3 days in Berlin
 

What are the must do's for a stay in Berlin?
Also East or West Berlin, where to spend more time? Enjoy history, music good local food and nightlife.
thanks

Mike,

there is an excellent and long thread by PalQ here, which you might find helpful as it covers almost every street in Berlin ;-).

A good (and cheap idea) might be to board bus No. 100 at the Zoo station, not far from where you are staying if I remember correctly.
It takes you around the city passing almost all major points of interest. Get to the upper deck and try to occupy the seats in the first row for an unrestricted view out front and to the sides.

Gedaechtniskirche on Ku'damm, also steps from your hotel, is worth a look with its striking contrast between the old ruins and the modern annex.

A visit to the cupola on Reichstag is nice - but be prepared to wait. You can shorten your wait time by arranging for a table reservation in the restaurant Kaefer's im Reichstag, though.

The new holocaust monument, between Potsdamer Platz and Brandenburg Gate is worth a look, too.

The Pergamon Museum on Museum island is striking if you like Grecian art. The boulevard taking you into the city by the name of Unter den Linden is nice to stroll along. Also the shops around Friedrichstrasse crossing Unter den Linden are worth to take a look at. Gendarmenmarkt in the area is a wonderful square in the midst of which there are the German and French cathedrals.

I'd also allow one day for Potsdam and its Sanscoucis Palace - and the park particularly, which is much nicer than the palace IMHO.

A boat cruise on the Havel river might be nice if the weather is fine and provides some views from different angles.

As you are staying in West Berlin, you might turn into the direction of Savignyplatz for an evening out. It is only a few bus stops to the West from Zoo station and there are quite a number of nice restaurants and bars around. If you like Tapas, a place by the same name in Grolmanstr (I believe) slightly off Savignyplatz is quite alright.
Ottenthal, as mentioned on another post, is lovely for Austrian food in austere surroundings on Kantstr.. And NU is a pretty good Asian fusion style place on Schlüterstr. (also in the area) is rather good.
If you are into Asian fusion, there is also a place called PanAsia in Hackesche Hoefe in what used to be East Berlin that I find recommendable - BTW Hackesche Hoefe is a very nice area anyway, which you might enjoy. It is close to Museum island.

The Helmut Newton photography exhibition behind Zoo station is worth a look, too.

Forgot to include the link to PalQ's thread:


http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...17&start=0

HSV,
Thanks for your help. Your memory is correct as far as our hotel, Comfort Hotel Fruehling am Zoo.
How close is it to the East side of Berlin?

A train trip of two or three stations. Not much of a big deal. Walking distance to Zoo station is approx. 3 min.


Forgot to point you to two restaurants, which are reasonably priced and which might be interesting:

Gugelhof in Knaackstr. in the Prenzlauer Berg district features Alsatian cuisine and is quite worth the trip from your hotel. Pres. Clinton and chancellor Schroeder dined there once.

The other one is another Austrian place in Charlottenburg:

Meinrad in Wielandstr. is cheaper than Ottenthal and does an admirable job, too. It a bit further than Savigny Platz, but just a few steps.

Thanks again. How about some really good beer halls in Berlin or Hamburg?
Any good Rock& Roll clubs that you can suggest?

ttt

To hopefully clear up some misunderstanding and without raining to much on your parade: Beer Halls are not typical of Northern or Eastern Germany (and not of Western Germany either). They are typically Bavarian.

This is not to say that there aren't any beers worth tasting in other parts of Germany. Rather the contrary. I happen to like the strongly hopped North German brews much better.

However, beer is enjoyed typically in pubs and bars in both Hamburg and Berlin. Should you come across a Bavarian style beer hall (usually identifiable by checkered blue and white flags, table cloths etc.), beware - it is most likely a tourist trap.

Good beers to look for IMHO: Jever Pilsener, Holsten Pilsener, Flensburger Pilsener, Dithmarscher Pilsener (hard to get), Lübzer Pilsener.

Sorry, cannot just think of rock&roll clubs. If can think of any, I'll get back to you - presume you want live venues?

Not as definitive as PalQ's, but for what it's worth here's a link to my report on our trip last year - http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34614269

HSV,
I was thinking of live venues for the clubs. Thanks for all your help.
mike

That's what I presumed.

Trouble is that there is a variety of places, but they feature different kinds of music every night.

In Hamburg, you might for instance check Logo on Grindelallee no. 5, bus stop Staatsbibliothek (State Library), one stop from Dammtor Station on bus nos. 4 and 5; Fliegende Bauten near Heiligengeistfeld on Glacischaussee; Markthalle near Central Station and Grosse Freiheit No. 36 just off Reeperbahn.

I have not been to any such venues in Berlin.

HSV,
I will look into the clubs you suggest. Will be in Hamburg Thursday and friday in late October.
Caroline,
I enjoyed your trip report. Why did you enjoy east Berlin more than the west?

You might want to look up the following:

<i>Berlinwalks</i>/Four Intimate Walking Tours of Berlin's Most Historic Neighborhoods, With Maps, Photos, and a Select List of Restaurants, Hotels, and More (Henry Holt Walks Series) (Paperback)
by Peter Fritzsche, Karen Hewitt

It is one of the best walking tour guidebooks I have encountered (I found the Vienna book in the same series disappointing).

Unfortunately I'm getting too old to be going clubbing these days but you can view all the popular clubs at: http://www.berlinonline.de/clubs-und...uide/index.php
You can see the crowd in the &quot;party fotos&quot;.

Hi Mike &amp; thank you for reading my trip report.

I think the main reason I liked the former East Berlin better was that I thought the buildings, both old &amp; new, were largely nicer. The former West Berlin either didn't get many of the nice older buildings (like the main museums &amp; the old opera houses) or they were flattened in WWII; and the new buildings were more like identikit or downright unattractive office blocks as opposed to the former East's exciting new buildings by well known international architects like Frank Genry.

Secondly, there seemed to be more of a buzz in the former East - for example, that seemed to be where all the contemporary art spaces were.

Thirdly, the centre of the former West Berlin, the Ku-damm around the ruined church and the big department store (KaDeWe ?), seemed touristy in a cheap &amp; nasty way, a bit like the Leicester Square area in London - lots of fast food.

I do realise I am generalising, there are exceptions &amp; in 5 days I obviously didn't see everything, but that was how it felt to me.

I'm sure you will love it, as I did.