Advantages: all
Disadvantages: ---

...BERLIN 1. Why of all things Berlin? 2nd Facts journey, live etc. 3rd history of Berlin 4. How does one get to the sights? 5. My visit in Berlin sights 6th result ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ 1. Why of all things 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. At long last, there then was the controversial supply of the favourable train tickets at Lidl some time ago. I was lucky to be able to get hold without problems of tickets and I planned spontaneously a town journey... Read review

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Advantages: Full characters, interesting story line, fascinating writing
Disadvantages: You might cry at the end - not always a disadvantage

...After my recent review of Fourth Hand, I thought I would update this review a touch so you can understand that John Irving's books aren't all bad. I became a fan of John Irving after reading "Hotel New Hampshire" and have read everything he has written since. And while they are all enjoyable - to differing extents - none of his novels have touched me as much as "A Prayer for Owen Meany". Perhaps I felt a special closeness to the book since the two main characters are both flawed - both physically and emotionally. Owen is a dwarf and has having a feeling he is on a mission from God. Johnny Wheelwright is dyslexic (like myself) and is in a life-long search for his father. The relationship between these two boys as they become entwined and grow, is as growing and entwining as Irving's plot itself. The plot of this book takes us... Read review

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Advantages: All the usual trademarks of an Irving novel
Disadvantages: If you aren't used to him you may find it a little odd

...You find yourself in a bookshop- well, I do anyway! And as you peruse the shelves, passing the time of day (being careful to avoid looking at the erotica section, you never know what you will see!), you don't half come across some weird and wacky book titles. In my opinion there are one or two titles that haven't been used that should have been. My favourite is: 'Dieting with Prunes and Syrup of Figs - The 'S' Plan Diet'. But I digress as ever. There is one author whose titles are very striking and, once you get to know his style, there are certain things that you look for and cherish- not that there is any similarity or formula style about the books. They are all very different, believe me! I first encountered John Irving when I saw the films of 'The Hotel New Hampshire' and 'The World According to Garp'. These films were... Read review

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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... Read review

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Advantages: A wonderful city
Disadvantages: None

...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... Read review

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Advantages: A magnificent city...too many good things to mention
Disadvantages: Not many..we just didn't have enough time to see it all.

...We have just returned from our first trip to Berlin, where we were invited to report on the shooting of the video for Rick Astley’s comeback single. We had absolutely no idea where we would be staying and it was only when we landed that we found out that we were staying in a 5 Star hotel, with the bill being paid by Rick himself. This is not really relevant to the subject of this opinion, but I just wanted to name drop!! Here is some general information about Berlin for anyone planning a visit. CURRENCY. Until December 2001 DM and EURO are both official currencies in Germany but the everyday payments are mostly based on DM. The official exchange rate between DEM and EURO is fixed to 1,95583 DM = 1 EURO. From January of 2002 the EURO is the only currency that will be used. For working out things into pounds the current... Read review

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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

...This review of Berlin is based on my experience whilst on tour with my band. It focuses on the people in Berlin as well as the city. It is a general overview of my experience, not a restaurant or hotel review. BERLIN FOR PUNKS & BANDS My band have played in Berlin twice now and both times been received with open arms by old friends and strangers. We travelled to Berlin first of all in May 06 originally not knowing anyone or expecting anything. We knew we'd be meeting a friend of a contact from myspace but that was it. The venue 'Wild At Heart' in Kreuzberg it turned out was great with good music, good PA and sound staff and punters. The management there provided us weary touring few with free beer and a decent backstage area and a free meal, with a vegan option if requested. It is here we met our myspace friend's friend... Read review

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Advantages: Comprehensive description of Berlin and useful analysis + listings
Disadvantages: Subjective, prices out of date

...It must be very difficult to write a guidebook. So much information on a city or country to cram into one book small enough to be convenient for tourists. The guidebooks I have read (a fair amount- I like to plan!) tend to either have lots of information and few photos (Rough Guides/ Lonely Planet) or lots of photos and comparatively little info (Eyewitness Travel for example). A huge factor on whether you choose one guidebook over another depends on the style of guidebook that you are seeking. I bought this guide last October before a week long visit to Berlin. For me choosing this particular guide book over others was easy- as I found the 'Rough Guide to Prague' invaluable when I visited that city two years ago. So how useful is this guidebook? Is it the type of guide book suited to you? This review is split into the same... Read review

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Advantages: Gorgeous, lucid prose; a work of genius.
Disadvantages: You know it can't have a happy ending.

...'I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking. Recording the man shaving at the window opposite and the woman in the kimono washing her hair. Some day, all this will have to be developed, carefully printed, fixed.' As a novelist, poet, dramatist, film director and outspoken ex-pat Englishman, Christopher Isherwood accomplished a good deal in a short time, but it is for his 'Berlin Novels' - Goodbye to Berlin and Mr Norris Changes Trains - that he is, rightly or wrongly, best-known. In comparison to some of his very strong later novels, 'Mr Norris' may perhaps be seen as rather overrated, but, in the case of 'Goodbye to Berlin', its longevity as a popular novel is certainly deserved. Of course, the term 'Berlin Novels' is, in truth, a misnomer; for, in his self-elucidated role as a slowly reeling... Read review

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Advantages: Great value for 5* hotel, very modern, clean
Disadvantages: Air-con was broken down..

...Just came back from our long weekend (2nd May Bank Holiday, 26May-28May) with 4 other friends. We went to Berlin with Easyjet; it was about £120 per person (a little pricey due to peak period) and the flight time is a little inconvenience because it departed at 6.30am, and check-in time is from 4.30am so we took the last train from London Bridge to Luton airport (about 1hour). We got there by 1.30am and slept on the benches for few hours. There are three airports in Berlin, which are Schoenefled, Tegel and Tempelhof. We went to Berlin Schoenefled with Easyjet and this is the furthest airport from town centre and to the hotel (Grand Hotel Esplanade), it took us about 1 hour. The closest airport is Berlin Tempelhof it would be about 20 minutes from town and 30minutes from Berlin Tegel Airport to town. Grand Hotel Esplanade is a 5... Read review

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