Travel tips Berlin

5 travel tips for Berlin

 

Experience spring-time at the zoo

‘Bulette’ is the word people in Berlin use for meatball, but it is also the name of the daughter of Knautschke, the only hippopotamus to survive the Second World War (in a dried-up water basin). The residents of Berlin love the animals of the Zoologischer Garten, which is the oldest zoo in Germany. Here you can also see Knut, the polar bear cub that gained pop-star status.

Hardenbergplatz 8, tel.: +49 (0)30 25 40 10; www.zoo-berlin.de; open daily, summer 09.00-18.30 hrs, winter 09.00-17.00 hrs; entrance fee adults € 12, students € 9, children from 5 to 15 years € 6; U&S-Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten.

 

 

Beach in the city centre

In the centre of power, with a view on the Bundestag and the office of the Federal Chancellor, the Bundespresse beach offers you the opportunity to laze about in a beach chair while politicians concern themselves with unemployment, terrorism and day-care for the children. And should you become restless, there is always the possibility to play some beach volleyball or take a course in salsa dancing. This is the perfect final stop-over before departing on your return journey, because the ‘beach’ is located very near to the Hauptbahnhof.

Kapelle-ufer 1, tel.: +49 (0)30 280 99 119; www.bundespressestrand.de; open daily April-October from 10.00 hrs, price € 7, S-Bahnhof Hauptbahnhof.

 

 

Enjoy the sun in the Tiergarten park

The Tiergarten is the largest park in Berlin – the perfect location for a walk or for jogging. On the Neue See, near the large Biergarten, one can make a delightful trip in a rowboat. Anyone walking through this beautiful green park would have difficulty to imagine that the park was completely barren after the Second World War. The destitute inhabitants chopped down all the trees because they needed firewood.

 

Strasse des 17. Juni, S-Bahnhof Unter den Linden, S-Bahnhof Bellevue.

Drinking beer the German way

Even though the Biergarten of the Schleusenkrug is gigantic, it is difficult to vacant table in the summer months. However, it is certainly worth trying, because there are few other places where one can more easily start a conversation with the Berlin public. During the winter the Schleusenkrug is still a cosy place but a lot less crowded. Dancing takes place on the weekends.

Müller-Breslau-Strasse 10, tel.: +49 (0)30 313 99 09; open daily 10.00-01.00 hrs, price € 3, S-Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten.

 

 

A refreshing dive in the Badeschiff

Although residents of Berlin used to joke that one could develop rolls of film in the Spree, nowadays it is possible to take a carefree swim. However, for the sake of safety this does happen in a floating water container – the Badeschiff. During the summer, the youth comes here to swim, sunbathe and hang out.

Eichenstraße 4, tel.: +49 (0)30 533 20 30; www.arena-berlin.de/badeschiff.aspx, open daily 8.00 hrs, price € 3 adults, € 1.50 children till 12.

 

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