Advice on a day in Berlin
 

This November I'm going to Berlin to join an escorted tour group which will start next day with major sights in Berlin, traveling on through Northern Europe ending in Warsaw. I arrive the day before on my own and would like to visit Museum Island's Pergmamon, maybe take the 100 bus around the Tiertgarden, go to a classical concert that evening. I'm a mature, single woman. Do I need to take special precautions safety-wise other than the usual "street smarts"? Any advice is appreciated!

Normal street smarts will be fine. It's too bad you have only a day, but I'm sure you'll make good use of it.

You'll be fine on your own. I recently toured Berlin on my own while my husband was at a conference. I walked all over the city by myself and never felt uncomfortable or threatened in any way.

I definitely recommend the Pergammon Museum. I spent most of the morning here. During my visit in June, they have a great collection of Greek icons as the special exhibit. Spend some time with the Islamic Art collection and the recreation of one of the palaces on the top floor. The Gates of Babylon and some of the related exhibits were a greater highlight for me than the Pergammon Altar itself!

In lieu of the bus tour, I'd opt for one of the river tours on the Spree if they are running in November. They usually start near Museum Island and go round trip down past the Reichstag and the new parliament buildings, etc. Great views if it's not too cold.

For evening, I recommend the Komische Oper. We had a delightful evening there watching die Fledermaus. They even handed out champagne to the audience during the champagne song!

If your "sightseeing tour" doesn't include a visit to the Berlin zoo, the highlight there is the baby polar bear called "Knut"--pronounced Ke-Nute. He's the star and the lines have been very long.

There's great shopping at KaDeWe and in the old East Berlin just up from Checkpoint Charlie. I'd avoid Checkpoint Charlie unless you have to see it--not much there except for some real touristy things and it's probably the seediest part I've been in.

There are lots of great restaurants, but you may want to consider reservations depending on the day you'll be there.

Have a great time!

Thanks for Will Travel & LoriS! Since I can't walk extensively due to arthritic knees, that's why I was planning on the 100 bus to sightsee around the city and then cabbing it to the museum and/or concert. Is it a far walk into the Tiertgarden to the zoo? Any specific restaurant recommendations in the K-dam area where my hotel is?

The department store KaDeWe has a food floor (6th) where there are counters of every imaginable type of food or cuisine you want (seafood, French, Wurst, breakfast, etc.). I had a fabulous lunch last September at the French counter, a delicious quiche with a very fresh salad and a lovely glass of wine. My husband opted for a crêpe, IIRC. I think we spent half an hour wandering around the floor trying to decide what to get!

It's the fine foods floor, so there are many products (especially chocolate!) to check out.

For dinner near the Ku-damm, I'd highly recommended Die Quadriga in the Brandenburgerhof Hotel.

http://www.brandenburger-hof.com/e/speisen/index.html

If that's too fancy, the restaurant in their Wintergarten is also very good. We stayed at this hotel with my in-laws a few years ago and we loved all the meals we had here. Their staff were very friendly. When we went to the Opera, we ate in the Wintergarten restaurant and they arrange a taxi to take us to the Komische Oper after dinner.

Taxis are very cheap in Berlin and it's just a short ride from the Ku-damm.

The Tiergarten is huge! So if you have arthritic knees, you probably don't want too walk across the Tiergarten. But the zoo is located in the Tiergarten and close to a S-bahn and railway stop.

Have a great trip!

LoriS - The gourmet restaurant is a little over my head, plus I'm dining on my own. Are you saying the Wintergarten is another restaurant in the Brandenburger-hof and more modestly priced? Wonder if that's close to the Sofitel Dorint Schweizerhof where I'll be staying. Any idea?

Yes, the Wintergarten is not a gourmet restaurant and it's more moderately priced than die Quadriga.

I'm not sure where the Sofitel is, but the Brandenburgerhof is a few blocks south of the Kudamm.

I would like to help you, but Berlin will always be for me the divided city I knew back in the sixties and seventies when one didn't enter it (and more particularly the eastern sector) without a frisson of anticipation of experiences beyond those of one's regular daily routine.

I do not think I could go back there now and enjoy what it has to offer with the Wall and the Vopos and the scent of intrigue long gone.

Harzer

I'd consider going up in the Reichstag dome. An easy way to do it without waiting in the lines is to have lunch at the restaurant at the top - with your reservation you get a code so that you can enter at the handicap entrance, bypassing the line. The lunch is a bit expensive, but the food is good. We made that our main meal that day. You could then have a light meal at KaDeWe for dinner later. The food hall is amazing. We loved the pastries there. Also good pastries can be found at the Opera Cafe - in a former palace adjacent to the Opera (not far from MuseumInsel).

Berlin felt pretty safe to me, especially the areas that you mention.