Berlin Questions? Ask Away!!

I will be in Berlin at the end of the month for 10 days. If you have questions or need something checked out I will try to do my best to find the answer for you. Just post your inquiries and I'll answer once I get there. Of course this won't help anyone who is leaving prior to March 30th. :D

Since we are flying there from VIE I won't have any information about travel from/to the cruise port.

Sauer-kraut,

Please tell me more about Check-point Charlie and best places to see remains of Berlin Wall. Much of it seems over touristy but then again I am a tourist.

Thanks, Sightcrr

Sauer-kraut,

Please tell me more about Check-point Charlie and best places to see remains of Berlin Wall. Much of it seems over touristy but then again I am a tourist.

Thanks, Sightcrr

If you'd like a less-touristy attraction than the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, go to the Alliierten Museum (Allied Museum) located in the old Outpost Theatre in the former American Sector. Admission is free.

http://www.alliiertenmuseum.de/en/home.html

And here's a couple of links to articles about the best places to see the remains of the Wall:

http://blog.visitberlin.de/en/2921-the-top-11-places-to-see-what-remains-of-the-wall.html

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/germany/berlin/travel-tips-and-articles/68492

Sauer-Kraut, The last time I was in Berlin was in 1973 when the wall, mine fields, anti-tank barriers, guards, watch towers, etc. were all in place. The wall and the ruined buildings in East Berlin left a deep impression. We are doing a Baltic cruise next year with a stop in Warnemunde. Most people seem to be taking the side trip to Berlin from there. From the pictures I have seen of Berlin now, it looks like a modern city. I am sure that the contrast will be interesting, but I am afraid that I will be disappointed in seeing the modern Berlin. I am not much into big cities. Would rather spend my time in the countryside or in quaint small villages. What do you think?

Sauer-Kraut, The last time I was in Berlin was in 1973 when the wall, mine fields, anti-tank barriers, guards, watch towers, etc. were all in place. The wall and the ruined buildings in East Berlin left a deep impression. We are doing a Baltic cruise next year with a stop in Warnemunde. Most people seem to be taking the side trip to Berlin from there. From the pictures I have seen of Berlin now, it looks like a modern city. I am sure that the contrast will be interesting, but I am afraid that I will be disappointed in seeing the modern Berlin. I am not much into big cities. Would rather spend my time in the countryside or in quaint small villages. What do you think?

Having recently lived in Berlin, I would say that Berlin, including the former East, is indeed a modern city. If you think that you will be disappointed seeing Berlin that way, then I would definitely plan to see Warnemuende and Rostock instead. (That's what we did when we did a Baltic cruise in July 2015). You might find the Stasi Prison in Rostock very interesting--we did. Just take the S-bahn from Warnemuende and you can walk there from the station. The building is not particularly well-marked, but just walk on Hermanstrasse to the Penny-Markt. It's across the parking lot from there. Admission is free and they have free audiotours in English. Allow 1 hour for the audiotour, but if you read German, you may want to stay longer to read the exhibits.

Our ship was in port long enough for us to do a bike ride from Warnemuende through the countryside and the side trip to Rostock. So you should have time to do a lot if you don't go to Berlin.

Thanks GradUT. You confirmed my thoughts. Thanks also for the suggestions for alternate touring. We lived near Frankfurt from 1972-1976, but never got up to the region around Warnemuende.

Sauer-Kraut, The last time I was in Berlin was in 1973 when the wall, mine fields, anti-tank barriers, guards, watch towers, etc. were all in place. The wall and the ruined buildings in East Berlin left a deep impression. We are doing a Baltic cruise next year with a stop in Warnemunde. Most people seem to be taking the side trip to Berlin from there. From the pictures I have seen of Berlin now, it looks like a modern city. I am sure that the contrast will be interesting, but I am afraid that I will be disappointed in seeing the modern Berlin. I am not much into big cities. Would rather spend my time in the countryside or in quaint small villages. What do you think?

I experienced all that back in 1979 when I was there. I went again in 1992 after the wall came down and it was neat to be able to walk under the Brandenburg Gate. The Alexanderplatz was a lively place as well, all kinds of things going on as opposed to what we experienced in the 'old days'. I am looking forward to see how much more has been done, but as you said it will be another big city and it seems that it is geared to the youth culture so this middle aged person won't be doing much if anything 'trendy'.

Warnemunde is a nice little town, and depending on what part of the cruise you port there, the day spent walking the dockpath, as well as wandering around might be something to coinsider for a little down time. Wismar isn't far either and that is an UNESCO heritage site, with red brick Gothic architecture. Down an alleyway is also a Roman Bath house which I thought was quite interesting.

Enjoy your cruise!

Sauer-kraut - My question is about availability and ease of parking in Berlin near the attractions. DH and I will be renting a car fromWarnemuende. We are sailing on the NCL Breakaway. He wants to drive to the city. (We understand the time constraints with the distance from the cruise port. We live near Phoenix, AZ and do not have an issue driving the 4.5 hours each way to visit the Grand Canyon just for the day). My main concern, having never been to Berlin, is finding convenient parking near the main attractions - Checkpoint Charlie, Memorial of the Berlin Wall, Topography of Terror, Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, Holocaust Memorial, and the Reichstag Building. We are very independent travelers and are able to see things at a quick pace (we do not need to read every plaque at exhibits.) I have some issues with limited walking abilities, but, I am able to keep up with most fast paced tours. Is all of this doable? Any insight or thoughts on the above would be greatly appreciated.

Sauer-kraut - My question is about availability and ease of parking in Berlin near the attractions. DH and I will be renting a car fromWarnemuende. ...having never been to Berlin, is finding convenient parking near the main attractions - Checkpoint Charlie, Memorial of the Berlin Wall, Topography of Terror, Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, Holocaust Memorial, and the Reichstag Building. We are very independent travelers and are able to see things at a quick pace (we do not need to read every plaque at exhibits.) I have some issues with limited walking abilities, but, I am able to keep up with most fast paced tours. Is all of this doable? Any insight or thoughts on the above would be greatly appreciated.

I will definately look for a central parking area for you. Someone else who drove did mention that they parked outside of the city -- perhaps Potsdam -- and then took public transport in. That might be something to consider. I will be home the second week in April, I hope you won't have departed by then.

I will definately look for a central parking area for you. Someone else who drove did mention that they parked outside of the city -- perhaps Potsdam -- and then took public transport in. That might be something to consider. I will be home the second week in April, I hope you won't have departed by then.

Thank you so much. We are not departing until 2018, so, we have plenty of time. I looked into doing the HOHO bus and it seems to hit pretty much everything we would like to do. Just need that parking space... LOL... Thanks again

Sauer-kraut,

Please tell me more about Check-point Charlie and best places to see remains of Berlin Wall. Much of it seems over touristy but then again I am a tourist.

Thanks, Sightcrr

I went to Checkpoint Charlie, very touristy area however, the museum there at the Checkpoint was well worth the admission fee. I was in there over an hour, lots of videos to watch and some of the escape vehicles there. My friend and I enjoyed it a lot.

As for the wall remains, we never did get to see any of it. We didn't make any real effort to actually visit. I tried to tell my friend where it used to be in relation to the Brandenburg Gate.

Hope you enjoy your trip!

Thank you so much. We are not departing until 2018, so, we have plenty of time. I looked into doing the HOHO bus and it seems to hit pretty much everything we would like to do. Just need that parking space... LOL... Thanks again

LRDR01 I scoped out some parking garages for you.....however, Berlin is a massive construction zone! I wouldn't be able to tell you how to get to where might be cental, however, I have some maps and things from my trip and I would happily send them to you by mail with parking garages noted on them. Just contact me at CottonwoodVisit via gmail dot com

LRDR01 I scoped out some parking garages for you.....however, Berlin is a massive construction zone! I wouldn't be able to tell you how to get to where might be cental, however, I have some maps and things from my trip and I would happily send them to you by mail with parking garages noted on them. Just contact me at CottonwoodVisit via gmail dot com

Thank you so much for remembering me. I am sending you an email. Last name is Rimlinger - which is part of my email address. Again, can't thank you enough.

Thank you so much for remembering me. I am sending you an email. Last name is Rimlinger - which is part of my email address. Again, can't thank you enough.

Got it, I'll ready everything over the weekend.:)

Sauer-kraut,

Thank you for the info on check point Charlie.

New question. We bought a GPS for use in rental car and turns out it has GPS based speed/red light camera notification. Can we use it DE legally? Can we just turn that part off?

Thanks again for your info.

Sightcrr

Sauer-kraut,

Thank you for the info on check point Charlie.

New question. We bought a GPS for use in rental car and turns out it has GPS based speed/red light camera notification. Can we use it DE legally? Can we just turn that part off?

Thanks again for your info.

Sightcrr

I don't haven any idea about that, I just use my phone GPS when needed overseas. I think that might be a question to ask over on TripAdvisor under the Germany forum.

speed/red light camera notification softaware is illegal in germany in general;BUT there is a little trick to avoid the law.

In germany it is illegal to have speed camera warning software,but it is not illegal to have software that warns you in case of "dangerous spots". ;)

So all GPS for german market only mentions "warning:dangerous spot ahead". ;) This is legal.

So,it simply depends on the formulation your GPS uses.

But apart from that it is extremely unlikely that the police will stop you at all and if they do,they usually do not check if your GPS does have a speed camera notification software.

So i would not mind at all about that issue. ;)

Hi Sauer-Kraut,

How is the dome at the Reichtag? I am visiting Berlin pre-cruise in June. The tickets to the dome were sold out online already but I did get a reservation for lunch at the restaurant atop the Reichtag ...so I hope that allows us to get into the dome as well when we finish eating.

Also, what are the best places for shopping?...the wife will want to do some of that!

Hi Sauer-Kraut,

 

How is the dome at the Reichtag? I am visiting Berlin pre-cruise in June. The tickets to the dome were sold out online already but I did get a reservation for lunch at the restaurant atop the Reichtag ...so I hope that allows us to get into the dome as well when we finish eating.

 

Also, what are the best places for shopping?...the wife will want to do some of that!

Wow, sorry that you can't get viewing tickets for the Reichstag, we didn't go at all. The lines for the 'will call' tickets were terribly long when we were walking in that area.

As for shopping.....what do you want? There was a great little shop down a couple of blocks from Checkpoint Charlie that had little wooden figures of bunnies and Christmas Angels

If you are more upscale the Kurfurstendamm (Ku'damm) is the Champs Elysee of Germany. You can find designer shoes and clothing, china and flatware items. Steiff stuffed animals (although the smallest bear in the shop was on a keychain and it retailed for 55 Euros!!) Rausch on the Gendarmenplatz is THE place for chocolate. You can find all kinds of kitsch items from tiny bits of the Wall or the cute East German "Ampelmann" who actually defeated the pan-German generic pedestrian crossing symbol after unification, and other singular items at little tourist shops located all over the city. If you find yourself near theCheckpoint Charlie Museum go into their museum shop (you don't have to pay the entrance fee for the museum to get in there, there is a separate door to the shop). They have some really interesting things that I didn't see anywhere else.

If you start to get hungry after your scenic lunch, there are all kinds of lovely cafes on the Ku'damm. We ate a couple of times just outside the French cultural center as well as the cafe just next door to the Comedy Theater of Berlin (they are within a block of each other). Of course you can try a Currywurst .... (I did, checked it off my bucket list....won't have another one.) It is the Berlin street food and the line was always long at the wurst imbiss just outside of the Zoo Station so they must have been good there.

Berlin is a very big city, its like trying to explain to someone where to go shopping in Chicago....there's good stuff all over the place!! :D

Thanks for the tips!

Having recently lived in Berlin, I would say that Berlin, including the former East, is indeed a modern city. If you think that you will be disappointed seeing Berlin that way, then I would definitely plan to see Warnemuende and Rostock instead. (That's what we did when we did a Baltic cruise in July 2015). You might find the Stasi Prison in Rostock very interesting--we did. Just take the S-bahn from Warnemuende and you can walk there from the station. The building is not particularly well-marked, but just walk on Hermanstrasse to the Penny-Markt. It's across the parking lot from there. Admission is free and they have free audiotours in English. Allow 1 hour for the audiotour, but if you read German, you may want to stay longer to read the exhibits.

 

Our ship was in port long enough for us to do a bike ride from Warnemuende through the countryside and the side trip to Rostock. So you should have time to do a lot if you don't go to Berlin.

GradUT! Great advise; we will be ending a cruise in Warnemuende in May 2018 and want to spend a day/night in Berlin flying home the next day; can you recommend any tour companies that would pick us up at the port; tour Berlin, and then drop us off at a hotel (yet to be decided)? Also, any hotel recommendations near the airport?

Thanks

Brian

GradUT! Great advise; we will be ending a cruise in Warnemuende in May 2018 and want to spend a day/night in Berlin flying home the next day; can you recommend any tour companies that would pick us up at the port; tour Berlin, and then drop us off at a hotel (yet to be decided)? Also, any hotel recommendations near the airport?

 

Thanks

 

Brian

Well I did a little googling and you will probably have to contact companies directly to find out if they will do a tour -- and if you book with a tour company will they drop you at a hotel.....

So, for a taxi trip to the city from the port you might want to look here: http://www.airportcollections.net/

For a company that will do a private tour from the port to the city try this, they perhaps can customize a tour for you and not need to bother bringing you back to the port: https://www.privateshoretrips.com/warnemunde-shore-trips-s/2035.htm

This might be a better way to go as they can drive you around to all the sites/sights as well as stopping along the way to the city to sightsee the other areas too.