Erika

I am a college student leaving July 1 for a year abroad with my first stop being 8 weeks in Berlin. I am on a "starving student" budget and would like to know any tips for living in Berlin for as little as possible. I have some questions, but I know there is something I will forget to ask, so any tips or "must see's" would be great. <BR> <BR>1. What are some good restaurants where I could grab lunch without paying too much? The program I am studying with is located in the historic center of the city within walking distance of Alexanderplatz and Unter den Linden. <BR>2. What kind of weather should I expect for July/August? <BR>3. I will be flying into Paris and taking an overnight train to Berlin. Is is worth it to upgrade to first class? What are my options for second class travel? <BR>4. What is my best option as far as money? Should I get Traveler's checks in $$ or marks? How much can I rely on my ATM/Credit cards? <BR> <BR>Any help at all would be great. THANKS! <BR>Erika

Scott

Hi Erika, <BR> Although I didn't get to Berlin my Family and I just got back from Europe including Munich,Innsbruck,Seefeld,Vienna,Venice,Milano,Pari s,and Frankfurt. <BR> I think your best bet as far as money is your Visa,& ATM cards.As far as food,you can buy pretty good food at any of the open markets.They do however require cash.If I may suggest,take a few DMs with you and some good old US dollars. <BR> I also found Rick Steves "Europe Through The Back Door" quite informative as far as the budget minded traveler goes. <BR> Have A Wonderful Trip.

Tricia

Eurotrip is a website geared for student travelers and rates the top 40 hostels to stay at in europe. Lots of good tips and message boards. <BR>www.eurotrip.com <BR>The staple breakfast in Germany and Holland is cheese, salamis, breads etc., I LOVED it and ate it when I returned to USA. Whenever I get a yen for it I grab a Heiniken, some cheese and salami and go to town. Take some extra in a napkin so you can make it to dinner! LOL!

Christina

I think you should concentrate on the big questions to solve, like how you will handle your banking for a year. I just wouldn't worry about things like places to eat at all, you will be there 8 wks so you'll easily find the cheap places by looking around your neighborhood and talking to the other students when you get there. I haven't ridden a train overnight in Europe, but in general, both French and German trains are good quality and if you have a tight budget, I'm sure second class is fine. You might look into whether there is really any monetary advantage to doing this at all; I would think it might be just as cheap or cheaper to fly from Paris to Berlin than to pay a train fare + addon supplement for sleeper/couchette arrangements. If you have a railpass I guess there might be a reason you could save money by train (but I suspect you don't have one as that would have to be a second class pass for a student fare). As far as fare options, I believe couchettes are second class and private sleeper cars first. Couchettes mean you are sleeping in a room with a bunch of strangers (3-6, I think). If you reserve a private sleeper car in first class, I really think there's no economical advantage to going by train, and it may cost more than flying. One of my favorite websites is www.budgettravel.com, you can find lots of good info and resources there for various European cities. I'm sure you can completely rely on your credit cards to work, ATM card a lot of the time as long as you have a standard network (Cirrus or Plus). If you take a little money in travelers checks, I'd take US dollars, as you might not need them all and then you could use them easily in other places if need be. Another good Website with great info for younger people is Timeout Guides and they have a section for Berlin (www.timeout.com). YOu can get tons of info there online that is very good (entertainment, sightseeing, etc) and locally oriented and up-to-date. As far as weather, go to the weather section of Preview Travel (www.previewtravel.com) and they give historical weather averages/info for major international cities.

tothe

To the top for Jon

Craig

German and French trains are top rate. The worst that could happen is that you'll learn that you aren't the second class type. As far as money, using ATMs is a good plan, but remember that each transaction will cost you a fee. If you withdraw 20$ and spend 5$ in fees to do so it gets quite expensive. Also, credit cards can charge a premium for currency conversion. I would suggest planning your spending well in advance and trying to limit your total amount of transactions. Maybe you could visit the ATM once a week and any large bills (something you can't pay from the petty cash) could go on the credit card. <BR> <BR>This site and travel books are a good start for info, but the best way to learn something is to "do it" and learn on the spot from natives. Take the chance to make new friends and learn from them. <BR>Good luck. <BR>

Hans

July and August are normally the warmest months in Germany. Temperatures can go up to 30C but if it's a rainy summer, something in the low 20's wouldn't be unusual during the day. You should prepare both for hot and for rainy but mild weather. <BR> <BR>As for the money, I would watch the exchange courses of the Euro. In the moment, the Euro is at 0.9 USD, which means that he has lost around 25% within 1 1/2 years. I have no idea how the exchange course will develop in the future but chances are that it will fluctuate quite widely. Since you stay a whole year in Europe, it would make sense if you watched it closely and tried to exchange your dollars at times when the rates are best. <BR> <BR>For cheap lunch in a restaurant, you can look for special lunch offers (called Mittagstisch). They offer a reduced number of dishes during lunch break for reduced prices (typically 10-15 DM). Ethnic restaurants (turkish, italian, greek, yugoslavian and chinese being most common) are often the least expensive. (If you want to save money, don't drink anything with the meal. Soft drinks are expensive in german restaurants.) Or you eat some fast food. You will find turkish take-aways everywhere and they offer a great variety of cheap turkish specialities. I think that the Doener has by now beaten the sausage as most common fast food in Germany. If there's an university mensa close to you, the people in your program will probably tell you. In most cases, the food isn't good but quite cheap. Butcher's shops often offer good valued food and in many bakeries you can get some coffee and danish for acceptable prices. And last but not least, if you eat or drink something close to the most popular tourist sites, you pay extra for doing so. It's often cheaper to eat even a few hundred meters away from them. <BR>