BERLIN

This question very simply has to be answered actually: I like town journeys. After I had looked around in London, Copenhagen and Hamburg lately, I thought the capital of Germany must come to the row actually sooner or later once, too. My assumption that the journey would exceed my short-term budget stopped me from it for some time.

I am how just mentioned followed with the train to Berlin. This can get quite expensive depending on distance of the journey and start station but perhaps more of you are still lucky in any special discount action to be able get hold of a more reasonable price or you go anyway with pleasure often by train or want to use a journey to Berlin just simply for a rail journey once. At the prices of petrol meanwhile slow a real alternative, depending on length of the Anreisestrecke and the number of persons flat.

Of course one comes also by car to Berlin. One arrives from the west about the A2 from the south about the A9 or the A13 from the east about the A12 and from the north about the A11 or the A24. I would find the centre of Berlin not suited fine itself with the car there for strange drivers rakes confusing once but this is probably so in most cities now. Car parks are sowed rarely and traffic wardens are eagerly away to distribute tickets I have at least seen quite a lot of this. At long last, it would be well more practically, not to come the car unless there is a car park hotel of his own where one can let the car for the duration of the stay in Berlin.

And of course it works also by aeroplane to Berlin: I know three airports although have, I have dark in memory that one shall be or already was closed by it belonged. Unfortunately, I do not know Tegel is, however, the airports which I know as 8 km from the centre the current state is there and which of three it was Tempelhof does not stretch () away rather centrally so and Berlin-embellishing country stretches 22 km away: (approx. . away), (approx. .). Of all airports there is underground suburban train connections to the centre //und/oder//.

Of course one must live also someplace in Berlin. And also there are various possibilities of luxury accommodation up to the camping site and the co-living head office. Of course it admits information about it Internet in travel agencies and massive in this so everybody surely finds there a little matching the taste of one's own and purses!

There then are pensions and hotels for the small and the big purse but as said, one finds an overview there on the Internet and can be just advised in the travel agency, too. This is taste and money thing and nobody I therefore would like pure talks there. There is choice definitely enough!

I have personally decided in favour of a favourable hotel which was located in the centre rather in the centre. It belongs to a great hotel chain, which is noted for its reasonable prices, was I nevertheless surprised positively when I heard as much would cost me the overnight stay in the middle of the centre. I can do well without luxury at two overnight stays, since I will be in the hotel anyway only for sleeping as long as it is clean and breakfast available, I am happy;)

Meal surely also will find each there there is actually everything after all! In Berlin one can find restaurants from all sirs' Länder, is there surely what for everybody. I always find it at it quite nicely not to inform me before but simply to go in and to eat when I am hungry and I like a restaurant. There therefore are no recommendations of me, starve nobody surely will and one should at least have tried the Berlin cooking actually! District, such as the Nikolaiviertel, is but also these found into the noted one for restaurants at every corner

And I also therefore come (already ???) to the last point in this category: The prices. I had suspected that Berlin as great and capital of Germany would be expensive. In any case more expensive than Hamburg where I recently was, too. It amazingly was not that way at all, however. Berlin was astonishingly favourable. The prices for meals, public transport, entrances etc. I am absolutely all right and can't complain as a thrifty tourist on a town journey there, justified, !

The area was settles that one of today's Berlin already at 8000 B.C. This pulled itself through the further millennia and the most different tribes, Albrecht till 1134-1170 the bear became the first margrave of Brandenburg. Already Spandau for the first time mentioned documentarily became 1197, to that further today's districts of Berlin follow. So the town is not young actually; any more)

1640 start the advancement of surging castle Prussia with the rule of the great Elector Friedrich Wilhelm. 1000 limewoods and 1000 walnut trees on an avenue of the Berliner locked to the zoo planted and 1647 already is today the street is called under the limewoods and is still lined of of the same name. 1658 become improved Berlin to the fortress.

After some further wars in the 19th century it goes up again: Werner von Siemens imports the first electrical railway of the world in front of, into a trade exhibition 1879 the first telephone business starts 1881 with 45 participants in Berlin. In this is year drives the first electrical tramway of the world in light country. 1894 become, the German Reichstag opened Berlin has impressive 1.9 m. in 1900 . inhabitant.

After the first radio and television exhibition 1924 the world economic crisis follows with 600,000 unemployed in Berlin five years later. And Hitler seizes the power on January 30th, 1933. It the German Reichstag fire, the boycott of Jewish business and a burning of books follow open opera Square-and this all already in the time period by the end of May . to guest pictures which everybody probably knows 1936 is the Olympic summer Games in Berlin.

After many protests on the two sides the wall is opened again only on November 9th, 1989, the DDR is dissolved and Berlin becomes capital of Germany again on October 3rd. The allied defense forces leave Berlin but only in June 1994. Then stretch the Federal Government and the parliament from Bonn to Berlin in 1999.

4. How does one get to the sights?

Of course who would not like to use the public transport the car of one's own also can do (as already mentions badly with car parks), a taxi or a hire car use, borrow a bicycle or also simply walk. If the weather is good and one would like to have a look at certain sights in the city area also the latter is worthwhile because much lies thick together and one still can "at the same time" discover something beautiful away, too.

Since I already strolled anyway on the traces of the wall now it went on to the famous checkpoint Charlie, the perfect of tourists (I yes know) also me you overran. During the cold war it got a checkpoint at the boundary between the areas of the USA and UdSSR. The transition was guarded strictly from 1961 to 1989 and only foreigner, Diplomanten and armed forces of the victorious powers was allowed to cross it. The checkpoint was dismantled on June 22nd, 1990. Today, one still can the wall museum house at the checkpoint Charlie have a look at wall remains, a watch-tower and a last warning sign in addition, however.

Parisian Square which is 120 x 120 m in size then lies at the end of the street. Among other things the Brandenburg Gate is on it. During the dividing Berlin went a fallow area was the wall, Parisian Square directly at the Brandenburg Gate. After the union the place turned into a construction site, one finds the hotel Adlon, different banks, new buildings of the American, British and French embassies and the academy of the arts there next to the Brandenburg Gate today.

When I then had let the Brandenburg Gate behind myself, I came directly into the government sector with all sorts of modern buildings. Among other things the Federal Chancellery, the Paul-Löbe house (representative offices, 21 conference halls and the Europasaal) and the Marie-Elisabeth Lüders house (parliament library). The two last-named ones are connected to each other by a two-storey bridge over the Spree. One finds further the Chancellor garden, the Chancellor park, the house of the cultures of the world and of course the German Reichstag the in the quarter.

Of course the German Reichstag is also particularly remarkable. Paul Wallot planned the construction of the extended German Reichstag of the German empire 1884 - 94 as a 137 m long and 97 m wide building. Within the further years the building was wrecked and restored, completed, rebuilt, again and again. The celebration took place for the reunification here on October 3rd, 1990, the German Reichstag was veiled completely by Christ and Jeanne-Claude in summer 1995. The German Reichstag 1996 - 99 as a headquarters of the German Bundestag was put on a glass dome again and according to plans of the British architect Sir Norman Forster. One can go to these free of charge, must expect a waiting time in front of the entrance, though. It has lasted with me on a weekday approx. 30 minutes until I was driven up in the lift and could climb up about a spiralförmige ramp to the observation platform in 50 m of height. The building can be visited daily from 8:00 to 24:00 hours, is the last admission at 22:00 hours.

The cathedral, the palace of the republic and the museum island followed now. The Berlin cathedral is based on the Petersdom with its 74.8 m high dome in Rome. The building is adorned very richly with ornaments at the exterior façade, was devastated also in the war, though and restored like the outside inside for years. One finds numerous sarcophagi of the Hohenzollern, and others these in the cathedral of King Friedrich I., the great Elector, and Kaiser Friedrich III.

The museum island is world cultural heritage of UNESCO. Some buildings of the museum island still are restored comprehensively after war and dividing and it still will last for some time so until all works of art which were scattered in the whole town have returned to their original location. But then the collection can compete with those of the Parisian Louvre, the Uffizien in Florence or the hermitage in St. Petersburg. The old and the new museum, the old national gallery, the Pergamon museum and the Bodemuseum are located in the museum island. For the purpose of lack of time I have gone to none of these museums (some also are restored as said, to others there were long queues because of special exhibitions and I had Berlin only another day in front of me).

The Berlin city hall (red city hall) houses the senate chambers and the office of the mayor. The municipal authorities sat of Berlin east here at DDR times. the building was built to 1861 - 69 in a field of 99 x 88 m. A 74 m high tower which shall remind of big Ben in London (I would not have come onto it but my guidebook has claimed it) is included.

My next contact point was the Alexanderplatz with the television tower. The gigantic and primarily famous place may well have been beautiful once but has been left of a former gleam no longer much. "Alex" is still a traffic junction, from this one achieve everything in Berlin with a public transport practically effortlessly can, he is not beautiful, though. Skyscrapers stand from DDR times to all sides of the dreary, grey place after had become an expanse of rubble from the place in the second World War. The only sight which I could discover was the world clock made of steel, aluminium and e-mail from the year 1969.

Therefore fast further to my last station of the day: the Europe centre. Unfortunately, ,, had closed the much business by now anyway which it houses so, too, it still entered a quantity of restaurants and bars there. One finds the globe fountain "water meatball" and inside Irish Pub in which I have spent my evening, attracted by the promised daily live music and by the good band present, on the place in front of that.

This is a 35 hectares area on which 14,249 animals live types from more than 1,500. One is the greatest of the world, remarkable the birdhouse a copy of the original destroyed in the war from 1899 is out no time for this at my visit and the elephant gate was unfortunately the aquarium at the entrance Budapest street. As so many, in Berlin the zoo was also destroyed in the second World War 1943 within 15 minutes, animals survived all of 91 of 10,000. One can stroll beautifully in the zoo in good weather today and even if I have already seen more beautiful zoos, one can see a whole quantity there.