Berlin Trip Report - January 2011
Feb 7th, 2011, 06:37 PM
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Berlin Trip Report - January 2011
I spent three nights in Berlin, before heading on to Budapest (separate report coming soon). Was really jet-lagged for the first couple of days, so that may have colored my experience a bit.
General impression: For a world capital, it is pretty laid back and quiet. And coming from NY, that is very welcome. I like the low-rise colorful architecture and the small cars, as opposed to the monolithic apartment towers and SUV's that we have here. U-bahn is generally easy to use and a day pass is good value. Never had my ticket checked however. I love the coffee and cake scene, though finding good cake is another story.
Weather: Cloudy, but around 45 degrees (7 celsius), quite pleasant for walking around.
Accommodations: Hotel Am Hermanplatz - was recommended by someone on here. About 40 euros per night. Very European, meaning really tiny, but for the price, it was fine. Excellent location near U-bahn. Breakfast is 7 euros but not necessary with plenty of bakeries nearby.
First night: Ate at the food court at a big department store at Hermanplatz, had a schnitzel and one of those meat patties that are halfway between a meatball and a hamburger. Took the u-bahn to the Brandenburger Tor, got some nice pics. According to LP, the Reichstag is open for visits at night, but I didn't see any way to get in.
First Day: Took the S-bahn to Sachenhausen. Spent 5.5 hours there, but even that was rushing it. It is definitely worth a visit - to learn about the "shoe track" and the execution pit where 20,000 Soviet POW's were killed and see the Soviet part of the camp. At the same time, it was not quite as profound as I expected. It's a bit awkward to be walking around a concentration camp as a tourist attraction. And a bit disconcerting to see some tourists (in this case, young Spaniards) walking around munching on Pringles and snapping smiling photos of each other.
Second Day: Started at Checkpoint Charlie and saw the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. OK. Walked a bit along the river, then eventually to Alexanderplatz. Saw DDR Museum, which was interesting. Had some falafel at a Turkish place near Alexanderplatz, then walked along the East Side Gallery. Then walked to find the Stasi - Die Austellung, only it's not there anymore - it's moved to Checkpoint Charlie. At night, visited the Erotik Museum. This is a hands-on experience (in a museum way) but many of the hands on exhibits were out of order. It's counterpart in Amsterdam is much more exciting.
Third Day: Took the U-Bahn to Magdalenstrasse to see the Stasi Museum. Interesting, but they should really do much more with something that was such a big part of East German history. This is, however, a good area to get a feel for the bleak communist apartment block landscape. Back on the other side of the city, toured the Scholss Charottenburg Palace, which was very nice, especially with the audio guide. Then had some schnitzel with noodles at a little cafe nearby. After that, spent a couple of hours at the Story of Berlin history museum which was excellent and probably requires more than two hours.
In the end, Berlin was interesting, but I preferred Budapest.
General impression: For a world capital, it is pretty laid back and quiet. And coming from NY, that is very welcome. I like the low-rise colorful architecture and the small cars, as opposed to the monolithic apartment towers and SUV's that we have here. U-bahn is generally easy to use and a day pass is good value. Never had my ticket checked however. I love the coffee and cake scene, though finding good cake is another story.
Weather: Cloudy, but around 45 degrees (7 celsius), quite pleasant for walking around.
Accommodations: Hotel Am Hermanplatz - was recommended by someone on here. About 40 euros per night. Very European, meaning really tiny, but for the price, it was fine. Excellent location near U-bahn. Breakfast is 7 euros but not necessary with plenty of bakeries nearby.
First night: Ate at the food court at a big department store at Hermanplatz, had a schnitzel and one of those meat patties that are halfway between a meatball and a hamburger. Took the u-bahn to the Brandenburger Tor, got some nice pics. According to LP, the Reichstag is open for visits at night, but I didn't see any way to get in.
First Day: Took the S-bahn to Sachenhausen. Spent 5.5 hours there, but even that was rushing it. It is definitely worth a visit - to learn about the "shoe track" and the execution pit where 20,000 Soviet POW's were killed and see the Soviet part of the camp. At the same time, it was not quite as profound as I expected. It's a bit awkward to be walking around a concentration camp as a tourist attraction. And a bit disconcerting to see some tourists (in this case, young Spaniards) walking around munching on Pringles and snapping smiling photos of each other.
Second Day: Started at Checkpoint Charlie and saw the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. OK. Walked a bit along the river, then eventually to Alexanderplatz. Saw DDR Museum, which was interesting. Had some falafel at a Turkish place near Alexanderplatz, then walked along the East Side Gallery. Then walked to find the Stasi - Die Austellung, only it's not there anymore - it's moved to Checkpoint Charlie. At night, visited the Erotik Museum. This is a hands-on experience (in a museum way) but many of the hands on exhibits were out of order. It's counterpart in Amsterdam is much more exciting.
Third Day: Took the U-Bahn to Magdalenstrasse to see the Stasi Museum. Interesting, but they should really do much more with something that was such a big part of East German history. This is, however, a good area to get a feel for the bleak communist apartment block landscape. Back on the other side of the city, toured the Scholss Charottenburg Palace, which was very nice, especially with the audio guide. Then had some schnitzel with noodles at a little cafe nearby. After that, spent a couple of hours at the Story of Berlin history museum which was excellent and probably requires more than two hours.
In the end, Berlin was interesting, but I preferred Budapest.
Apr 7th, 2011, 12:02 PM
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No offense, but you did a pretty odd cut and paste tour of Berlin and you spent an entire day at a concentration camp?! I've never heard of that! Berlin is a young, vibrant, artistic, and free city. You really missed out unfortunately...
Apr 7th, 2011, 01:08 PM
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" Berlin is a young, vibrant, artistic, and free city. You really missed out unfortunately..."
Agree.
the museums, art galleries and the WWII history is more interesting (IMO) than Alexanderplatz or soviet build blocks in the East.
I found so much to see in Berlin ( going for the third time in July) ... but everyone has different interests.
BTW, Germans have the best cakes this side of Paris!
Agree.
the museums, art galleries and the WWII history is more interesting (IMO) than Alexanderplatz or soviet build blocks in the East.
I found so much to see in Berlin ( going for the third time in July) ... but everyone has different interests.
BTW, Germans have the best cakes this side of Paris!
