Berlin

[Mayo4Sam]

Lads any of ye know anythign about Berlin?
Talking about things to do over there for a bg crew.
Thinking about it as a new years destination and would like to do a bit more than drink
Any suggestions welcome

[The Real Laoislad]

They use to have a wall 

[armaghniac]

Berlin makes an effort at the new year, as all central Europe places do, with big crowds around the Brandenburg gate. It's not the most beautiful place but there is plenty to see if you have some interest in political/history matters and it is not as expensive as some cities. Get a public transport pass for the 3 days or week and it's easy to get around.

[ziggysego]

They use to have a wall 

Someone painted a mural of Debbie Magee on it....... a huge uprising over it and the eventually tore the wall down.

[Mack the finger]

A good way of seeing the city is one of the boat tours that leaves every hour. Ye can hop on, hop off, they serrve
drinks and food - whole thing takes about three hours.

The reichstag, Berlin wall and Brandenburg gate are all worth seeing of course. Check out the east side of the city late of an evening; any amount of cracking wee bars and clubs and great eating spots.

Get a ticket that allows you to use to S-Bahn and the U-Bahn.

Be sure and check out the Hackesche Höfe. But generally just go for a dander and you'll find something to take your fancy.

[rosnarun]

very interesting city . with lot of what look like very historic buildingds few  of which are much more than a 10 years old for some reason they have decided to rebuild every thing. Funny people the german they are always going on about how they don't have enough living space, must be something to sdo with the small apartments they live in.
seriously take the bus tour firstday best way to get a feel for the place as it a huge city with several 'centres''

[Gnevin]

 If you want to the reichstag see it give it the whole day. When i was their the queue was 6 hours long and we didn't bother.

[MW]

Was in Berlin last Monday - my second visit to the city and I'm a big fan.

This time round (only there one day/night - en route to Reykjavik from Riga ) my new experiences were going to the DDR museum, pretty interesting social history of living in East Berlin/East Germany, and going up the TV tower at Alexanderplatz and having dinner in the revolving restaurant. The latter gives great views to the city and it's fascinating to spot the differences between 'East' (boxy concrete apartment blocks) and the 'West'.

Just walking round downtown Berlin in amazing as you see the line of the Wall and think 20 years ago you'd have been shot for standing there. And you see how they've blended the city centre together again (less so in the outlying parts of the city). Potsdamerplatz is also very good, competely rebuilt (e.g. the Sony Centre) after being a barren wasteland between East and West up to 1989, previously back in the 1920s being the centre of 'swinging Berlin'.

I'd advise walking up Unter den Linden to the Brandburg Gate - again so much history is attached to it. And just round the corner is the Reichstag - an amazing piece of history, but as gnevin says leave time to queue. I still haven't been in - next visit! If you don't fancy queueing still wroth going to.

Another tourist attraction is Checkpoint Charlie, and near there is the lesser-known Topography of Terror, where a standing section of the Wall backs onto the rubble of the Third Reich' security headquarters - complete with a display on the effects of totalitarianism, both Nazi and Communist.

I'm a bit of a history buff but even if you aren't, I'd still advise reading a fair bit about the history of Berlin including WWII and the Cold War (you'll know the backgournd but it's worth gettinmg into specific places and events) - at the likes of the Reichstag it's amazing to think what went on here and how different it was before 1989, or in 1945, or in 1933.

[armaghniac]

The are several books on the Wall, the airlift and of course the war.
There is a good section of preserved wall at Bernauer Straße,, which gives a good feeling of how things were.

[hobart]

Berlin, excellent city. Was there last summer for the soccer world cup and bump into staunton in an Irish bar. Should have ensured he stayed there! the musuem at Checkpoint Charlie is well worth a visit, makes you think about what the easterners were forced to do to escape to the west. Great Irish bar near the zoo station, cant remember the name but its in the shopping centre close by. beware of the *ookers though, place full of them. So much history in one city is unreal so get the tour bus that drops you to the main sights - just like dublin. Enjoy the beer but behave, them guards are big lads.

[Orior]

Be careful when taking a sauna. They all go in the nip, even the broads.