I originally wrote this for me, and used it to record stuff I need to plan and visit the city. It’s still pretty much the same. It might be useful for others. I first stayed there at the end of the summer 2005. We stayed at the art’otel mitte im Mitte and visited the centre of Berlin with a quick trip to the Story of Berlin on the Ku’f’dam, which is worth revisiting. I posted my pictures to a Berlin set in flickr which is now displayed as a slide show below/overleaf. I returned on business in 2007 and for a city-break in Jan 2019, again in March 2019 and again in Apr 2022 and March 2024
Here are my 2024 pictures,
And here is an index for the rest of the page,
Covid 19 | Hotels | Transport | Getting there | Apartments | Food & Drink | Maps | Radical Living | Yet to do
Covid 19
Berlin City Government have published CV19 public health rules. They require proof of a clear status, either vaccinated, recovered, or tested. In some locations events, tested is not acceptable. In some places and at some events a mask is required, and in some cases this mask must be FFP2 or KN95 quality stamped. Masks need to be worn at most/all cultural institutions, hotel rooms can be booked if vaccinated or recovered. Brits may need to get their vaccine passports confirmed with a local equivalent. 2/2/2022
Now defined at https://www.berlin.de/corona/en/measures, wear a mask when sensible, including on public transport.
The Berlin Senate continues to appeal to each person’s sense of individual responsibility. Wearing a mask is recommended in places where many people congregate – for example in public transport. This recommendation applies in particular to people with cold symptoms. You should only meet up with vulnerable persons if you have first taken a Covid-19 test.
If you test positive for the coronavirus, you should avoid contact with others. If you cannot avoid contact, persons who have tested positive should wear an FFP2 mask without an exhalation valve.
Speaking German
Perhaps it’s about time I refreshed my German via Duolingo., although some argue English is preferred.
Staying there
Hotels
I revised these links in 2019; I deleted those that I might have merely been interested in, inserted the 2019 Hotel and kept two that I might still visit. I have stayed at the art’otel mitte, and Victor’s Residenz. The Google Map has the other’s that I have heard of, or considered.
- Victors Residenz, Berlin, 2019 4*s, got an upgrade, to a suite which was very roomy, good if staying for a while; I wish my flat in London was as big. I found this via Expedia. Here’s Trip Advisor’s 10 nearest restaurants.
- Hotel Myers, found this while looking some time before 2007, looks rather fab and don’t want to forget it
- Adina Apartment Hotel Berlin Hackescher Markt, inspired by the same chain in Frankfurt
- I thought it’d be nice to stay be some water, this, and this list some hotels that claim that geography
The map (see below) now has a bunch of hotels placed upon it, in both East & West Berlin, some came from a BA flight magazine, some just from looking for places to go, and/or the Rough Guide, it now included some recommended by Expedia.
Apartments
Transport
All trains, trams and buses are under one price scheme. They have three zones, A,B&C. Day Tickets can be bought for AB or ABC. Schönefeld is in C, I bought a one way ticket for €3.40 on arrival, and another on the way back. The Hotel sold me day tickets,for the other days (not any more). It might be best to buy the return at the Schönefeld ticket machines; the buses only take coins (not sure if this is still true! allegedly 21/4/22). One way tickets need to be used within two hours of validation and you may not double back.
I am unclear about how and where to buy day passes and if the Buses require or reject cash. All train stations have ticket vending machines and I think they do on the trams too. Whether the trams sell day passes is also a mystery to me.
BVG now have an app, fabulous.
The tube map, …
Getting there
The EU has introduced pre-arrival checks for non EU citizens, called ETIAS, a comment about Brits, and by HMG. These will be mandatory in 2023. Phew!. Looks like ETIAS may be delayed to 2024, and now 2025.
Flying
I for my first two trips, I arrived via Tegal, now shut, and then via Schönefeld. Berlin’s long awaited Berlin Brandenburg opened in time for my fifth trip. I used BA when I returned in 2022 which landed at Berlin Brandenburg, and again in 2023. BA and Lufthansa fly from LCY.
Priority Pass do not seem to have a lounge at BER, but some Airlines do; obviously not for all passengers, so I need to check what tickets my carrier allows lounge access. It’d be good to know if Business tickets allowed priority queuing for security. 2023
This is what they say about Brandenburg and how to get to and from Brandenburg, they say
BER Airport is connected to the rail and road network. Airport Express and regional trains run together four times an hour from station T1-2 to Berlin Central Station. In addition, the S-Bahns S9 and S45 run from T1-2 to Berlin city centre.
Berlin airport security require liquids to be presented for inspection, but not batteries or phones 2023. The BA staff insisted I took my keyboard with me as hand luggage as I checked in my other bag in to the hold. Here is the EU statement on what may or may not be checked into aircraft luggage.
The S-Bahn platform’s at BER are 5 & 6. The RE & Express use different platforms.
A number of the trains from BER, travel north and arrive via Berlin Gesundbrunnen station. Tripadvisor suggest some things to do, although some are not so close. The Mall and the Flak tower are the first two, but I couldn’t see how to get to the Tower last time I was in the park.
By train
There is now an overnight sleeper from Brussels or just an ICE via Cologne. The man in seat 61 has two pages, Deutsche Bahn & Eurosleeper. The London to Brussels ticket is bought from Eurostar. This currently requires two bookings.
Eurosleeper is expensive if hiring the sleeper carriage, otherwise DB ICE via Cologne, £156 + €30 for 1st class upgrade.
Food & Drink
I am told that next time I should visit Savigny Platz which also has a huge number of restaurants.
I found this article on Vegan Food in 2019.
Here is the TV Tower and a recommendation for the best donner kebab on Earth, see also Best Restaurants in Berlin from tripadvisor, they filter by style.
My Map
View Larger Map
I returned in 2019, and here are my pictures
Radical Living
I found via youtube, this person, who has a web site and video channel, both called Radical Living. Despite this video’s title, alternatives are offered.
Things to do
– Lots left undone!
I found, Museums in Berlin by the Berlin Museum authority.
- Timeout suggest a top 16 to do’s.
- The Times, offered some ideas, to see, eat, drink and stay.
- Should I check this out, the Bendler Block.
- The Zoo, marked by PETA as poor, so probably not.
- The top of the Bundestag building, needs pre-registration
- The Altes National Gallery, on Museum Island.
- the Mauer Park is this the best wall memorial: probably not! But down the road maybe?
- the Flea Market at the Mauer Park (Sunday only)✔
- the DDR Museum, im mitte
- Karl Marx Allee, maybe best done by bike ✔
- the Panoramapunkt, at Potsdammer Platz
- lots of architecturally significant swimming pools it seems
- the Urban Nation in Schoenberg
- the Flak Tower in the Humboldthain Park, for the view
- https://www.teufelsberg-berlin.de/ , not easy to get to, but the view should be cool
- travel the 100, audio guide from City Pirates
- East Side Gallery,[*] once was the wall ✔
- Stasi Museum
- TranenPlast
- The City Museum, otherwise known as the Maerkisches Museum which was shut in 24.
- Sans Souci in Potsdam
- https://www.berliner-unterwelten.de/en/index.html
- The humboldt forum and its its food hall hall
- The Botanical Gardens
- Berlin Wall Memorial ✔
- Templehof, no longer an airport ✔
- Visit Berlin’s History tours
- Boating, headlines & dingy sailing
- The Trabi Museum
- The Soviet War memorial at Treptow, not quite visible from the train to & from Schonfeld
- At Wannersee? It’s on the route to Peacock Island, on the north east side is a restaurant called the Wannersee Terrace, and on the south west side a museum, “the House of the Wannersee Conference”. ✔
- Peacock Island, and a page on the Ferry, although it seems to have boarding point wrong which I have marked on my map. There is a bus stop and pub by the quay.
- Fernesturm, both restaurant and viewing platform, can these be booked in advance ✔
- Mexikoplatz, seems pretty from the train, and while this page suggests there are several Mexican restaurants, google maps does not agree.
Things to do again
- Visit The Story of Berlin exhibition, ends in an atomic bunker, but deals with the History of Berlin from its foundation as the capital of the Duchy of Brandenburg
This was copied across originally using a version copy from the file system, and then checking against the snipsnap version. The last bliki date was 17th Dec 2008, allegedly.
I once said, “Don’t get to Schönfeld too early, it’s boring.”. As it became less likely to use Schöfeld, I moved these two entries from the article to this comment, Things to do at Schönefeld , by sleeping airports and Things to do near Schönefeld , by Trip Advisor
I updated the CV19 health measures paragraph. I removed the following comment, “They require proof of a clear status, either vaccinated, recovered, or tested. In some locations events, tested is not acceptable. In some places and at some events a mask is required, and in some cases this mask must be FFP2 or KN95 quality stamped. Masks need to be worn at most/all cultural institutions, hotel rooms can be booked if vaccinated or recovered. Brits may need to get their vaccine passports confirmed with a local equivalent. 2/2/2022”
I went back in the early summer of 2023, and these are my notes.
Only one passport inspection point today, it’s quite a queue for “alle passport”; not really, it was minutes and we Brits always had to wait because of being non Schengen.
I went to the Alte Nationalgallerie, superb building, a couple of artists that struck me, or a couple of pictures anyway.
Menzel did some very big pictures. His view of Berlin seems odd without the fernsehturm. He also did one of Wellington & Blucher meeting at Waterloo. These two were smaller and the W&B picture while striking is not easy to find on google, although others of his pictures are, once one learns to spell his name correctly.
As noted Berlin Brandenburg is very large, I got their extraordinarily early, planning for two hours but getting there an hour earlier, This was fortunate as yet again, the train from U-Boddinstrasse to BER 1-2 was terminated early and they only announced this in German which I and some others missed, we were shunted into a siding and it only put a couple of minutes on the journey and I had the time. The queue for BA checkin was short, the queue for security seemed long, but was only 25 minutes or so. The wait for the gate to be announced seemed to be very boring. Perhaps I should consider rejoining Priority Pass although they only have a lounge in the Schengen wing of the Airport, which might work, or buy a business ticket if travelling alone; they get better sears and with BA better food; not so keen on getting on an off early at LCY if one still has to wait for the luggage.
I updated my comments on BER airport.
Back again from my 2024 trip, I flew business from City to BER and stayed in a suite at the art ‘otel in Mitte, I have just posted the pictures here, and will reorganise the page some time soon.