Berlin, Mini trip report/impressions
 

We loved Berlin. What a beautiful city. Wide tree lined streets...sort of like Paris without all the traffic. We stayed in a lovely pension, Pension Bregenz on Bregenzer Str. www.hotelbregenz-berlin.de We paid under 100 Euro's a night with breakfast. We had a lovely large room, very bright and airy, however the bathroom was on the tiny side. When they say they have a double bed, it means two twin beds pushed together. Lots of sleeping room. Very comfortable. We did find the bathroom floor tile a little slippery, however. The couple who own this pension seem to have bought up the top floor of this apartment building, right off the Kurfurstandam (sp?)..very convenient to EVERYYTHING!! The pension had a very good breakfast... coffee was "so-so".. lots of Europeans stay there, esp. the Danes.
We bought a 3 day bus pass, which enabled us to take any form of public transportation. It was a great bargan.
We took the bus #100 and #200 from the Zoo station and rode all around central Berlin. It gives one a great view. I reserved a table for lunch at the Reichstag so we wouldn't have to wait in line to visit. However, I think we could have just booked afternoon tea, and gone in the afternoon and avoided the crowds too. Lunch was good, and the restaurant very comfortable and modern with a wonderful view.
We went to the Schloss Charlottenberg. We made the mistake of taking the guided tour. It was all in German...no English tours available..and in the end, the self visit to the apartments in another part of the castle was much more intersting. The museums in Berlin are wonderful... and the life of the city and its energy are very good. We walked all over, saw as much as we could cram into 4 days, and then left for Prague. I'll write about that on the Czech page.

Thanks for posting. I love Berlin too and would love to go back soon.

Can you tell me more about the afternoon tea option at the Reichstag? When I went w/my parents to Reichstag in 2003, we had lunch there (in order to bypass the line). I thought the food was good but didn't know how expensive it was as my dad paid for it. Can you tell me what's for afternoon tea and what the prices are (or is it listed on the Reichstag website)?

I think we also took the German guided tour at Charlottenburg... Somehow I thought one can only tour the palace with a tour group.

We could have skipped the guided German tour, but then not seen that part of the castle. In hindsight, it wasn't worth the time the tour took. The other part, which you can see without a guide was more interesting, we thought.
As for Tea at the Reichstag, we saw people coming in for tea with no reservations... we had a late lunch. So I guess one can reserve for tea. I know they are open for dinner too. But I would check their web page for more info.

Was the Chinese porcelain room part of the German guided tour? I thought that was the neatest thing I've seen...

Thanks for the report kleroux. We also loved the city, and are going back this September. Your pension sounds lovely.

Interesting about the possibility of afternoon tea at the restaurant. I'd imagine you'd need a reservation to bypass the line, since you have to give the security people your reservation number to gain admission at the handicap entrance.

Which museums did you see?

The German guided tour is the only way to see part of Charlottenberg, but I definitely found it worthwhile. They had English information which was helpful, and there were some great rooms.

I am interested in making reservations for lunch at the Reichstag. What is the website to do this? Thank you!

Try [email protected] or www.bundestag.de