Berlin has got to be one of my favourite cities. It's fantastic, I cannot rave about it enough.
I went last October for 5 days/4 nights as part of an A2 History trip. I loved it. We stayed in a cheap, very basic and plain hostel with food so minimal and crap we never ate there, but it added ... Read review
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Advantages: So much character, culture, history, really has an impact on you. Disadvantages: None
Berlin has got to be one of my favourite cities. It's fantastic, I cannot rave about it enough.
I went last October for 5 days/4 nights as part of an A2 History trip. I loved it. We stayed in a cheap, very basic and plain hostel with food so minimal and crap we never ate there, but it added to the experience. Most of our days was spent exploring the city and seeing the sights, and the majority of the nights we were mostly left to our ... ...shot trying to cross the Berlin wall.
There is a wealth of museums...the best is Checkpoint Charlie for eye-opening history about the Cold War including colour photographs of a man being shot for attempting to cross over, really bringing home how recent it all was. The area around this museum is full of high building and narrow roads, making it very intimidating. But I loved it, everything had so much character.
As did Potsdamer Platz ... more
Berlin has got to be one of my favourite cities. It's fantastic, I cannot rave about it enough.
I went last October for 5 days/4 nights as part of an A2 History trip. I loved it. We stayed in a cheap, very basic and plain hostel with food so minimal and crap we never ate there, but it added to the experience. Most of our days was spent exploring the city and seeing the sights, and the majority of the nights we were mostly left to our own devices.
Berlin is very much a city that is still recovering from its War wounds...memories of the World Wars and the Cold War are still very much present, and the city bears the scars of it everywhere. Everywhere is so historical, there is so much culture and it's so fascinating that I want to go back there so much, there is no way I know everything there is to know and seen everything there is to see. Obviously there are elements of their history that the Berliners are very ashamed about, therefore you won't see any remains of Hitler's bunker or anything like that, lest they become a shrine for Neo-Nazis. In the Reichstag, the Third Reich is referred to as a 'sham parliament', that was not held in the Reichstag, but nevertheless, memorials are everywhere - the Brandenburg gate has tombstones near by where people were shot trying to cross the Berlin wall. There is a wealth of museums...the best is Checkpoint Charlie for eye-opening history about the Cold War including colour photographs of a man being shot for attempting to cross over, really bringing home how recent it all was. The area around this museum is full of high building and narrow roads, making it very intimidating. But I loved it, everything had so much character. As did Potsdamer Platz and the Ku'Damm. The city is still rebuilding and everything looks mismatched as they use combinations of all the latest technology. This just adds to its charm. The Underground, or U-Bahn is one of the high points...it takes you everywhere and it's a great experience. Beware! Validate your tickets in the machines at every station...otherwise you'll get a nasty 40 Euro fine...this happened to me, and my teacher had to pay (he could claim it back from college easily), but the plain-clothes inspectors would listen to no reason that I was foreign and had had no idea we had to validate, and as I was in a large group (who'd all managed to validate - me not paying attention again!), it was obvious my ticket had been bought that day. But nope :(
Berlin differs from corner to corner, you can definitely tell the difference between what was Communist East Berlin and what was the more prosperous, democratic West Berlin.
Unter der Linden is a very impressive road and very historic. It can be seen, with the Brandenburg Gate at the top from a big tower (can't remember the name lol). The Ku'Damm is a huge shopping area and is the main nightlife bit as well. I was here of a night and personally struggled to find anywhere but a nice Irish bar where they did mean B52s :D. They're very strict on ID in Germany, laws mean that 16+ can drink beer and wine, 18+ can drink spirits. I was 18 when I went, but some of my mates weren't and we found we generally got IDed whereever we went. :)
We did go to a concentration camp, or more of a labour camp for political opponents etc, called Sachsenhausen. This involved a very long journey on the U-Bahn. Seeing the mass graves and the prisons and sleeping areas...as well as the exact hole in the mud where the gallows were put was disturbing, and it was a very grave, very quiet day. Luckily we didn't have a tour guide, but a map and one of those audio guides that provided a lot of information.
Food was similar to English really, we did eat dodgy pizza on one night, but the same place introduced me to Amaretto, which I didn't mind so much ;). Tasting BratWurst is essential, and these sausages were gorgeous.
Overall, Berlin is a fantastic city, and I definitely would go back there on a regular basis. The city is still wounded and recovering, and the locals tend to be very defensive (in an ashamed way) about their history, but they are very friendly...we had a nice chat with some random Germans who we attempted to ask in German, where the nearest bar was (it was a German and History trip). It was amazing the amount of historical sites, I remember clearly being on a bus having left the Zoologischer Gartens (very nice place) and my teacher pointing out to me an u ncelebrated, small patch of grass where the Jewish book-burning took place. It was a very thoughtful trip and it really had an impact on me.
Advantages: Busy city Disadvantages: Remnants of War depressing
I went to Berlin on a school trip as part of my history course a few years back. I found the city to be full of culture and very interesting. On the other hand, it was the nature of my stay that gave me a negative view of this place. I was, of course, studying World War I and II. I think that it is very brave of them to keep some of the war camps and allow us to see them, which hopefully means that they have put it behind them, although I found a ...
Kezza_B 03.09.2000
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Review of Berlin in general
Advantages: Good range of culture and entertainment Disadvantages:
I visited Berlin in October 1998 on a school trip, when the city was undergoing vast amounts of rebuilding as a result of unification of Germany and the knocking down of the wall. The city and surrounding areas contain a lot of history dating from 19th century palaces to the Nazi period to the modern day, with gaffeti sprayed pieces of the wall. The range of museums and exhibitions was brilliant from the grim Plotzensee Memorial Centre and Topography ... ...Checkpoint Charlie museum.
Besides the cultural aspect of the city, the enterainment aspect is very good. There are a number of good shopping areas such as the huge KaDeWe, and a good range of nightlife from bars, restuarants to clubs, all of which are linked by a very good underground railway system.
The locals are very friendly and generaly know small amounts of English, but anyone with a small amount of German will be able to communicate very ...
Kev1507 02.09.2000
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Review of Berlin in general
Advantages: Cosmopolitan, lots to see, english speaking relatively common Disadvantages: Large, a bit stoic sometimes
Berlin is a great city to visit. Though much will have changed since I was there, there'll still be the same major sights - Brandenburg gate, the huge park that is on the road to the gate, bullet holes pock marking bridges near the main government buildings. I'm sure that Checkpoint Chrlie will still be represented in some form or other.
Shopping was reasonable and resided in a friends house. The clubs there were fantastic, if you're into that sort ...
boilot 10.08.2000
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Review of Berlin in general
Advantages: Cheap, Quiet, Lots to See Disadvantages: Shops not open on Sunday
Last weekend we went to Berlin for a wedding. Got a good deal with www.expedia.co.uk: £700 for 2 from Aberdeen with 2 nights in the Kempinski, one of the best hotels in town. At the airport we bought the Berlin DK Eyewitness Travel Guide which served us well. Flights were with BA and were all on time. Biggest surprise was to see Richard Branson on the first seat in the plane (business class). He was already seated when we boarded and ahead of us ... ...take his own plane to Berlin , etc. Branson took it all with a big smile but I was surprised that he did not wait until the last moment to board the plane! We arrived in Tegel, which is a small airport and not really set up for a packed plane arriving from the UK. Immigration took ages and the whole place was tiny (and hot). The advantage of Tegel is that it is not far from the Center, that it had tons of taxis and that the taxi only cost less than ...
gritmuncher 19.06.2003 (20.06.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Berlin in general
If you are ever in Berlin, or in any part of Germany for that matter, and are hankering for a bite to eat - get yourself to an Imbiss! These vans, not dissimilar to burger vans in England, serve a variety of delicious and cheap snacks which can satisfy even the most voracious appetite.
There are usually quite a good selection of German wursten (sausages) - bratwurst, bockwurst, currywurst. All quite delicious and very unlike your British banger. ... ...are very similar to large swedish meatballs but they have a spherical shape and, of course, are flavoured differently. These can all be complemented by a good squirt of ketchup or mustard. Of course, there must be chips and as you're eating out continental style, a squirt of mayonaise will make you feel like you are a local. A great alternative to the burger joints. ...
penguin_too 02.08.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Berlin in general
Value for Money
Sightseeing
Shopping
Nightlife
Ease of getting around
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Advantages: friendly people, great nightlife, great history/attractions, great transport system Disadvantages: some may find Kreuzberg intimidating, Kottbusser crime rate is a deterrent
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Berlin (Germany)
Advantages: unique in the world Disadvantages: none
is no other sight in any other capital of the world which is so laden with history. The Brandenburg Gate wasn't only a symbol of the divided Germany, it was also a symbol of the division of the world into an Eastern and a Western bloc. Three American Presidents have visited it, President Kennedy came in 1963 and said the now world famous sentence, "Ich bin ein Berliner." (I am a Berliner) In 1987 President Reagan addressed the Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, "Come here to this gate! Mr Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" President Clinton visited when the gate had been opened at last, he came in 1994 and spoke about peace in post-Cold War Europe. I think from all this it's understandable that the symbolic Brandenburg Gate is huge and dwarfs the real life one.
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Advantages: Great bargains to be found! Disadvantages: None really!
Kaufhof is a German chain of department stores that is very similar to the other big German chain Kardstadt (see my other review of this store).
There are several Kaufhof throughout Germany and quite a few stores inBerlin.
When are they open?
Kaufhof stores generally open between 9am and 8pm Monday to Saturday and are closed on Sundays. (Almost all German shops are closed on Sundays and the only place you will find shops that are open in Germany is at train stations or airports!)
What does it sell?
Like most big department stores Kaufhof sells just about everything including the following departments:
Menswear Most shops have a young and older menswear department. They stock a good range of medium priced suits, although not the more expensively cut items). They also stock a good range of casual wear with makes such as ...
nickjj78 26.12.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Kaufhof
