I agree with Willtravel & hsv, "Dussman" is a good bookstore with a cd/dvd department on the second floor and they remain open till midnight. It is very close to the Friederichstr train station. In the Pottsdamerplatz there is "Saturn" on the top floor of the Arkade mall. There is another Saturn in the Kudamm area (West Berlin) as well. Kadewe also has a CD & dvd department. The flea market on the museum island sells a lot of cheap dvd's in German.

I just opened the link that hsv posted and learn that Dussman is actually not open on Sundays. I heard they were open for 24 hours before last christmas (during advent period).

I can't say I've made my final Berlin hotel decision for my next trip, as I've already changed several times, but Mercure Checkpoint Charlie near the Kochstrasse U-Bahn stop had a cancellable rate of 63 Euros per night (with 7 days notice) for my August dates, via booking.com . Given this is a 4* hotel with excellent reviews, I think that's a pretty good price.

Will travel: I think you found a gem. It does look like a very good value with a good location. I've stayed in a Mercure hotel in Dresden and it was a good experience other than the fact that the room was small. Mercure seems to give free interenet use at their business office so that's where my son spent a lot of his time when he couldn't sleep. The Marriott charged us 20 euro a day for the access.

Looks like a good hotel, esp for the price. I am thinking of either the Sofitel Gendarmenmarkt or returning to the Moevenpick.

We paid for a week subscription for internet access; was somewhere around $100, iirc, and luckily it worked at the Dresden Hilton. I'm not sure whether we will have a laptop with us in Sept.

Oops, posting without thinking. We are also considering the Mandala Friederichstrasse; their 7 day rate is quite reasonable. That's the early thinking anyway. We don't have the itinerary firmed up, so no reservations quite yet.

The Mandala deal will go away as it gets closer(happened to us before), so you may want to book it for now through designhotels.com. Are you really staying for a week in Berlin? How nice.

Thanks, DAX, I'll keep that in mind. It looks like we will have 7 or 8 nights in Berlin. My husband says he doesn't want to move around on this trip. We'll be in Germany together for 9 nights total. I think I'm going to add a week or so and visit Krakow on my own.

Noe847, if you are still considering the Mandala, I just happened to notice this American Express offer:
American Express Cardmembers receive an exclusive upgrade to the next suite category and are welcomed with an exquisite fruit dish and fresh flowers.
Simply quote the reference: Amex Destination when making your booking.

Whether this works with other offers, etc. - I of course don't know.

Thank you, WillTravel! We do have American Express, and with a 7 day stay that will probably make it quite reasonable for us. Now I just need to firm up the actual dates...

Another deal for the Mandala which includes a 3 course dinner at the Facil restaurant and breakfast every morning. They only get a small number of packages like these available so if you want it you have to do it quickly. The executive suite is very very nice some are even as big as the grand suites. What I like about staying at the Mandala is having a great stereo system with music piped into the entire apartment accompanied by a creative lighting system, a nicely equiped kitchen plus they shop for your supermarket needs. It's just a great place to come home to.

And here's the website for the deal I mentioned above:
http://www.luxurylink.com/fixedprice....php?id=169596