amyb

I'm roughing out an itinerary for mid-September for Berlin. I would arrive on a Thursday and depart on Saturday, 10 days later. I'm wondering if this is not too much time in one place. I have Dresden on my itinerary and am contemplating spending a night (or two) there rather than just do a day trip.

My itinerary is pretty typical, the art museums and Pergamon (mostly non-modern art, I can spend several hours there), WWII/Nazi sites, a couple of walks with Insight or similar, Charlottenburg and maybe the zoo. I am also looking into a daytrip to Braunschweig because there is a Vermeer there and I will need to see it if relatively nearby. There seems to be little info on that particular excursion though. Are there other daytrips of interest I'm missing?

Initially I'd kicked around the idea of Munich and Berlin, but was overwhelmed by how much I wanted to do in both cities/areas that I decided to pick one.

My second alternative is, since I'm planning to fly Aer Lingus from Boston, to head to Dublin for the last 2 nights on the way home...I've been to Ireland a dozen or so times and have friends in Dublin. My indecisiveness stems from being in one city (Berlin) so long that I'll run out of things to do. It seems silly seeing that now that I"ve written it...

Thoughts?

PalenQ

day trips of interest - Potsdam and its fantastic Sans Souci Palace - the Prussian Versailles in a sprawling park full of other neat edifices - and also how about a punt along canals south of Berlin - at Lubbenau where you sit on a canoe and be propelled by a punter - guy with a stick to push the boat thru a myriad of man-made waterways thru a rural area - very very popular with Germans, many of whom drink the whole way!

zeppole

For me, 10 days in Berlin would be the dream of a lifetime, whereby I could spend every day in one Berlin's fabulous museums of art and history, and understand both east and west at my leisure, and maybe take a trip to Potsdam. I'd go to music concerts several times.

If you are not mesmerized by the thought of spending hours on end inside Berlin's art and architecture, then surely heading off to someplace else after a week is the right idea. For me, Munich would be another treasure trove of museums, but maybe for you, after all the art and history of Germany you saw in Berlin, something completely different like Dublin would be a welcome contrast (and its National Gallery has another Vermeer you could see). And you might like the beer better in Dublin than in Munich.

zeppole

PS: Since you have friends in Dublin and know your way around, do you really need to plan this advance? If you are in Berlin and feel ready to move on, just go to Dublin.

PalenQ

day trips of interest - Potsdam and its fantastic Sans Souci Palace - the Prussian Versailles in a sprawling park full of other neat edifices - and also how about a punt along canals south of Berlin - at Lubben where you sit on a canoe and be propelled by a punter - guy with a stick to push the boat thru a myriad of man-made waterways thru a rural area - very very popular with Germans, many of whom drink the whole way!

amyb

Ah yes, Potsdam too is on my list. Ok, I'm feeling better about staying in Berlin for the entire time, but still open to other suggestions.

Zeppole, I could of course just go to Dublin when it strikes my fancy, but the Type A trip-planner inside me is feeling the need to "nail it down". A horrible character trait! ;-)

gomiki

We loved Dresden. The Green Vault is amazing. It's closed on Tuesday and you should get advance tickets. Two full days there would be perfect. The first time we went it was just a day trip from Berlin and the second time we stayed overnight but didn't have two full days.

The canal tours are interesting and fun on a nice day. Berlin has more canals than Venice!

PalenQ

Sachenhausen Concentration Camp north of Berlin and on a train line is another half-day trip out.

danon

I took an overnight trip to Hamburg.
Really lovely city ...wished I stayed one more night.

lavandula

If you are going to Braunschweig then you must take a trip to Wolfenbuettel (Wolfenbüttel). The town is very pretty, with many 16th and 17th century buildings, there is Schloss Wolfenbuettel (a castle, now a museum and high school), and the impressive Duke August Library with Henry the Lion's Evangeliar (Gospel Book), which cost the library 17 million Euros. The buildings of the library (many, including the Zeughaus and Lessing's House) are also 16th and 17th century, and you can tour them. Wolfenbuettel is a short local train ride from Braunschweig and has more to offer architecturally than its larger neighbour. I have been to the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum though too and its holdings of Baroque art are really good, so don't miss it.

Lavandula

amyb

Thank you again for the suggestions! I am going to book airfare soon, I think 10 days there is fine...still open to suggestions though as I work on an itinerary.

Lavandula, that sounds wonderful. You've already told me more about Brauschweig than I can find in any guide! I will look up Wolfenbuettel. The Vermeer in Burnswick is at the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, so I will be sure to go there.

Pepper_von_snoot

One of the greatest paintings I have ever seen is the Vermeer, "Woman with a Pearl Necklace," at the Gemaldegalerie in Berlin.

Be sure to go up to the glass dome of the Reichstag Building, even if you have to stand in line. It is worth it.

A big secret into getting in without standing in line too long is to go early on a Sunday morning right before the building opens.

Also, check out the Food Halls on the top floor KeDeWe. Amazing! and rivals the Food Halls at Harrods.

If you like Laduree macarons, then be sure to visit the concession in the basement of Galleries Lafayette on the Friedrichstrasse.

I love Berlin.

Tschuss,
Pepper

Aramis

Wolfenbuettel is a cool town. In addition to the interests already mentioned, it is the home of that golden throat charmer - Jagermeister.

Braunschweig also puts you within an hour of the Harz trinity of Wernigerode, Quedlinburg, and Goslar. You could easily spend 3 days there.

If you don't want to road trip that far, then 2 nights in Dresden would work well.

Michael

I highly recommend Peter Fritzsche and Karen Hewitt, <u>Berlinwalks</u>, 1994 which divides Berlin into 5 different walks in different neighborhoods. It is excellent on explaining the nature of the neighborhoods and weaving in the history of modern Germany.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623174831107/

Dresden is definitely worth two nights (with half a day in front and half a day at the end before returning to Berlin).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...30920764/show/

amyb

Thank you for the additional details. This is all very helpful. And your photos, Michael, were tantalizing! I can't wait to go.

I ended up booking 10 days total, 5 nights in Berlin, 2 in Dresden and then 2 more back in Berlin. Very much looking forward to it!

flygirl

Didn't U2 record Achtung Baby in Berlin? Also, wasn't Zoo Station in fact one of the U-Bahn stops?

I saw U2 in the Berlin Olympic Stadium in 1993, and I seem to remember there was a U2 connection related to that album.