Guttentag to all the citizens of Fodorville. I will be leaving for Berlin in a few weeks and I have a few questions for kind people to answer.

1. How do I make reservations at the restaurant in the Reichstag Building? Is there a website? Should I wait until I get to Berlin and call from my hotel--the Melia on Friedrichstrasse?

2. Can I walk from the Friedrichstrasse to the Saturday Flea/Antique Market in the Tiergarten? I can walk 4 miles with no difficulty.

3. What is the best way for me to get from the Friedrichstrasse to KeDeWa Dept. Store? Is there a bus or U-bahn?

4. What is the best way to get from the airport to my hotel? Should I taxi or take public transport?

Thank you.

Thingorjus

In my opinion, the only reason to eat at the restaurant on the roof of the Reichstag building is to by-pass the line to get up there. The view if very nice, the food is not that great.

There's a U-bahn stop right near KaDeWe -- Wittenbergplatz. Just check a subway map to figure out how to connect. There should be an S-bahn (I forget if there's a U-bahn stop) at Friedrichstr.

Which airport are you using? You may want to Google the Berlin airports. They should have sections that give you public transportation info if you need it.

I am eating in the restaurant in the Reichstag to bypass the line. I don't queue up very well for and Englishman.

I am coming into Tegel Airport from JFK.

Cheers, thanks a lot.

Use the Berlin transit planner here:
http://www.fahrinfo-berlin.de/Fahrinfo/bin/query.bin/en

My recollection is that it's very easy to get from Friedrichstrasse to KaDeWe. I think you just go to Zoo station on the U-Bahn and walk from there, but I don't recall which U-Bahn #s.

Use mappy.com to find the distance between the Melia and the flea market. I would guess it's less than 4 miles.

The time of day that you arrive may help decide what's the best transit plan to/from the airport. If you are arriving at or departing from Tegel, I would suggest spending the 15 Euros or so for the taxi fare.

Public transport info at
http://www.bvg.de/index.php/en/Bvg/Start

Tegel is very close to town, take taxi; I am afraid it's hard to picture you logging luggqge around publc transport.

There is bus stop around the corner of Unter Den Linden & Friedrichstrasse, quite convenient for your destinations.

If you are into Christmas market, there is a huge one not far from your hotel, near Opera House;

We booked the Reichstag on arrival through our hotel concierge, but here is the information I had on file to book beforehand yourself:
Tables can be reserved by telephone on +49 (0)30 - 22 62 99 33 or online at
[email protected]

Public transport in Berlin is excellent, and you should have no trouble figuring out how to get around. Taxis are always available, especially at all the tourist spots, because I don't think the locals take them!

I got some great vintage stuff at that flea market.

I know you're up on current fashion, but are you by any chance interested in old leather jackets? We found a great, really cheap place in Prenzlauer Berg. They had to have been secondhand because of the prices, but they were in such good condition in was hard to tell. If you are interested, I'll check back on this thread, because I would have to find a Berlin map to figure out approximately where the store would have been.

The express bus TXL runs from Tegel into the city and along Unter den Linden. I don't know where the Melia hotel is situated on Friedrcihstrasse (it's quite a long street) but if it is near the crossing with Unter den Linden then you don't win anything by using a taxi.

Hello Marg:

Here is the e-mail for the person to reserve lunch at the Reichstag:

[email protected]

Gradyghost

Hi THin,

I loved Berlin and walked all over. I actually walked from the Tiergarten to KeDeWa Dept. Store on Alexander Platz. Actually, I rarely took any transportation while there, though it has one of the best public transportation systems among all European cities I have visited.

But I would take a taxi from the Airport; don't you just hate to drag suitecases around? Unless, of course, you are a true Fodorite and travel very light...

P.S: My daughter just remembered that Friedrichstrasse is very long. But if your hotel is near Postdamer Platz it will be walkable.

The Melia is on Friedrichstrasse about 1 or 2 blocks from Unter den Linden, going north, just by the river Spree.

Do try to find the British and US embassies near the Unter den Linden Strasse. East Germany is now free but those two embassies aren't. Especially the US embassy. It has barricades, security guards and the works outside the building. I don't even think you can walk past it anymore. Really sad.

>Especially the US embassy. It has barricades, security guards and the works outside the building. I don't even think you can walk past it anymore.

They probably confused Berlin with Beirut while planning.

Can you imagine that the US Embassy wanted to claim over 1/3 of Pariser Platz - the area before the Barandenburger Tor - as their security are, complete with barbed wire and all? I mean if they buil a fortification somewhere in a quiet side street they should be free to do so, but can you imagine any country - whatever their need for security is - to build their embassy right in front of the Lincoln memorial in the US and then claim 1/3 of the park in it´s front?

Hi Thin-- I just got back from a week in Berlin visiting my daughter, and had a blast. The u-bahn is great and easy, but coming from Tegel it makes sense to get a taxi. It will be about 20 Euros.

I have some good restaurant/shopping suggestions if you are interested. I've been planning to write them up, but haven't gotten to it yet.

It gets dark so early there that you should go for lunch to see the Reichstag. The weather was cold and drizzly or foggy most of the time; it even snowed a little twice. There are cozy little cafes everywhere so you won't mind the weather!

Have fun!!

Danka shane to all you gut volks!!

Yes, my hotel, Melia, is at the crossroads of Friedrichstrasse and the Spree. My room will overlook the Spree because I am an avid fisherman and I plan to fish on Christmas Eve with some live bait and a bottle of Krug 1963.

Where can I get a good liverwurst sarnie???

Who knows of a good Chinese restaurant in Mitte?

Where is a gut Kaffeehaus for people watching??

Danka shane from Thingorjus

Maybe you really are thanking "Shane," but it's Danke Schoen (o with umlaut = oe).

Enjoy your trip.

I know it is schoen. Do you really think that I--a graduate of Dartmouth and Penn--would be that stupid?

Some of you really kill me.

You can't have a sense of humour in Fodorville anymore.

Thingorjus

EVOO one is a drag at times here

Sure, why not?

There're a lot of stupid people out there. Plus you didn't go to Harvard or Yale or Princeton. If I knew you had gone to Harvard or Yale or Princeton, I'd not have dared question you. But alas!

(Yeah, talk about humor! Ha ha ha.)