Things to do in Berlin

[Anders_G]

Basically I'm going to Berlin with my girlfriend and some of our friends in a few weeks. Any must-see/must-do? Any kind of recommendations are welcome.

Thanks.

[theweatherman]

drink beer out of obnoxiously huge Germna steins

[xadrez]

German Sheizer video

[Anders_G]

bump

[MarkL444]

i was just there for a week in may (and im moving there in less than 3 weeks)

buy a guide book or something. the city is huge and there is a [censored] ton of stuff you can do.

[MarkL444]

oh and you HAVE to go to some turkish place and get a doner. best food ever.

[HopeydaFish]

http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/burning/bookburn.jpg

[MrMon]

Depends on what you're in to. It's been 10 years since I was there, but if you're into WW II and the Cold War, there's all kinds of great obscure things to see. (I'm assuming they're still there. And I realize girlfriend being there may limit your ability to see these things, but they're still pretty cool. I'll list girlfriend friendly things as well.)

In no particular order:

Brandenburg Gate - Definite must do for anyone.

Reichstag - Now that it is the German Parliament again, I'm sure it's changed and more secure. But there should be some sort of tour. Next to Brandenburg Gate.

Hitler's Bunker/Reich Chancellory - You won't find it on any tourist map. Almost no one will tell you where it is. But if you do some research, you can find where it was. (Go south from the Brandenberg Gate along the path of the Berlin Wall. Within a mile or so.) Not much there but some rubble and the occasional neo-Nazi handing out literature. But if you want to stand on the location of evil, it's pretty powerful.

Gestapo HQ - East of the bunker site. Now just a ruin, it's a momument to the victims of the Gestapo.

Stasi Museum - Surreal place. The world's most efficient police state was run on index cards. Lots and lots of index cards.

Berlin Wall Museum/Checkpoint Charlie - A natural enough place to visit if you happen to be in Berlin.

Pergamon Museum - One of the most important museums in Berlin, it houses the remains of the Temple of Zeus, one of 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. A must see!

Charlottenburg Palace - Sure to be a girlfriend pleaser, who gets tired of palaces?

Potsdam - Never been there myself, an easy day trip.

Olympic Stadium - Really, really big. If you're into history, find Jesse Owens Allee and drink in the irony.

Mother Russia - I think this is in Treptow Park. Soviet war memorial, also the gravesite for 15,000 Russian soldiers. Built out of the remains of the Reich Chancellory building.

Battle of Berlin Museum - This may not exist any more. Was maintained by the Russian Army when I was there. Really strange place. I remember looking over the back wall and taking pictures of a giant abandoned Soviet Army base. I'm sure 5 years earlier, I would have been shot for that.

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church - One of the more famous Berlin sites, it's a ruined church preserved from the rubble of WW II.

Drag clubs - If you're into this, there are tons of drag clubs in Berlin. Don't ask me why. I passed.

In general, there's a lot to see in Berlin, but it's not the most tourist friendly city, as they have a lot not to be proud of. They don't hide it, but they don't point it out either. If you dig beforehand, you can find a lot of interesting stuff.

[Granite]

Hopey had good suggestions.

I did the bunker thing too.

I found the checkpoint Charlie museum pretty cool and would reccomend it.

Granite

[Thythe]

I'm going to Berlin in December, so I'm looking for advice too.

[MarkL444]

yeah checkpoint charlie was cool, and i really dislike most museums.

[TheBlueMonster]

[ QUOTE ]
drink beer out of obnoxiously huge German breasts

[/ QUOTE ]
fyp?

[Anders_G]

FYI I'm not that much into the whole war-history-thing, I'm more interested in cultural stuff like art/music. I might do some kind of war museum if it's raining but i'll prolly skip.

As far as I can see, kreutzberg seems to be an interesting place.

[MonkeeMan]

If you plan on stopping by Berlin, NJ as part of the tour don't miss the Berlin Mart.