Jackie

Hi - I'm going to be passing through Berlin in October on my way to Geneva for business and will have two full days to spend there. I've never been before and would like to make the most of it. I've bought the usual guide books and have been reading up a lot on the city but everyone on this site always seems to have such great idea I would be very appreciative if some of you would tell me what you would do with 2 days in Berlin. Thanks!

Therese

Go to the opera (there are several companies) one evening. It's the sort of thing you can do by yourself and not feel weird, and a nice break from museums.

Jackie

Come on folks - I know there are tons of you out there that know Berlin like the back of your hand - please - any suggestions or advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

pedro

Don't miss the zoo. Also the Cathedral remains left as they were in 1945, as a memorial for the future are very touching.

BerlinFan

1. The Bus 100 tour is a great way to see all the tourist sights.<BR><BR>2. The Pergammon Museum<BR><BR>3. The Gedachtiniskirche is worth seeing, but the visual display inside is difficult to navigate when it's crowded. And try not to be dissuaded by the cheap souvenir and trinket vendors surrounding the church.<BR><BR>4. The zoo.

Therese

Visit the Tiergarten, lovely for walking. You could go boating on the Spree if you were into that sort of thing.<BR><BR>Take a Berlin Walks tour (same company as London Walks). All anglophone guides, great tours, cheap, no prior arrangement necessary.<BR><BR>

Judy

Jackie:<BR><BR>Love Berlin-- was just there beginning of month for three days with my sister and 15 yr old nephew. Here are a few things we enjoyed:<BR><BR>1. PERGAMON MUSEUM- I all caps this one because, if there is one museum you see this must be it. There is no other collection like it in the world. The Pergamon Altar and the Gates of Ishtar are worth the trip alone..utterly astounding and impressively HUGE. If you take the 100/200 bus, best stop is "The Dom" and walk back toward the museum insel. They are open late on thurs til 10 pm but verify this online before you go in Oct. <BR><BR>The Dom- Berlin's Cathedral. You can do 2 at once if you view the cathedral when you stop for the museum. Be prepared to pay a fee-it's not free. They need to pay for repair after the fire in '96!<BR><BR>The 100/200 Bus- best trip in town. But avoid during rush hours, it's just a regular Berlin bus!! The diff btwn 100 and 200 is one heads slightly to the north of Under den linden and the other slighly south. We took the 200 to the Dom and the 100 back to get an overview of the city. The bus starts in front of the Berlin Zool. Garten train station. You can buy tkts and get system map at kiosk at the bus area.<BR><BR>See Charlottenburg Palace if you want to see a real baroque/rococo palace. They have guided tours only, but the main section takes only about an hour.<BR><BR>If you want to be able to hop and off a bus (can't really hop off city bus and reboard w/o paying new fare. tkts good for limited time and it usually ran out before we reboarded!) I recommend City Center Buses- stops at all the major sites every 15 min. The start from Kurfurstendam 216-but you can buy tkt at any stop, 18 Euro for the day. We stopped at Checkpoint Charlie (only the booth is left and a bit of wall nearby), the Gendarmerie, Alexanderplatz-- and walked down Unter den Linden to Brandenber Tor by getting off at Dom, walking down the blvd. and reboarding at stop near the Gate. The bus also stops at Charlottenburg Palace.<BR><BR>Also recommend see KaDeWE-Kaufhaus des Westerns, Germany's best department store. It's food halls are a rival to Harrod's and it's just a fun place to wander and perchance to shop.<BR><BR>I would suggest not going inside the Reichstag. The pre-war facade "Dem Deutschen Volk" remains but the new building built onto it is relentlessly ultra modern-not my thing. It looks like a beehive, but dauntin were the hordes waiting to get in. Best view is from outside! Also note the memorial to the Reichstag members killed by the Nazis for resistance to the regime- mostly SPD and KPD (Communists). It's located near the street-looks like slabs of slate stood on end. Very sobering. <BR><BR>Hope this gives you some ideas!<BR><BR>Judy from Germany

Judy

P.S. to previous post. Don't confuse The Dom (The Cathedral) with the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedaechtniskirche near the Europacenter on the Kurfurstnedam. That is the ruined church left as a war memorial with new building built next to it. The church I refered to in the posting is the Dom, which is Berlin's cathedral. Hope this is clear!! <BR><BR>Judy in Germany

Jackie

To Judy from Germany, I can't thank you enough for all the great info you gave me. I really appreciate all the time you took to write. Thanks so much!!!

Ben Haines

<BR>I think you can use the website http://www.BerlinOnline.de/kultur/tip_magazin/kalender/. to get now an idea of the huge range of things offered in the evenings. The site is in German, but if you drop straight to the bottom and click on Abschicken (search) you will have results. Then you can do that again two days before you fly, and can buy Berlin Tips listings magazine at any newsagent in Berlin. Your hotel staff will explain any problem pages. A bachelor, I go to asll Berlin events alone, and often fall into pleasant conversation with fellow fans.<BR><BR>With so little time I think you should skip things that other cities have (the Tiergarten, the zoo, the cathedral, the opera -- unless you are a fan) and choose what is special to Berlin. The happy things are the Pergamon temple and Nefertiti in the museums, and the German Romantic paintings and Jugendstil (art nouveau) collectioins in and by the palace at Charlottenberg. The unhappy are the memories of Hitler at the Olympia stadium and the House of the Wannsee Conference, and of Walter Ulbricht in the museum at Checkpoint Charlie and the police head office on Normannstrasse.<BR><BR>Please write if I can help further.<BR><BR>Ben Haines, London<BR>