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KaDeWe is the frequently used shortened name for the Kaufhaus Des Westens and is situated, hardly surprisingly in the west of Berlin. This place is huge and their motto, albeit unofficial, is “if we don’t sell it, it probably doesn’t exist”. Other department stores ... Read review
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KaDeWe is the frequently used shortened name for the Kaufhaus Des Westens and is situated, hardly surprisingly in the west of Berlin. This place is huge and their motto, albeit unofficial, is “if we don’t sell it, it probably doesn’t exist”. Other department stores do exist in Berlin, for example the French import Galleries Lafayette, but none are as large or impressive as KaDeWe. In fact, ... ...only by Harrods. It was built at the turn of the last century but has had to be extended several times since then to house their ever increasing stock.
The + s
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They sell everything you would expect from such a large store – the latest fashions, brand spanking new electrical devices, new CD, video and DVD releases and enough toys to satisfy even the most bratty child. They have the largest ... more
Earlier on this year I was pretty exhausted. Studying Monday to Friday, working about 20 hours a week, doing voluntary work in the evenings and maintaining a typical student social life was catching up with me. I wanted a break. At the same time, I knew I had exams after Easter and needed to do some revision. It was for these reasons that one Thursday just before Easter saw us boarding a nice little British Airways plane at Manchester and setting off for a short break in Berlin – where I could recover, improve my German in preparation for my forthcoming exams and, most importantly, shop.
KaDeWe is the frequently used shortened name for the Kaufhaus Des Westens and is situated, hardly surprisingly in the west of Berlin. This place is huge and their motto, albeit unofficial, is “if we don’t sell it, it probably doesn’t exist”. Other department stores do exist in Berlin, for example the French import Galleries Lafayette, but none are as large or impressive as KaDeWe. In fact, KaDeWe is the second largest shop in Europe, being beaten only by Harrods. It was built at the turn of the last century but has had to be extended several times since then to house their ever increasing stock.
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They sell everything you would expect from such a large store – the latest fashions, brand spanking new electrical devices, new CD, video and DVD releases and enough toys to satisfy even the most bratty child. They have the largest food hall in this part of the world, with among other things, 100 varieties of tea, 2400 different wines and live fish and seafood in a “chose it and we’ll kill it for you while you wait” sort of way. Just like at Vienna’s Naschmarkt really, but a bit higher class. There are several restaurants and cafes within the store, with a rooftop winter garden to top it off.
As well as standard goods, they also sell souvenirs, foreign imports (notably Top Shop clothes) and typically German things. For example, they have a huge stationary department. That’s right, half a floor dedicated to paper and nothing else.
Depending on the season they have suitable temporary displays and stands – when we were there the 3rd floor had been transformed in preparation of Easter, with hundreds of ornate eggs for Easter trees (I bought 10 or so) and chocolate creations (I think I bought 3 but they seemed to disappear so quickly it was hard to tell).
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At times the store itself can be a bit overwhelming, and it can be hard to find what you’re after, especially if you’re in a bit of a rush. Being spread over 7 or 8 floors means you spend a lot of time traipsing up escalators or waiting for the lift (which never, ever, arrived when I was there).
Of all the departments I visited I was least impressed with the books. I love books (read the reading op) but it was such a badly organised place that I couldn’t find anything apart from Harry Potter (incidentally in English) – not quite the German novel I was after.
The staff were ok but nothing wonderful. Maybe I’m just picky, but since I started working in customer services I’ve become more and more dissatisfied with the service I get. There were plenty of staff and plenty of tills but half these didn’t seem to be open as the sales assistants were all working in pairs – one ringing through the purchase and the other wrapping it.
Most employees seemed only to speak German to my delight – there’s something hilarious about watching Americans in such situations – although I imagine in the tax refund part they might have spoken other languages. Being an EU citizen and therefore not eligable for it however, I didn’t venture in.
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Nearest U-bahn is Wittenbergplatz (lines U1 and U2). For more information and detailed directions, have a look at the official website – www.kadewe.de - and click on the English link at the bottom of the page, or head for www.kadewe.com and go straight to the English pages, bypassing the stupid time consuming animation thingy as you go. On the site you can take a virtual tour of the store, look up opening times and check out the events that’ll be on when you’re there – they regularly host fashion shows, book readings and signings etc.
Worth a visit, and I will go back next time I’m in Berlin, but I’d avoid weekends if you can help it. And if you’re looking for a laugh, find some mono-lingual Americans and follow them around. Works every time :-)
Advantages: Everything you need in one place Disadvantages: Try not to get lost!
KaDeWe (full name of Kaufhof des Westens but called KaDeWe by everyone!) is Germany's equivalent of the UK store Harrods, except that it is even bigger than Harrods and offers seven floors of shopping, shopping and yes more shopping… The store celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2007 and you can expect some wonderful things to be happening during the time with lots of party celebrations being planned even as we speak…
What does it sell?
KaDeWe ... ...Where is it?
KaDeWe is located on the Tauentziehn Strasse in Berlin-Schoneberg and if travelling by U (Unter) Bahn then get off at Wittenbergplatz. Sie using lines U1, U2 und U3. By bus lines 343, M19, M29 und M46 all stop outside the store and any taxi driver will get you here!
Nearby you will also find lots of smaller stores that are great to browse and potter around and the area also offers a wide range of exciting cafes and restaurants to tempt ...
nickjj78 15.11.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of KaDeWe
Advantages: They sell everything Disadvantages: Quite expensive
I have just come back from Berlin and shopping in the Ka De We was definitely amongst the highlights. I lived in Berlin as a child some 30 years ago and i know we visited Ka De We many time but i suppose i never took it all in as a child - it was just a big shop (boy is it a BIG shop!) It is right in the centre of the city along the famous Kurfustendamm. It has 7 floors and you need all day to get round the place. If you like shopping you will love ... ...all colours and all sizes - or so its seems! The ground floor is perfumes, hosiery, cosmetics, jewellery and the like, 1st & 2nd floors are mainly clothes. You can find just about every designer label going. I will admit some things are expensive to the extreme - i saw a bra that cost over £80 (even i don't need that much assistance with my figure!!) 3rd floor has toys, books, stationery and gifts. There were some great model cars, trains, motorbikes ...
cazz218 03.09.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of KaDeWe
Advantages: You can get everything Disadvantages: expensive
The "KaDeWe" was build after the war in West-Berlin to show off the wealth. To emphasise the point it was called Kaufhaus Des Westens (Shopping centre of the west). After the wall came down it was accessible to everybody but not everybody could afford it. Nowadays it is Berlins prestige object. It is situated in the centre of Berlin along the famous shopping mile, the Ku' damm (Kurfürstendamm).
On the sixth floor you wont trust your eyes. There ... ...food, you will ever have seen. It seems as if the entire world is for sale. The other five floors appear to be not much different. They are packed with the best goods available, reaching from designers such as Armani and Prada to gadgets made by Sony.
Overall it is a fabulous place, were you can purchase nearly everything for a little higher price.
It is definitely worth a visit. ...
master2001engel 07.02.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of KaDeWe
Advantages: in op Disadvantages: the Japanese!!!!!
with the masterpieces they display. Question – they were charging 7.50 GBP for a handfull of pencils – how do they get away with it? But they did have a special offer on their postcards – but 20 and you can have 5 free. Sorry, but spending 10 GBP on postcards is not for me – I made do with my 4 at a total cost of 2 quid. Not quite the wonder that is Berlin’s KaDeWe, but not far off.....
Getting there & Admissions
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Lovely and central, walkable from Mariahilfe and Kärnterstrassen and adjacent to the Hofburg palace and Museums Quatier, it is accessible from underground lines U2 and U3 (stops Museumsquatier or Volkstheatre) and from busses 2A and 57 A.
Prices range from 80 Ös (roughly 4 GBP) for students to 120 Ös for adults. Guided tours cost 30 Ös and run in German and English. The museum is ...
Advantages: Great hotel and well located Disadvantages: None really
) and very attentive service and a good selection of wines and other drinks. The bar areas is bright and cheerful and offers the usual selection of drinks at reasonable prices; a glass of wine and beer cost around 10Euros/£6.
The food offered in the bar is also very good quality and reasonable; we had club sandwiches for around 7.50 Euros each / £5.50 and didn't need to eat again for hours! Breakfast wasn't included in our room rate and we ate locally as there are lots of coffee shops dotted around and some great value breakfast can be found in the department store such as KaDeWe.
There is a small coffee shop directly across from the hotel which serves excellent breakfast pastries at reasonable prices.
I would highly recommend the whole staff throughout this hotel, who were all pleasant, knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly ...
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After visiting the zoo we headed to Kaufhaus des Westen (often abbreviated to KaDeWe) which is the largest department store in all of continental Europe. I had read about it before we went to Berlin and being a bit of a shopaholic it was a must see! The store has 7 floors (!), and I took (dragged is probably a more appropriate word!) my parents around them all! When I first went in I spotted some pink tights and having been looking for some for over a year in England I was very happy! KaDeWe was in my good books straight away! Being our penultimate day in Berlin I spent most of my remaining money. The store sells absolutely everything I could think of! We bought lots of presents from here. Some of which were delicious chocolates. (I bought some for me too!) Before we left we went to the café on the top floor. It was very bright and airy ...
