1

Ich binBerlin

A city for everybody

Over 60 reviews

2

3

When travelling one can often feel more at home in a certain at-mosphere provided by a specific place: the party animal in Zante; the fashionista in Paris; the shopaholic in New York…as a traveller in Berlin, you will discover that there is always a way to find a home away from home. Whether it is soaking up history and culture, ex-perimenting with foreign foods, browsing sprawling flea markets or partying until the sun rises that sates your travel desires, you will be spoiled for choice in Germany’s dynamic free-spirited capital.

Berlin is still in recovery from its traumatic past of division, revolt and recent rejuvenation. The result is a gritty tattooed teenager try-ing to find its feet, scarred by its past as it plans its future and par-ties in the meantime. Memories of tragedies faced and wounds yet to heal mark the city passionately and the old marries the new at each turn. Expressive art explodes on every corner in the city that sincerely never sleeps – don’t forget to pack some gusto in your suit-case as Berlin is open 24/7 ready to play host to a new adventure.

The city offers hospitality to all, from backpackers to high-flyers, with enough going on to keep you busy from dawn till dusk. As a result of its mass and versatility, it can be daunting to consider where to start exploring – not to mention fitting it all in before the flight home. What this guide aims to do is cover as many aspects of the city as possible from the personal perspective of travellers navigating it first-hand. From morning until night in borough to borough, top sights and ac-tivities are described with helpful hints and tips to allow you to plan ahead and make the most of your time in the colourful capi-tal. The guides to transport and survival will assist your exploration to get you back in one piece after receiving an addictive embrace from a city whose vibrant magnetism will draw you back for more. Welcome to everybody’s city: Berlin.

Heather Nimmo

Introduction

4

Berlin has a long and complicated history so you can be forgiven for being a little confused. First ap-pearing as the “Germanic” tribes who sacked Rome in 410, the Ger-man people have been caught up in many major world events in the last two millennium. Ranging from the battlefield to the football pitch, Germany has long been a ma-jor player on the European stage.

Barbarians to EmperorsBerlin’s ancestors first gained glob-al recognition in the fourth century, having become a major headache for the Roman Empire. Despite all its size and wealth, the Ro-man Empire only ever conquered the Southern and Western por-

tions of Germany. The small and itinerant Germanic tribes proved difficult to suppress, and quick-ly became the figures of Roman nightmares. Their fears became reality when the barbarian horde swept through the Empire and sacked its capital, Rome, in 410 AD.

After helping to destroy one of the world’s largest Empire’s, the Ger-manic tribes splintered apart and formed new, disjointed groups. Centuries later, Charlemagne swept in gathering parts of Ger-many into the Carolingian empire. Berlin was not officially founded until 1237, when it was already an important medieval trading cen-tre twinned with Colln. By the be-

HISTORY

5

ginning of the eighteenth century this merchant town had swelled to a bustling city, with a popu-lation of around 55,000. It was around this time that construction on Charlottenburg Palace began.

Thieves and ThinkersOn the 27th October, 1806 the French Emperor Napoleon Bona-parte marched triumphantly into Berlin. Victory was short-lived however, as French rule in Prussia had ended by 1814. This brief reign gave Napoleon just enough time to steal the horse and goddess statue from atop the Branden-burg Gate, though visitors today can see them rightfully restored.

During the nineteenth century, there was a growing desire for reform. The new middle class de-manded their right to free speech, while Liberalists called for a unifi-cation of German speaking people. With a population of 400,000, 40% of Berlin’s budget was spent car-ing for the impoverished. In 1848 riots across the German Federa-tion and Austria forced King Frie-drich Wilhelm IV to call a Parlia-ment. Once again the victory was fleeting, and within the year most of the “Frankfurt Parliament” reforms had been abandoned.

These changes in political thought reflected the expanding economy and industrialisation experienced at the time. Berlin’s first U-Bahn went into operation in 1902, while the luxury department store Kau-fhaus des Westens (KaDeWe) opened its doors in 1907. Berlin born Commercialism and mo-dernity had arrived in the city.

“Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer!”

By 1918 hunger and dissatisfaction with the First World War (1914-1918) had led to massive strikes in Germany’s capital. The stakes were high, and Kaiser Wilhelm II was forced to abdicate. After a flurry of arrests, murders and exiles, the Weimar Republic was formed. The task before them was tough. After the war, the allies had imposed harsh terms on Germany under the Treaty of Versailles, damaging both the morale and economy. In-flation reached its peak in 1923, when a kilo of rye bread was said to cost 3.6 million marks. Things only got worse after the Great De-pression hit in 1929, with 450,000 people left unemployed in Berlin alone. Germany began to unravel.

6

7

Desperate for an end to the chaos, the German people began favour-ing more extreme political policies, such as the National Socialist Ger-man Worker’s Party. This far right party (more commonly known as the Nazis) offered to disregard the unpopular Treaty of Versailles, unite German speaking peoples, and eradicate the threat of com-munism. By 1932 the Nazi party had 37.4% of the Reichstag votes, and on 30th January 1933 Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor.

Visitors can now enjoy 360 panora-ma’s of Berlin from the glass dome on top, but it was the destruction of the original Reichstag building that gave Hitler the opportunity to pass the Enabling Act. Following this, laws no longer had to abide by the Weimar constitution or bear the approval of the Reichstag Parliament – Hitler’s dictatorship had begun. All other political par-ties were abolished, and Joseph Goebbels began grooming the German people through strict me-dia censorship. The Topography of Terrors Exhibition details the rise and fall of the Heinrich Himmler’s Gestapo, the Secret State Police who enforced this Nazi regime.

During the Second World War many atrocities were committed, including the direct extermination of anyone the Nazi regime consid-ered inferior. Jews, gypsies, po-litical adversaries, and homosex-uals were the main target of this genocide and many memorials to them can be found across the city.

DenazificationFollowing the defeat of Germany in the Second World War, Germa-ny was deemed too powerful to be left as it was. The Allied forces occupied West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) while the Soviet troops occupied the East (German Democratic Republic). As the capital, Berlin was also di-vided and West Berlin became an island within East Germany.

Disputes over currency reform triggered a Soviet blockade on West Berlin (June 1948 to May 1949), during which the whole city had to be supplied by air lift. It was around this time a savvy West Berliner named Herta Heuwer in-vented the currywurst – now Ber-lin eats around 70 million of these snacks a year. Even after the block-ade was lifted access remained limited. The situation deteriorat-

8

ed as forced collectivisation in the GDR forces almost 200,000 Berliners to flee into the Western sectors in 1960. On 13th August 1961 Berliners awoke to found a barbed wire (and later concrete) wall had been built to divide East and West Berlin. It would stand as both a tightly enforced military barrier and a symbol of the Cold War, until 9th November 1989.

Germany TodayFollowing its reunification Germa-ny has tried to rebuild itself, with Berlin at the very heart of these reforms. The German Parliament (the Bundestag) held its first ses-sion in the redesigned Reichstag in 2000. In 2009, Usain Bolt was the first man to run 100m in 9.58 seconds, in Berlin. Pay a visit to the Olympicstadion where this World Record was set and see the unu-sually blue track for yourself. With more museums than average rainy days a year, be sure to enjoy Ber-lin’s rich history during your visit.

Laura Clancy

9

10

First arriving in Berlin and trying to figure out your way around can be daunting. Looking at the sprawling collection of lines that represent the S and U-Bahn system map can be enough to give you a headache – and this is before even consid-ering the separate representation of the tram system. Have no fear however – what may at first appear a labyrinth of unrelated transport systems, all in fact work in tandem to get you from A to B as efficiently as possible.

OverviewHere are the basics. The entire net-work is run by the BVG and, in com-parison to other major European cities, is punctual and certainly inexpensive. You have the rapid underground trains (U-Bahn sys-

tem) and suburban trains (S-Bahn system). These systems form the backbone of the transport within Berlin, and are supported by bus-es and trams at street level. Whilst it is only on Fridays and Saturdays that the trains run all night, even on a normal day they mostly run from approximately 4am-1am. Not only that, but even in that period when the trains are not running, their routes are, for the most part, covered by night buses – these buses are indicated by the letter ‘N’, followed by a number.

TicketsEach of the tickets offered by the BVG are valid for transfers both within the same mode of trans-port, and also between different modes of transport. Once you get

TRANSPORT

11

the hang of the systems, you will therefore have no problem mov-ing seamlessly within the U-Bahn, S-Bahn, tram and bus systems. The transport network is divided into three zones, and there are multi-ple different ticket options to help you get the best value for money:

• Einzelticket – a basic sin-gle ticket; €2.60 for zones A and B, €3 for all three zones. With this ticket, you are allowed unlimited transfers within a time period of two hours – however, you are not allowed to make return journeys.• Kuzstrecke ¬– a short trip ticket. For only €1.50, you will be able to travel up to six bus stops, or three train stops. However, transfers are not allowed.• Tageskarte – a day tick-et, valid until 3am the following morning. This ticket allows you to have unlimited travel within zones A, B and C for €7.20.• Sieben-Tage-Karte – a sev-en-day ticket allowing unlimited travel, within all of the zones, for €35.60.• Monatskarte – similar to above, except that the unlimited travel is for zones A and B only, for one month, for €81.• Kleingruppenkarten – for the families and other small

groups, this option allows a group of up to five people unlimited trav-el within all three zones or €16.70.

All of the above tickets can be bought from machines which ap-pear as large yellow boxes. These ticket machines can be found on station platforms, or on trams (but not on the trains themselves) – they also have the ticket options and instructions in English. Tickets can also be bought from bus driv-ers, but only single and day tick-ets. Be careful to validate your day tickets by punching them into the yellow machines before you travel – transport officers often carry out spot checks, and failure to present a validated ticket can result in a €60 fine!

Adventurous routesIf you were wanting to avoid the usual tour companies which prey on tourists, there are a few key routes to seeing as much of Ber-lin as possible, for as cheap as possible. S41 and S42 are S-Bahn routes which circumnavigate Ber-lin – these circular routes are the best routes for making the most of the exciting Berlin suburbs – you can alight at most of the stops on this route and find a train to take you more central whenever it suits

12

13

you. The bus 100 running from Al-exanderplatz to the Zoologischer Garten will show you many of Ber-lins most famous sites on the way, including the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag and the Tiergarten. Bus 200 passes similarly iconic sights such as the Berlin Philhar-monic, and the Airforce Headquar-ters. For the more adventurous, the S7 train can take you all the way from central Berlin to nearby beautiful Potsdam.

Alternatives to public transportThere are many taxi options around Berlin. Like everywhere nowadays, Uber is an option. However, the official cream-coloured Berlin tax-is are widespread – journeys are nearly always metered. The only alternative is if you ask for what is called a Kurzstrecke, a short trip costing a flat rate of €4 for up to 2km or five minutes.

Unlike many other major cities, Berlin has a large and efficient bi-cycle-path system making travel by bike simple and safe. Bikes can be rented from many different com-panies all over Berlin – expect to pay €10 and upwards to rent a bike for one day. Very helpfully, bikes can be taken on U- and S-Bahn trains – just as long as you pay

the necessary extra for a Fahrrad (bike) ticket.

Helpful hintsThe modern world can be fantas-tic – many of the major mobile network providers now allow free roaming within Europe. In practi-cal terms, this means the availa-bility of mapping systems, such as Google Maps, wherever you go. As such, this takes away some of the daunting nature of exploring a new city. One of the most useful apps in terms of avoiding getting lost however is named Citymap-per. This offers maps for a range of cities, including Berlin, and sug-gests routes to wherever you may need to go – home, work or an exciting landmark. The routes are perhaps the most useful – you can evaluate the most useful depend-ing on journey length and amount of transfers, and it helpfully also tells you the direction you need to travel in, and the names of all the stops involved.

Kieran O’Malley

14

Health & SafetyYou’ll find that Berlin is generally a very safe city and by being care-ful and vigilant, one can avoid any unpleasant experiences. Walking around the central areas of Berlin is considered safe at night but be wary when walking in the eastern suburbs. Pickpockets are com-mon around major public trans-port stations and commonly tar-

get obvious tourists who are not careful enough. Always be wary of where you place your wallet and avoid carrying valuable items when walking in crowded spaces like markets. In the event that you lose an item, most Berliners are considerate enough to return it to a transport official who will take it to the lost and found offices which can be found around the city. Berlin is one of the sunniest cit-

SURVIVALGUIDE

15

ies in Germany and can get very warm, so be sure to stay hydrated to avoid falling ill. In case you do get ill and would like to purchase some medicine, look out for the red sign that reads ‘Apotheke’. Be aware that many medicines that you may be able to buy over the counter in your own country, such as antibiotics, must be prescribed by a doctor in Germany, so it is ad-visable for you to carry your own

medicine to avoid any difficulties with prescriptions. However, pain-killers like Ibuprofen are available at the ‘Apotheke’ without a pre-scription.

Food & WaterBerlin is still considered a rather affordable city when it comes to food and drinks. You will find that you can dine in restaurants without

16

breaking the bank and fast food ki-osks selling anything from kebabs to noodles are dispersed all over the city. If you’re looking to enjoy Berlin on a budget, make the most of the supermarkets, where you can find anything you might need for a nice dinner indoors or a nice picnic in a park. Tap water in Berlin is safe to drink and it is a great idea to carry a reusable bottle while you go sight-seeing, because staff at cafes and restaurants are always happy to fill it up.

Waste DisposalThe Germans take recycling very seriously and you may find their ap-proach to trash handling very com-plicated at first. Take your empty beer bottles and plastic soda bot-tles to a supermarket for recycling and you’ll get some money back for it. Any glass bottle or jar that cannot be recycled should be dis-posed of in their designated bins, which are sorted by colour. Paper should also be recycled; packag-ing made of paper and cardboard, magazines, waste paper, etc. be-long in the blue bins. Cans, plas-tic, polystyrene, aluminium and composite materials should be put in the yellow bin. Everything else, which includes kitchen scraps, peels, leftover food, tea bags and

garden waste, makes up almost 50 percent of the total garbage pro-duced in Germany and should be disposed of in the brown bins.

Zachary Delf

LanguageWhilst Germans are famously good when it comes to speaking English – and therefore you could quite happily pass, for the most part, in Berlin with no German what-soever – a little bit of German can take you a long way. The follow-ing words and phrases have been hand picked as the most useful for your time in Berlin. Viel Glück!

17

Kieran O’Malley

18

Name: Amy BrethertonAge: 21City: Kilmacolm, ScotlandSuperpower: To be able to speak and un-derstand every language in the worldSpirit Animal: An armadillo, cos I love Spanish and they always look happy

Heather Nimmo18 GlasgowTelepathy but it can be switched on & off so that I don’t have to hear weird thingsA slug

Jessica MundayAge: 25Nationality: BritishResidence: SurreySupernatural power: I’d love to be able to read people’s minds, it would be so interesting.Spirit animal: A bird so I could fly to so many amazing places.

PROFILES

19

Name - Kirsty MasonAge - 22 From - ChesterSuper power - moving things with my mind so I could act out the scene from MathildaSpirit animal - a penguin because it’s cute and wobbly

Hey, I’m Keziah! I’m very nearly 20, and I was born in Norfolk but I’m currently studying History at Oxford. If I had any superpower, it would be to be able to stop time for everyone but me, so I could get everything done. My spirit animal is almost certainly an owl: big eyes, curious, and so not a morning person!

Laura Clancy, Yorkshire (England).19 years old. If I had any superpower it would be flying. My spirit animal: a house cat.

My name’s Lourdes Cifuentes Cases, Spanish, but living in Sutton (England). With 27 years old I am the grandma of the team. I would like to reincarnate, while keeping the memories, so I can experience different kind of lives and see the world evolve. My spirit animal would be the wolf.

20

Kieran O’Malley, 21 years old. British (but an Irish family!). I live in London when not in term-time – during term-time, I live in Bris-tol and study chemistry at the University of Bristol.If I could have any superpower, I would be able to fly – that way, I could visit as many places as I want too. I would then be able to escape the weather whenever it gets cold!Spirit animal: Cheetah – I vary between hyper-actively energetic, and beyond sleepy!

My name. Alejandro Puente Sánchez. Where I come from? Beautiful Mexico City(CDMX). Age:21. Superpower; Mmm… that’s hard… Nature control? 4Elements Bending? Weath-er control? Plants control/bending. ability to degrade plastic clean up pollution, restore the atmosphere? Clean up the ocean and radio-activity? communicate with animals? Make plants grow faster… Transform into animals/ animal instinct/abilities? whatever it takes to restore Planet Earth.Spirit Animal: That’s even harder… could be the jaguar, Harpy Eagle, Quetzalbird , serval cat. Blue whale. Mongo-lian Wild Horse, Indochinese tiger,Andean Condor, Wolf…, Bird of Paradise, Giraffe. Gosh I just love animals, each one of them is special in its own way

Zachary Delf, 21 years old. I am from Singapore, but I live in Bath (England). Techno King.

https://berlincityguidejuly.wordpress.com/

Ichbin

Berlin

© All text and photos created by our team.