Berlin - 3 ish days - good beer, history and walking about

[pidsy]

Heading that way in late Feb.

Staying at the Titanic Gendermenmarkt so pretty central.

I know it’s a huge city - looking for things to do. Booked on a couple of history walking tours already.

[TrevorHill]

Stayed there last year, it s a pretty nice hotel. You are a short walk away from a number of the main attractions. Checkpoint Charlie was a bit of a disappointment if I m being honest. Mostly people selling quality tat to tourists, though we did have a fantastic lunch in an Italian restaurant close by.
The rest of the main attractions are as you would expect, booking a day or two before is advisable for the Reichstag Building. The city and in particular the older monuments and buildings still have the bullet holes and associated damage from WW2, but also has some stunning modern architecture.

We did a river tour thingy on our first day, it was great fun. Beer is plentiful and cheap in the local bars.

Edited by TrevorHill on Monday 19th January 20:14

[pidsy]

Thanks Trevor.

I love walking tours so hoping I can get an overview then I’ll book for the main bits before I go.

[mike80]

Tempelhof Airport is good, now a public park, you can walk on the runways and stuff. We also did a tour of the airport terminal which was really good if you're a plane / aviation nerd.

[mikebradford]

liquidrom spa berlin
Pretty cool, they sometimes have DJs playing whilst you float away.

Same building but the bit above is a venue
Tempodrom Berlin
Always worth seeing if theirs a gig on that meets your tastes.

[Griffith4ever]

Most memorable non-historic bits for me

- Burgermeister - OMG
- Transport (and science) museum - amazing
- Curry 66 for my 1st (and not the last!) curry Wurst
- Computer gaming museum
- Meat Club

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Me and my mates did this tour a couple of years and really enjoyed it - https://walkwithustours.com/tour/berlin-craft-beer...

[Andy_290]

Took my 6 year old back in October, so things were a little different, but in the past I've enjoyed (with the lads)

Fernsehturm at sunset (booking required)
Spy Museum
German museum of technology
Rausch Schokoladenhaus for some chocolate to take home for the missus/kids
Gendermenmarkt
East Side Gallery
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

Booze/Food:
Gaffel Haus Berlin - Das Kölsche Konsulat in der Hauptstadt
Schnitzelei Mitte
Burgermeister Schlesisches Tor (The one in the old toilet)

[dontlookdown]

mike80 said:

Tempelhof Airport is good, now a public park, you can walk on the runways and stuff. We also did a tour of the airport terminal which was really good if you're a plane / aviation nerd.

Another vote for Tempelhof. It's a bit of a hike on foot from the center of town but v interesting history. Berlin airlift etc.

The terminal building is also a great example of Speer's taste for architectural gigantism, and gives an idea of what a monstrosity Germania might have been had it ever been built.

Elsewhere the river is great for walking along, Stasi museum is fascinating if quite sombre as is the wall. Tiergarten.

It's a v walkable city with lots to see. You can't really go wrong imo.

[Lotobear]

Teufelberg and listening post worth a look, Spandau - there's a great beer garden with excellent Helles at the old laundry, technology museum is worth a visit and that place with all the classic cars is great, and free (can't recall the name)

[Hoppum]

We did the Trabant tour in Berlin and really enjoyed it. However I'd class it as a sightseeing tour as between trying to stick with the convoy through junctions, the engine noise and the frankly awful speaker in the car I didn't really get much of what the tour guide was saying. Still recommend for the novelty factor and sightseeing though. Good to do on your first day to familiarise yourself with where everything is too. Also stops at the conserved part of the Berlin Wall.

Deutsches Historisches Museum is very good for a history of Germany as a whole. The Tempelhof tour is fantastic. The DDR museum was good if a bit disjointed, apparently the 'Museum in der Kulturbrauerei' is a much better museum on East Germany but I've not been yet. The Espionage Museum is good as a general museum on cold war espionage by all sides whereas the Stasi HQ museum is more for if you're particularly interested in the Stasi, the Hohenschonhausen Prison Tour is apparently good too. The Topography of Terror is the Gestapo museum built on the site of the headquarters.

Teufelsberg is well worth a visit, former US Military spy station built on the largest hill in West Berlin to monitor East Germany, now one of the largest street art galleries in the world. Great views of Berlin from the top on a clear day, though you have to do a tour if you want to learn about its Cold War era. English tours were 2pm every Sunday when we went, ours was with a former US soldier who'd been stationed there in the 70s. It is a 35min walk from the nearest S-Bahn station including up previously mentioned large hill to get there however so worth bearing that in mind.

Classic Remise is good collection of classic car dealers, restorers and storage in an beautiful old tram yard that's free to wander around, it is quite out the way in an industrial area though. Volkswagen Gruppe Forum on Unter de Linden usually has some nice VAG/Porsche cars on display

Kaiser-Wilhem-Gedachtniskirche > Siegesssaule > Soviet War Memorial Tiergarten > Reichstag > Brandenburg Gate > Holocaust Memorial > Hitler Bunker Car Park > Checkpoint Charlie > Unter der Linden > Berliner Dom > Alexanderplatz or the reverse is a good 1/2 day see the sights walk if the weather is ok.

A lot of places only have English tours on certain days/at certain times and they usually have to be prebooked so always check ahead on their websites.

If you like your craft beer Hops & Barley, Heidenpeters & Eschenbrau are great local places. If you just want traditional Helles or Pilsner you can’t really go wrong anywhere.

[pidsy]

Thanks all!

The list is growing.

[Lotusgone]

Between Unter den Linden and Alexanderplatz is what's called Museum Island - plenty of history and art if you fancy that plus more amazing architecture.

In that same area, near the DDR museum, you can pick up a boat ride - about an hour or so, it gives you a different perspective.

[Berlin Mike]

Lotobear said:

.... that place with all the classic cars is great, and free (can't recall the name)

It's the Classic Remise, originally called Meilenwerk (Wiebestraße 36 37, 10553 Berlin). They have a good restaurant too. (Mentioned above by Hoppum).

Old-school Berlin restaurant is Wilhelm Hoeck 1892 (Wilmersdorfer Strasse 149, 10585 Berlin). Classic Berlin cooking. One of the only places where you can get Eisbein these days.

[Time4another]

Another for Classic Remise. Full fo the weird and the wonderful.

[Glassman]

Have been a couple of times and really like the city. In all the things we did, this place became our regular pistop in the days we were there:

https://share.google/cdki5fyLzNpVS277R.

Good food (the pork knuckle was great) Paulaner beer (including tasting racks) and the service is very good.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Glassman said:

Have been a couple of times and really like the city. In all the things we did, this place became our regular pistop in the days we were there:

https://share.google/cdki5fyLzNpVS277R.

Good food (the pork knuckle was great) Paulaner beer (including tasting racks) and the service is very good.

Probably a nice place but not very authetic for Berlin.

[Glassman]

RedWhiteMonkey said:

Glassman said:

Have been a couple of times and really like the city. In all the things we did, this place became our regular pistop in the days we were there:

https://share.google/cdki5fyLzNpVS277R.

Good food (the pork knuckle was great) Paulaner beer (including tasting racks) and the service is very good.

Probably a nice place but not very authetic for Berlin.

It was conveniently located to/from our hotel and one of those can't-go-wrong kind of places.

[Nobby Diesel]

Take a trip out to Sachsenhausen, if you want to learn about the Nazi occupation and labour camps. Truly tragic, but important to know about. Take a guided tour from the city.
There are lots of walking tours on Tripadvisor - just pick one that interests you. We went on one which was about the hedonistic, flamboyant and alternative side of Berlin, over the centuries.
Tempelhof is definitely worth a visit on a sunny weekend.
Unterwelten is intersting.
Trabant tour is good fun - we had an absolute blast.
The Museum of Things is quirky. If its raining and you don't want to be outside, give it a go.
The Holocaust Museum and the Memorial to Murdered Jews are both musts. Shocking, sobering and inspiring.
Just take Lime bikes (or similar) and explore - its an amazing city.

[InitialDave]

Watching with interest, as I'll be out there myself in a few months.