frei". I'm an old dog but not too old to learn. I appreciate your correction. It's easy to see that I'm just your average tourist but I do love to visit Germany... Ben

Hi everyone,

Thanks again for your great tips!

Artstuff, thanks for the tip on the castle and palace pass.

Hans, thanks for warning us about the business travelers and their expense accounts. It's definitely a good idea to avoid cities hosting trade fairs as hotels book up and prices skyrocket. Does anyone have a resource for finding out when trade fairs are happening?

It's also a great idea to opt out of too-pricey breakfasts included in the hotel price. If you opt out of breakfast, any suggestions on where to get a hearty start for half the price?

RufusTFirefly, I like your tip about Berlin taxis (requesting a Kurtzstrecke rate, a flat fare of 3 euros for any trip under 2km). How did you know if you were only going 2km though? Did you find taxi drivers spoke English and were agreeable to this fare? Does anyone know if this applies in other cities in Germany?

Thanks again for all your help! I think a lot of people will benefit from this thread!

>Does anyone know if this applies in other cities in Germany?

It doesn´t. I pay about 5 Euro (meter charge) for roughly 2 km distance to my home from Mannheim main station. I never heard of a "Kurzstrecke" tariff on taxis before...

Hi, SalwaJ.

Sometimes we just knew from our maps that something was 2 km or less. Other times we just said "Kurtzstrecke" to the cab driver and he would indicate if it was too far or not. They all understood "Kurtzstrecke, bitte." None ever objected to the fare. I do wonder if the price might go up a bit soon with the increase in gasoline prices.

Most taxi drivers we encountered spoke enough English that there were no communications problems in terms of them understanding where we wanted to go--usually we just had to say our destination or have it written out and it wasn't an issue. I also got to practice my high school and college German from 35 years ago.

There is no thing like a Kurzstrecke in Munich either. Tariffs are strictly regulatated by the city.
http://www.muenchen.info/dir/recht/410/410_20060515.htm

However, what is interesting, there is a flat rate from the airport to the Munich exhibition grounds. It's a rate of 51€, everything included.

>requesting a Kurtzstrecke rate
KuRZstrecke (short distance)

Thanks for the spelling correction Logos999!

Diesel price is now above gas in most places. "Jet" gas station, which usually are the cheapest, now charge 1.56€ for diesel and 1.55€ per liter for all! other fuels.

There's about a 30 Rappen difference in Switzerland with diesel being the higher price. I believe diesel is now about SFr. 2.11 per liter.

Well, my college German was 38 years ago! Spelling correction noted.

We found the 3 day "SchauLUST Museen BERLIN" museum pass to be fantastic deal. They now cost 19.00 € (price raised in January 2008 from 15.00 €) and provide for fee admission to around 70 museums, including almost all of the major museums and some fine smaller collections. Given the quanity and quality of Berlin's museums, you will run out of time before you run out of good museums to visit. Here's a list of the museums covered by the pass:
http://tinyurl.com/6cf698

Berlin is famous for its markets, and exploring them gives a view of the city that is a bit different from the standard tourist sights - and is free (unless you buy!) Two that we have enjoyed are the Turkish Market on Maybachufer (food and inexpensive manufactured goods, Tuesday and Friday afternoons) and also the large Trödelmarkt (flea market) on Straße des 17. Juni (vintage wares and collectibles, Saturdays and Sundays).

My daughters, in their early 20's, had a great time at the vintage clothing shop Garage, which sells used clothing by weight - around 14€ per kilo. It's near the Nollendorfplatz U-bahn, at Ahornstrasse 2.

Sorry about a major typo in my last post. Let's try this again -
The museum pass provides for FREE admission, not FEE admission!

Most of the museums are in the 6.00 € to 8.00 € range, so if you visit more than 3 in a 3 day period, you stand to save money. Also, when you have the pass, you can just pop in for a minute or to view one or two special pieces, without feeling that you've wasted money.

As Traveler1959 suggests, we do occasionally eat in University restaurants, ordinarily if we're there to see a museum or a performance or whatever. In Berlin Studentenwerk-Berlin manages a central directory of university cafeterias and restaurants at http://www.studentenwerk-berlin.de/mensen/mensen_cafeterien/index.html

Look for the daily fixed price menus (Tagesmenu) posted outside many cafes or restaurants. In virtually every town we have visited, whether small or large, you will find these specially priced 2- or 3-course lunches/dinners. Prices are usually under 10E, depending on the location.

For a quick snack, I like getting curry-wurst, very popular dish in Berlin. They're cheap and tasty.

Salwa: here´s a link but I don´t think that really helps. If it's a small fair, the prices of most hotels won´t be affected. But if it´s a huge fair as the Buchmesse in Frankfurt in half a year, you see it directly in the prices (it´s mentioned in the hotel booking tools as Messe-Preis), so no need to check via a list of the fairs. Still:

http://www.messebau-direkt.de/Messekalender/Start/index.html

As for cheap breakfast: bakeries are everywhere and you can get a sandwich in all of them and often also a cup of coffee.

Great ideas! Thanks, we'll use them the next time we go to Germany, which I hope will be this fall.

tagging

Helpful, thanks to all
Rosie

I don't have much to add given all the good advice here.

I save on lodging by seeking out vacation rentals and rooms rather than traditional hotels. One thing I've noticed is that, since I can speak German, I can access many more potential rentals on the Internet. As a result, I can tap into a greater variety of more affordable rooms and apartments. This seems to work best in smaller towns, where it is a real advantage to view all available Ferienwohnungen in the town, rather than the one that has an English language website...which is invariably at the top end of the price range. I'd advise, if possible, having a friend who can speak German help search for lodging alternatives if you are searching on the Internet.

I find that the municipal websites often list numerous good vacation rentals and rooms. That's usually where I start my search and I've had good results.

The other no-brainer which bears reiterating is to simply park yourself at a bakery for breakfast, where you can sample pastries, get a coffee, and even stock up on snacks and lunch options for the rest of the day.

One thing that Americans often don't factor in during summer travel is the evening light. Some of my most pleasant memories in Germany involve packing a picnic and finding a scenic spot to eat (and drink wine or beer) outdoors. I've sat in a park until 10 or 11 PM before it got dark just enjoying a peaceful and very inexpensive picnic meal.

It also pays to figure out public transit. Not just use it, but calculate whether, for example, it makes sense to buy tickets individually, or purchase group tickets, weekend passes, and the like.

And finally, one way Americans can really save some Euros is to figure out and accept the tipping system in Germany. I have watched in horror as friends leave WAY too much to the waitress at the end of a meal, or a cab driver at the end of a fare. My friend was perplexed when the embarrassed cab driver returned 10 Euros to him after he tried to give a 20-Euro tip after a ride from the airport.

Thanks everyone!

So, I have to ask, how much should one tip in Germany?

The best book I have found for understanding German menus for those who don't understand German is Menu Master by Marling. Amazon and Barnes and Noble don't seem to be carrying the book new and are selling used ones for $15-$25, more than the $9.95 new price. However, by doing a Google search, I was able to find some places, like Le Travel Store (http://www.letravelstore.com), carrying it for $9.95.

As for tipping, a few trips ago I asked the woman where I was staying, in a Privatzimmer (Logos), how to tip. I told her what I did, and she scolded me for leaving too much. She said the bill should only be rounded up to the next Euro. So, for €12,90, you would leave €13,-.

I find that a little tight. I'm sure she would scold me again, but I never add much less than €0.50. So, for example, for €12,50 I would say, "dreizehn Euro" (€13) but for €12,70, I would say, "fierzehn Euro" (€14). I have never felt that a waiter was unappreciative of that method. In fact, when it's close to the next Euro, and I round it up to the following Euro, they seem quite appreciative.

And, by the way, in Germany, you never leave the tip on the table. The waiter will say the amount, or might write it down for you, and you tell him what you want to give, including tip. For €12,70, you could just hand him €14 and say, "Stimmt so" (that is correct), or you could give him a €20 note and say, "Fierzehn Euro." It would pay to at least learn the numbers in German.

Hi. I am an American who just moved to Berlin (from Italy). We have found a few money-saving things so far...

Outside of the U7 metro stop at Konstanzer Strasse there is a park. On weekend afternoons/evenings in the summer many of the Thai families gather and cook all of their authentic foods. The families all sit around and eat together, play cards, listen to music, etc but you can also buy the food! They cook on electric or gas stoves and the presentation isn't much but it is delicious and CHEAP! You can even buy a big bottle of beer from the old German men who sit on the outter path of the park for 1 euro! The park is way off the beaten path but well worth it.

If you go to the Villa in Wannsee (where the Nazi's decided the "Final Solution") there is a beautiful hotel/restaurant next to the Villa. Further up that road is a large statue of a lion and next to it a small kiosk/rest. where you can get the BEST bratwurst and currywurst we have had yet. 2 euros for a wurst and 2 euros for a plate of bratkartolffen (pardon my spelling, i am still learning!) which are sauteed potatoes with onions. You can then sit at a table that overlooks the lake.

As for hotel bookings in Europe, we have always used www.venere.com. The rates are discounted and the hotels are -what you see is what you get- based on pictures and user reviews. I stayed in Sorrento, Italy a few years ago and the hotel owner said that because we booked through Venere we actually got a bigger discount then mentioning "Rick Steves recommended this hotel".

I will try to recall some other things that we have discovered in Berlin. I really appreciate this thread and plan to take advantage of many of the suggestions you have all made! Thank you!

Ops! Before Logos jumps on me, I'd better correct my spelling. That vierzehn, not fierzehn (pronounced the same, though). I shouldn't try to spell phonetically, even in German. In terms of phonetics German is really a pretty good language, but there are few "problems".

Note to editor.

We need an edit function for postings. It is so easy to miss mistakes until after you've posted, and then it's too late.

>fierzehn
you bet, I would have jumped on you!
That's just as bad as writing "Standart" when you mean "Standard".

(Unless we're talking about different ways of standing).

Ow, logos, I love it, Stand Art, (or, in the new spelling, is it Standart)?

For those of you who don't understand what we are saying (or who care), the German number 14, vierzehn, is pronounced approximatlely "fear'-tsane. 'v' and 'f' are both pronounced 'f', (an inconsistancy in an otherwise phonetically consistent language. When writing quickly, I incorrectly spelled the word according to the English phonetics, fierzehn.

BTW, I have been thinking about this problem of how to save money traveling in Germany, and I recently addressed it on my website, www.germantravel-info.com/save.htm.

bkmk

>or, in the new spelling, is it Standart
No, it's still and only "Standard"