Berlin trip report (warning : it's going to be long !)
Aug 23rd, 2006, 12:16 PM
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Thanks very much, Steph. Your report is wonderful ! Mine was just factual really, but yours was so thoughtful - and made me laugh too ! Berlin really does have a fantastic 'vibe', doesn't it ? I can't wait to go back.
Oct 15th, 2007, 04:32 AM
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2007
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Our second trip was for 4 nights, 3.5 days, 15th-19th March.
Transport
-------------
We flew from Glasgow with easyjet & had no problems.
Once there, we bought one day travel cards each day at €5.80 each and used them a lot – we found last time that the city was a lot bigger than we'd thought from the maps and got very tired from trying to walk too much.
Accommodation
-------------------
We stayed at the Hotel City Partner am Gendarmenmarkt, which I booked through Venere based on location and price (and the reviews there & on Tripadvisor sounding OK, of course !). The price was €88 pn for a standard double – not quite such a bargain when I discovered it didn't include breakfast (which was €10 pppd extra), but still reasonable value I think. It bills itself as 4* but I'd say it is 3* and resembles a mid-priced chain hotel. The room & bathroom were both quite adequate and clean. The location was very good – walking distance to most of the Mitte sights, restaurants, etc; but also very close to the Stadtmitte underground station which has 2 lines serving lots of other places.
We probably wouldn't stay there again, though, due to the unhelpfulness of the staff we encountered. The one time we tried the breakfast the woman on duty seemed positively hostile, and propped open the door on to the street 15 minutes before the official end-time for breakfast (in March !!) to try to get rid of us. And when I came to pay the bill the receptionist said there was a problem with my debit card (which I'd been using elsewhere throughout our stay), I phoned my bank and found an authorisation request hadn't even been received, the receptionist continued to insist it was my problem until I gave in & went out to get cash from an ATM to pay the bill (as we had a flight to catch). I had suggested paying by international transfer when I got home (which I've done once before when a hotel's POS equipment wasn't working), but got the impression that she wasn't going to let us leave the hotel without paying.
Sightseeing
----------------
We visited some of the same sights as last time and again the tour of Sammlung Hoffmann was the highlight. I really would like to visit each year to see each year's new selection.
We also walked around the streets in that same area, centring on Auguststrasse, which is packed full of private galleries and artists' spaces. It would be good to go back when they are having one of their late opening evenings, which are monthly during the summer I think. Also visited a pair of private galleries we spotted across the road from our hotel, COMA (Centre for Opinions in Music and Art) and Galerie Thomas Schulte, both of which had very good exhibitions on.
Other new (to us) or different sights this time included the following.
1) The TV tower in Alexanderplatz. We queued for about 20 minutes to go up the tower then spent a couple of hours going round it, looking at the views and the exhibition, which was very interesting. We'd thought to have lunch at the top but there was a long queue for the restaurant, so we just had a beer at the bar halfway round. If you want to eat in the restaurant it seems it's worth booking.
2) St Mary's Church. Quite interesting and we particularly liked the 'Dance of Death' wall painting – I think it would be worth booking a close-up tour of it on a future visit. We were shocked by people wandering round the church with cups of coffee and chattering, even when a service started.
3) The Hamburger Banhhof (gallery of modern art) which we liked a lot last time was a bit of a disappointment this time as the Flick Collection wasn't in residence. (We understood it was returning later this year.) What was on show was quite good, though, including Andy Warhol on the ground floor and William Kentridge and Joseph Beuys upstairs.
4) The East Side Gallery. Last time we just drove past this on a bus & were keen to go back & see it close up, which we did this time. We walked from one end to the other but were very disappointed - the original artwork has almost totally been ruined by bog-standard graffiti.
5) The new Central Station. We experienced the new station twice, first arriving by S bahn into the top level platforms and then arriving at the outside by bus, grabbing a quick snack inside then walking to the Hamburger Bahnhof.
Arriving by train I was quite impressed by the high, light and modern glass train shed which seemed to be in the shape of a cross. The rest of the station seemed fairly so-so (why does everything have to become basically a shopping mall these days ??) but I quite liked the grey tree-like pillars and the circular glass lifts rising and falling through the different levels. I'm glad they didn't follow the common route of thinking they had to paint elements like the pillars in bright nursery colours.
When arriving by bus, however, it looked quite different, with the purity of the train sheds cluttered by the square shaped elements (offices ?) built around them. I noted then that the cross-shaped train sheds seemed actually to be in the shape of a Christian cross – I've read about the architect being incensed that one part was truncated, so wondered if the shorter (top) bit of the cross was the part that was truncated.
It seemed not to have a U bahn element, which seemed a bit of an omission, but maybe that was still being built ?
6) The Palace of the Republic. This was in the process of being demolished when we were there and there was a viewing platform and exhibition about it, on the Unter den Linden side. It seems that it is to be replaced with a pastiche of the previous royal palace, but I would rather have seen the Palace of the Republic restored and was sad to see it being torn down.
7) The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This really didn't do anything for either of us and I think it is ill-conceived. I much prefer the installation in the garden of the Jewish Museum which it resembles in some ways.
Eating & drinking
We largely ate at the same traditional German inns as last time, since we enjoyed them so much. In addition to the porky treats we'd previously experienced, this time I also had the crispy belly pork at Zur Letzten Instanz and it was one of the best things I have ever eaten. We also tried the traditional sauerbraten at Lutter und Wegner but weren't very impressed – we thought it was pretty much just overcooked, not particularly tasty braising steak. (DH tried making it himself after we got home – complete with gingerbread – but with the same result.) This trip we got round to trying a currywurst as a quick snack on the hoof, and found it nicer than we expected – really quite tasty !
We also visited two traditional corner pubs we particularly liked, the Oberbaum-Eck on Bevernstrasse and the Sophieneck on Sophienstrasse, where we shared a modest sausage, potatoes & sauerkraut lunch.
Overall we had a great time again and look forward to going back.
------
Our second trip was for 4 nights, 3.5 days, 15th-19th March.
Transport
-------------
We flew from Glasgow with easyjet & had no problems.
Once there, we bought one day travel cards each day at €5.80 each and used them a lot – we found last time that the city was a lot bigger than we'd thought from the maps and got very tired from trying to walk too much.
Accommodation
-------------------
We stayed at the Hotel City Partner am Gendarmenmarkt, which I booked through Venere based on location and price (and the reviews there & on Tripadvisor sounding OK, of course !). The price was €88 pn for a standard double – not quite such a bargain when I discovered it didn't include breakfast (which was €10 pppd extra), but still reasonable value I think. It bills itself as 4* but I'd say it is 3* and resembles a mid-priced chain hotel. The room & bathroom were both quite adequate and clean. The location was very good – walking distance to most of the Mitte sights, restaurants, etc; but also very close to the Stadtmitte underground station which has 2 lines serving lots of other places.
We probably wouldn't stay there again, though, due to the unhelpfulness of the staff we encountered. The one time we tried the breakfast the woman on duty seemed positively hostile, and propped open the door on to the street 15 minutes before the official end-time for breakfast (in March !!) to try to get rid of us. And when I came to pay the bill the receptionist said there was a problem with my debit card (which I'd been using elsewhere throughout our stay), I phoned my bank and found an authorisation request hadn't even been received, the receptionist continued to insist it was my problem until I gave in & went out to get cash from an ATM to pay the bill (as we had a flight to catch). I had suggested paying by international transfer when I got home (which I've done once before when a hotel's POS equipment wasn't working), but got the impression that she wasn't going to let us leave the hotel without paying.
Sightseeing
----------------
We visited some of the same sights as last time and again the tour of Sammlung Hoffmann was the highlight. I really would like to visit each year to see each year's new selection.
We also walked around the streets in that same area, centring on Auguststrasse, which is packed full of private galleries and artists' spaces. It would be good to go back when they are having one of their late opening evenings, which are monthly during the summer I think. Also visited a pair of private galleries we spotted across the road from our hotel, COMA (Centre for Opinions in Music and Art) and Galerie Thomas Schulte, both of which had very good exhibitions on.
Other new (to us) or different sights this time included the following.
1) The TV tower in Alexanderplatz. We queued for about 20 minutes to go up the tower then spent a couple of hours going round it, looking at the views and the exhibition, which was very interesting. We'd thought to have lunch at the top but there was a long queue for the restaurant, so we just had a beer at the bar halfway round. If you want to eat in the restaurant it seems it's worth booking.
2) St Mary's Church. Quite interesting and we particularly liked the 'Dance of Death' wall painting – I think it would be worth booking a close-up tour of it on a future visit. We were shocked by people wandering round the church with cups of coffee and chattering, even when a service started.
3) The Hamburger Banhhof (gallery of modern art) which we liked a lot last time was a bit of a disappointment this time as the Flick Collection wasn't in residence. (We understood it was returning later this year.) What was on show was quite good, though, including Andy Warhol on the ground floor and William Kentridge and Joseph Beuys upstairs.
4) The East Side Gallery. Last time we just drove past this on a bus & were keen to go back & see it close up, which we did this time. We walked from one end to the other but were very disappointed - the original artwork has almost totally been ruined by bog-standard graffiti.
5) The new Central Station. We experienced the new station twice, first arriving by S bahn into the top level platforms and then arriving at the outside by bus, grabbing a quick snack inside then walking to the Hamburger Bahnhof.
Arriving by train I was quite impressed by the high, light and modern glass train shed which seemed to be in the shape of a cross. The rest of the station seemed fairly so-so (why does everything have to become basically a shopping mall these days ??) but I quite liked the grey tree-like pillars and the circular glass lifts rising and falling through the different levels. I'm glad they didn't follow the common route of thinking they had to paint elements like the pillars in bright nursery colours.
When arriving by bus, however, it looked quite different, with the purity of the train sheds cluttered by the square shaped elements (offices ?) built around them. I noted then that the cross-shaped train sheds seemed actually to be in the shape of a Christian cross – I've read about the architect being incensed that one part was truncated, so wondered if the shorter (top) bit of the cross was the part that was truncated.
It seemed not to have a U bahn element, which seemed a bit of an omission, but maybe that was still being built ?
6) The Palace of the Republic. This was in the process of being demolished when we were there and there was a viewing platform and exhibition about it, on the Unter den Linden side. It seems that it is to be replaced with a pastiche of the previous royal palace, but I would rather have seen the Palace of the Republic restored and was sad to see it being torn down.
7) The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This really didn't do anything for either of us and I think it is ill-conceived. I much prefer the installation in the garden of the Jewish Museum which it resembles in some ways.
Eating & drinking
We largely ate at the same traditional German inns as last time, since we enjoyed them so much. In addition to the porky treats we'd previously experienced, this time I also had the crispy belly pork at Zur Letzten Instanz and it was one of the best things I have ever eaten. We also tried the traditional sauerbraten at Lutter und Wegner but weren't very impressed – we thought it was pretty much just overcooked, not particularly tasty braising steak. (DH tried making it himself after we got home – complete with gingerbread – but with the same result.) This trip we got round to trying a currywurst as a quick snack on the hoof, and found it nicer than we expected – really quite tasty !
We also visited two traditional corner pubs we particularly liked, the Oberbaum-Eck on Bevernstrasse and the Sophieneck on Sophienstrasse, where we shared a modest sausage, potatoes & sauerkraut lunch.
Overall we had a great time again and look forward to going back.
Oct 15th, 2007, 02:18 PM
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Thanks Caroline
I've visited the city 5 times and love it. I've been thinking of returning now that easyJet have the Glasgow to Berlin flights and you have just convinced me to book up.
I'll be travelling alone for the first time and it will be good to go back to my favourite city that always had such happy memories for both of us.
Again, thanks for the great trip report.
Bill
I've visited the city 5 times and love it. I've been thinking of returning now that easyJet have the Glasgow to Berlin flights and you have just convinced me to book up.
I'll be travelling alone for the first time and it will be good to go back to my favourite city that always had such happy memories for both of us.
Again, thanks for the great trip report.
Bill
Oct 16th, 2007, 04:23 AM
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Sounds like you had a great trip--we were in Berlin last November and wished we had more than 4 days. I will disagree with you on the The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. We aren't Jewish, but we were deeply moved by it--and it stimulated a lot of discussion amongst the 4 of us. But any work of art hits different folks in different ways.
Oct 16th, 2007, 01:31 PM
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Hi caroline.
I live in Glasgow. Born and brought up in Tighnabruaich but moved here when a young adult and never had any desire to leave.
Now an 'oldie' I spend as much time as I can in Greece where I have some friends.
I'm now looking at Berlin in early to mid December. Your post brought back many memories. The first time I visited the city was a long time ago when the allied powers controlled it. It is very different now and I am sure you'd have loved the contrast.
Regards,
bill
I live in Glasgow. Born and brought up in Tighnabruaich but moved here when a young adult and never had any desire to leave.
Now an 'oldie' I spend as much time as I can in Greece where I have some friends.
I'm now looking at Berlin in early to mid December. Your post brought back many memories. The first time I visited the city was a long time ago when the allied powers controlled it. It is very different now and I am sure you'd have loved the contrast.
Regards,
bill
Oct 17th, 2007, 01:04 AM
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Hi Bill. Maybe we will meet up one day at a Scotland GTG ! Yes, it must be very interesting to see Berlin evolving from what it was. I have only so far visited Moscow in the early 80s & I sometimes wonder what it is like now - I don't think I would find it improved, alas.
Oct 17th, 2007, 04:54 AM
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Great report! Always like to see my old home town through the eyes of others.
No worries about "sauerbraten": It's also a love it or hate it thing among Germans. And it's only good when you don't need the knife to cut the meat. Which translates pretty much to "overcooked", I guess ;-)
No worries about "sauerbraten": It's also a love it or hate it thing among Germans. And it's only good when you don't need the knife to cut the meat. Which translates pretty much to "overcooked", I guess ;-)
Oct 7th, 2008, 07:39 AM
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Sorry to hear about your bad Sauerbraten experience.
A properly prepared Sauerbraten should be succulent and melt in your mouth: Like a good, old-fashioned pot roast, but with more flavor from the vinegar marinade, ginger cookies, and other seasonings.
We make it a few times each winter--and if it doesn't have Spaetzle, it's not a decent Sauerbraten to us!
A properly prepared Sauerbraten should be succulent and melt in your mouth: Like a good, old-fashioned pot roast, but with more flavor from the vinegar marinade, ginger cookies, and other seasonings.
We make it a few times each winter--and if it doesn't have Spaetzle, it's not a decent Sauerbraten to us!
Jul 29th, 2009, 09:17 AM
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Hi caroline, I'm re-reading your double Berlin trip reports here! Now I'm tempted to visit Sammlung Hoffmann, though I really don't know how I can fit everything in my very limited time (!) in Berlin.
Quick question about Komische Oper. My understanding is that all operas performed there are sung in German (like ENO that sings everything in English)? Also, I suspect none of the 3 opera houses have individual LCD screens for surtitles, and none offer English surtitles, right?
Quick question about Komische Oper. My understanding is that all operas performed there are sung in German (like ENO that sings everything in English)? Also, I suspect none of the 3 opera houses have individual LCD screens for surtitles, and none offer English surtitles, right?
Jul 29th, 2009, 09:49 AM
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Nornmally in Germany operas are sung in the orginal language. Mind you, the original language is not determined by the composer, but by the language of the libretto. So e.g. a performance of Mozart's opera Le Nozze di Figaro would be performed in Italian rather than German.
That said, as Berlin has more than 1 opera house, the Komische Oper finds its niche by normally playing performances in the German original.
I would argue it hardly makes any difference from a comrehension perspective anyway as even in languages which I speak I hardly understand a single word of what is being sung.
Here is the link to Komische Oper. You can see which performances are given in which language from the schedule.
That said, as Berlin has more than 1 opera house, the Komische Oper finds its niche by normally playing performances in the German original.
I would argue it hardly makes any difference from a comrehension perspective anyway as even in languages which I speak I hardly understand a single word of what is being sung.
Here is the link to Komische Oper. You can see which performances are given in which language from the schedule.
Jul 29th, 2009, 09:55 AM
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hsv, I agree that for us non-German or non-Italian speakers, it hardly matters when it comes to which language the opera is sung in. I'm interested in seeing Rigoletto, and since I'm a bit more familiar with it, I may find odd to "hear" it in German instead of Italian. From the Rigoletto page, it looks like it will be sung in German:
<i>Oper in drei Akten von Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto von Francesco Maria Piave
Deutsche Textfassung von Bettina Bartz und Werner Hintze</i>
<i>Oper in drei Akten von Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto von Francesco Maria Piave
Deutsche Textfassung von Bettina Bartz und Werner Hintze</i>
