Advantages: Germany's capital and most interesting city Disadvantages: a bit too large, distances too long
Berlin*, Berlin,
Wir fahren nach Berlin!
(Berlin, Berlin,
We're heading for Berlin!)
(pronounced Ber-leen, stress on the second syllable)
This slogan has been chanted enthusiastically for ages whenever a German sports team made it to the capital for the last round, meanwhile it has left the confines of sports and is now even used by the Berlin Tourist Board for a campaign to attract visitors.
I've been to four Berlins in my life: when in my mother's womb I was in Berlin, then the capital of the Third Reich, from the GDR (German Democratic Republic), where we later lived, I visited Berlin once in the 1950s, a much smaller city then (only the Soviet sector), but still a capital, the capital of the GDR.
After fleeing to West Germany I visited West Berlin, not a capital any more, but no ordinary city, either, it had become ...
It is one of my life's ambitions to visit all the capital cities of Europe so I was thrilled when my parents said we could go to Berlin. Berlin is the Capital City of Germany and is located in the north-eastern part of the country.
We stayed in Berlin for four nights. That may not sound like a long time but we managed to cram an awful lot of exploring into our time there! I will go through which attractions we visited each day to give you an idea of how long it takes to see the main sights.
~ Day 1 ~
The majority of day one was travelling to Berlin. We flew with easyjet from Newcastle airport. It was late afternoon when we arrived at Schonefeld airport. It took us about an hour to get from the airport to our hotel (Marriott) which was in Berlin City's centre. After unpacking we went for a walk in the immediate area of our hotel ...
"The Positives"
#1. The price: even if you book just before your trip, rooms are generally good value. Remember to compare booking sites. Hostels share the number of rooms available between sites, so if, for example, Hostel World says that there are no beds left, Hostelbookers might not have used up its quota of beds.
#2. No hidden costs: bedding is included - which is something which is by no means a given. Breakfast is now extra, but few hostels offer a free breakfast anymore. In any case, it is an all-you-can-eat buffet, so you really can get your money's worth!
#3. Staff: Friendly, competent and multi-lingual
#4. Security: each guest has his or her own locker and each guest has his or her own swipe card to access the rooms: many hostels have one key per room, which raises many security concerns.
"The Negatives"
#1 ...
