Berlin
Berlin is a city which is constantly evolving and moving forward - if hip, mysterious and modern sounds like your bag, you won’t be stuck for things to do in Berlin. Despite continually propelling itself forward, Berlin seems comfortable with its rich history and is evidently content to wear its war time history on its sleeve. Some building are still pock marked with holes from artillery fire.
Finding things to do in Berlin is as easy as falling off a log, the city is just chock-a-block with trendy bars, night clubs, restaurants, museums and daring architecture. But if you are on a budget don’t worry, you can happily wile away the hours just roaming the streets – history really is on every corner. The Reichstag is an obvious highlight but I would advise taking a tour bus around the city, it’s by far the best way and your feet will thank you for it. I know this because mine said “dankeshun”.
When to go
The German capital can be very cold in winter so the best time to go is between May and October. Unless of course you fancy the Berlin film festival which is in February.
Check out the graph below for rain and temperature levels.
Getting around
Berlin is spread out so don’t be scared to use the U-bahns, S-bahns and buses to get around, and of course the transport system is cheap and runs like clockwork.
The buses and trams aren’t the only thing that runs well in Berlin – Usain Bolt of Jamaica today smashed another world record at the World Championships in the Olympic Stadium, this time claiming victory in the 200m final.
Berliners
The typical Berliner – and there are 3.39 million of them – are polite, friendly and humorous. As company goes on a night out, they are hard to beat. Berliners also seem to have their fingers on the pulse when it comes to the latest trend, be it art, bars or music and if that isn’t enough, most of their apartments are large and airy with impossibly high ceilings.
Berlin International Film Festival
If you happen to be there from February 11 -21, don’t miss the Berlin International Film festival, where you can see the most exciting developments in the world of cinema. Also called the Berlinale, almost half a million film fans flock to take part in the festival which has been running annually since the 1970s.
Almost 500 films can be seen across all genres, from Hollywood blockbusters to low budget independent movies from across the world, but art house continues to be the biggest draw – perhaps unsurprisingly.
Incase you don’t know, the Milk of Sorrow won this year’s much coveted Golden Bear award.
But if you can’t manage the film fest, don’t worry because your trip is likely to coincide with any one of Berlins 1500 cultural events! This super cool city has a busy cultural calendar that only Manhattan can match.
My Defining Experience
The Jewish Museum and the German Historical Museum were fascinating even though I don’t consider myself a history buff and you can lose yourself in either one of them for hours. However, there are around 170 galleries and museums so you are bound to find something more up your strasse if they don’t sound to your taste.
In the evening you can enjoy a Becks beer or two in one of the many lively bars before stopping for a tasty snack on the way home. Berlin has a significant Turkish community, who do kebabs like Germans do beer – I highly recommend them both.
Strengths
- History is everywhere
- Modern architecture
- Cakes
- Talking rubbish bins
- Excellent public transport
- Arts
- Entrepreneurial spirit
- Clubs
Weaknesses
- Hair styles
- Geographically spaced out
- Racism
- Weather
Berlin is an exhilarating and somewhat mysterious city. It’s young people are carving out an alternative lifestyle in a way that is fresh, fearless and fun – to them at least. Berlin has been in the limelight in recent years for hosting perhaps the biggest event of all, the 2006 World Cup, but there is something that Berlin doesn’t do well and that is showing off. The truly cool never need to.
