Ingo

What a sort of title is that - Cultural city of the year in 2006? I live in Dresden and have not heard of it. In fact Dresden celebrates the 800th anniversary in 2006. It is city of science in Germany this year (with Bremen I think).

I don't think prices will increase dramatically next year. But you will rarely find accommodation on German holidays (Easter, Ascension Day, Whit Sunday, Oct 3) and at the time (and probably the next weeks) when the Historical Green Vault reopens (8 Sept 2006).

Sorry Pal for hijacking your Berlin thread. Keep your thoughts coming. I personally am not so fond of Berlin, but like to read other's opinions.

PalQ

Ingo: I enjoy your comments on Dresden and Berlin. The Cultural Capital is anointed by the European Union and there is at least one city each year - don't know about Dresden but would certainly be a great candidate, with all its tremendous cultural history.

WillTravel

I really enjoyed Berlin. At the same time, the very heavy weight of history is somewhat depressing.

Re the Soviet Army, their military triumph is somewhat tarnished by their rape of Berlin's women (not to mention the Soviet oppression of central and eastern Europe for decades) :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1939174.stm

I've recommended these walking tours before, particularly Brewer's all-day tour, although it is exhausting:
www.brewersberlintours.com
(I also took the Potsdam tour, which was excellent.)

Ingo

PalQ: The Culture Capital anointed by the EU will be a German city in 2010: the decision is to make between Görlitz and Essen. You can imagine I cross my fingers for Görlitz (it is only an hour away from Dresden), which I think is the most underrated (small) city of Germany.

PalQ

Ingo: can you update me on the status of the Dresden Hbf - main train station. When i was there last Sep it was nearly all torn up - dusty as it was under complete rehab. On my train from Berlin we had to get off at Neustadt and take a shuttle train to the Hbf - is this still the case - any light on the progress of Hbf renovations and reopening to more trains would be appreciated.

Ingo

PalQ: the Dresden Hbf is still undergoing reconstruction. However, the trains are running to/from and through this station. No need to get off elsewhere and taking shuttles. It was in fact very bad luck that you had to do this - it was only for a weekend (or max. a week) last year.

In spite of the construction works I can say that you can navigate relatively easily around the Dresden Hbf railway station. It is planned to reopen the main hall next year (hopefully in spring) with new information centre and ticket desks, shops, restaurants. The construction works of the railroads in the southern hall won't be finished by 2007, though.

Ingo

PalQ

thanx Ingo - i regularly advise folks on train stuff and recently i said you may have to change trains in Neustadt (as i did) - now i know that's not the case. As for Leipzig, my understanding that its Hauptbahnhof is the largest train station in Europe??

caroline_edinburgh

Thanks for so much more great info, Palenque. As you may remember I very much enjoyed my first trip to Berlin, for 5 days back in April and can't wait to go back. (Would actually now rather revisit Berlin than Paris.) There is so much going on, especially on the contemporary art scene - it seems to have become fashionable for young artists from all over Europe to move there. My personal highlights were the Sammlung Hoffmann, new architecture such as the ? bank by Frank Gehry, the three opera houses - and the food !

Intrepid1

PalQ: depending on how one defines Europe, one of, if not the largest rail stations is actually Ladozhsky Vokzal in St. Petersburg which is 3000 sq. meters.

Ingo

No, Leipzig's Hauptbahnhof is not the largest train station in Europe anymore. They lost this title to Frankfurt/Main when the Hbf was reconstructed and they removed two platforms.

PalQ

ETAP HOTEL
If looking for a cheap, clean, modern hotel try the Accor International's ETAP hotel in Marzahn - though it's on the outskirts of Berlin, it's right by the Marzahn S-Bahn station and a short ride by S-Bahn trains into Berlin. I paid about 30 euros for a single - with nice shower, WC, cable TV, AC, etc. Marzahn itself is a typical East Berlin suburbs - lots of high-rise flats. If you have a railpass it will be valid on the trains to Marzahn.

PalQ

A DAY OUT ON THE WANNSEE
A popular outing for Berliners is to take a boat cruise on the Wannsee, on the western edge of Berlin towards Potsdam. Especially popular on weekends, boats run frequently on this large lake that once divided West Berlin from East Germany. Some boats are Ersatz paddle-wheel steamers - some have bands and bars aboard - in general a festive atmosphere. To reach the boats take the S-Bahn to the Wannsee station and the docks are right below it. I believe boat travel can be added onto the day or longer transit passes good for travel all over Berlin - maybe cheaper selecting the + boat option on ticket machines than paying for each separately. Anyway, a real Berliner type thing to do. Some boats stop at Pfaueninsel (Peacock Island), a weird place known for its 'follies' - whimsical fanciful looking edifices and extensive gardens.

PalQ

ALEXANDERPLATZ
In the heart of East Berlin is Alexanderplatz, or the 'Alex' for short. Though Alexanderplatz was once a typical, though huge European town square, under the DDR it became a showcase of utilitarian 'Socialist Realism' architecture. The square was at the heart of pre-WWII Berlin - on its extension sits the Rotes Rathaus (Red City Hall, not for the commie association but because it's made out of red bricks or stones). After the WWII Blitzkreig reduced it and its once stately old buildings to rubble the DDR rebuilt the square as a huge concrete plaza - with nearly no greenery, just concrete. It remained a gathering place but was sterile - nearly no cafes or eating places - lifeless. All that changed after the Wall fell - immediately planter boxes were put in to cover part of the cold concrete and gardens were created - food and beer wagons popped up as did outdoor cafes. Thanks to a S-Bahn station above the square it became more of a gathering place - often, however attracting seedy types. Everytime i've been there they have been playing the 3 cups game where someone will have a ball or a dice and then you guess what cup it's under. With a sleight of hand he shows you which cup the ball is under - you're sure and then you wager and viola it's under another cup. Touts in cahoots with the dealer often win big money by guessing the right cup -setting up the ducks - often immigrant worker types. The game is illegal and there is always an eye out for the cops, who, however rarely seem to interfere.
Also on the Alex is the soaring TV tower Fernsehturm from the top of which you get a bird's eye view of Berlin - open until late at night. This sleek TV tower was the very epitome of the DDR's desire to show the world how modern it was - it could and can be seen for miles around, including from West Berlin and was considered a showcase of eastern technology.
The Alex - an unusual town square. (S-Bahn Alexanderplatz).

caroline_edinburgh

More interesting stuff, Palenque, thanks.

We intended to visit Alexanderplatz & go up the TV tower for lunch or a drink, but never managed it. We did actually arrive at 'Alexanderplatz' twice, once by bus & once by U-bahn, but it seemed quite confusing - we still seemed to be surrounded by buildings & the TV tower still seemed a long walk away - so as we didn't have much time we left it. Has the original huge square had buildings erected on it or what ? We were confused.

We had also been interested to see it after watching (OK, dozing through) a very peculiar film a few months ago, which I think was partly set there. It consisted of long shots of various statues, interspersed - I think - with old footage of people making the statues ?

PalQ

Caroline - thanks. No i don't think any new buildings have been built on the square - some new buildings that perhaps appear to have been built are in fact fine examples of DDR 'Socialist Realism' architecture (or whatever they call this blah sleek style) - one right new the S-Bahn stop was the Konsum (not sure i have name right) department store - about the only one in East Berlin - i think it's not a Kaufhaus or something. The flats along the east and south side of the square are also classic DDR architecture - modern blah style but since the Wall fell they have been brightened up considerably.

PalQ

DAY TRIP TO POLAND:
Berlin is fairly close to Poland - just about 45 miles. I looked at the map and decided to day trip to Kostrzyn, a town just across the Polish border - i knew little about it and didn't expect much, having traveled extensively in Poland before - most towns are not all that nice - lots of industry detritus and cities still showing cracks from decades of comunist neglect. Kostryn fulfilled my expectations - not much here. The station looked dumpy - i walked around an hour or so, went to the Lidl supermarket, joining a lot of Germans in line buying cheaper food, booze and tobacco - and headed back. Customs going in was a breeze but my passport and everyone else's was checked - Poland still not in Schengen Accord i guess though part of the EU. Train took 80 mins to cover the about 50 miles. Next time i'd look for a better city to day trip to but at least this was Poland and very different from Germany.

PalQ

DAY TRIPS FROM BERLIN
WEIRD BOAT TRIPS: LUBENAU
There aren't too many great day trips within a short hop of Berlin, but there's a few doozies:
Dresden, though about 2 hours each way by train, is a great one. Potsdam is the de rigeuer day trip - the German Versailles is only about 15 miles away with great S-Bahn service. A fun day trip goes to Lubenau to take the rather bizarre 'punt' style boat trip through a lacework network of canals and streams. These boats are very popular with Germans - especially on weekends. You see that when you approach the boat docks and see the gaggle of souvenir stands. The rickety-looking wooden flat bottom boats hold about 20 people and the 'driver' propels them along with a punt, like in Cambridge. The tour goes thru a swampy area of holiday cottages and a few surviving farms. They stop for about an hour at an open-air museum of olden days lifestyles. And they also make crucial stops at canal-side pubs where the Germans on my boat refueled their beer and schnapps supply for the rest of the trip. Folks were having fun it seemed and this was one of the weirdest boat rides and funnest i've ever been on. (Train to Lubenau, then short walk to docks.)

caroline_edinburgh

This is fantastic stuff, Palenque, so thanks very much for all your hard work. When you finally run out of ideas I shall be printing it all off to save for my next trip. We enjoyed our first trip so much we thought we'd like to return each year - even before you told us about all these extra exciting things to do. And since the Sammlung Hoffmann has a complete re-hang each year, that is a good excuse too !

PalQ

Thanks Caroline!
THE REICHSTAG
A new attraction that is fast becoming one of Berlin's most popular things to do is to climb up to the new futuristic glass roof of the old Reichstag. Though the Reichstag itself, a massive Neo-Classical pile of stones opened in 1894 when Germany had recently become united and was flexing its muscles, was mysteriously burned in 1933 and was devastated during the final assault on Berlin in 1945. It remained a forlorn derelict structure for decades and stood right in front of the Berlin Wall. Rehabbed to become the German Parliament once again after German reunification in 1990, the building now serves its original function. The futuristic highly acclaimed architecturally new glass dome has been a smash hit - there is a neat view of Berlin from the top. The whole area around the Reichstag is a swirl of new construction - to the north are vast new federal government ministry buildings bordering the Spree River and just across the river is the gleaming mainly glass new Berlin Central train station. To the south is the Brandenburg Gate, the symbol of Berlin - the wall actually once encircled it and next to it is the somewhat controversial new Holocaust Memorial - a series of stone slabs that lies just behind the construction site of the new American Embassy. A sandy no-man's zone once ran from the gate to Potsdammer Platz - this was where the wall ran and this area is slowly being filled in with new structures. Hitler's Bunker lies somewhere under the empty field - controversy as to its future rages - destroy it to prevent it being a rallying point for Neo-Nazis or preserve it as an historical artifact. Surely would become a top tourist sight, for the good or bad.
Anyway - don't miss a climb to the new glass top of the Reichstag!

PalQ

THE NEW AMERICAN EMBASSY
Speaking of the Reichstag area and Brandenburg Gate - the new American Embassy is being built on a prime piece of real estate right by the gate - the site of the old embassy destroyed in WWII i believe and then the embassy went to Bonn until German Reunification moved the capital back to Berlin.
Anyway, the site is rather compact and the way embassies are built now - with a big eye on terrorism, Americans i believe wanted to impinge on a bit of the land the new Holocaust Memorial occupies - i think wanting to set the actual embassy back a bit from the street front for security reasons. Anway the final design will no doubt reflect post 9-11 times - like other American embassies in Europe no doubt the building will be encircled by massive defense fortifications!