Berlin Things to Do Tips by Turtleshell

I'll try(!) to provide tips on a month-to-month basis on what to do in Berlin here:

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/a30dc/#TL

It's going to be a very personal selection of upcoming shows and exhibitions I would like to see.
So it's not going to be a comprehensive list, as opposed to those published in Zitty and Tip, the two listing magazines that provide a good overview over the next 14 days (and the nights). So if you can read German, you may want to get a copy.
http://www.tip-berlin.de/
http://www.zitty.de/

There's even an English lanuage magazin for Berlin, called Exberliner. IT#s somewhat difficult to find a copy, though.
http://www.exberliner.com/

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Most tourists visit Hackesche Höfe, Berlin's most well-known courtyards. Heckmann Höfe are only a stone's throw away and somewhat different. First and foremost they are less a tourist hotspot, so they are a lot quiter. Actually it's amazing: you leave Oranienburger Strasse with all the cars, tourists and locals and turn into Heckmann Höfe and it is as if somebody turned off your TV and replaced it with a still-life picture. No Tram is rumbling, no car is blowing its horn, and there are surprisingly few people around. I have lived in Berlin for more than ten years now and this effect never ceases to amaze me. I hope it stays this way even if I make Heckmann Höfe more popular here. :-)

Coming from Oranienburger Str., you may notice a sweet scent after only a couple of yards. It's the Bonbonmacherei (http://www.bonbonmacherei.de/) downstairs on the left hand side. Here sweets are traditionally cooked on open fire. Clearly a small attraction not only for your kids.

Then you'll come across some small shops, restaurants and a fountain. Turn left and go back to Oranienburger Str. and its vibrant life. There are some more bars where locals have beer after work without paying the usual premium for tourist hotspots. However, the best restaurant around, in my opinion, is still Café Orange, Oranienburger Str., right hand side of the entrance to Heckmann Höfe (see tip).

But before you leave, turn around and see New Synagogue in a beautiful bluish light - provided the sun already sets. If not, it's just quite and peaceful. I did say it's quite in here, didn't I?

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Address: Oranienburger Str (directly at the S-Bahn station)
Directions: Heckmann Höfe are located between Friedrichstrasse and Hackescher Markt (wehere you'll find the better known Hackesche Höfe).
More precisely, the entrance is on the left hand side of New Synagogue.
Website: http://www.heckmann-hoefe.de

Berlin Walks offers walking tours in English to different historic places or along different historic themes. Tours can introduce you to remainings of the infamous "third Reich", Jewish life or take you out to Potsdam. The "Discover Berlin" tour will take you to the main sights.

The good thing is that, compared to the usual bus tour, you'll feel much more involved. You won't only see places for a couple of minutes or seconds but can touch things and ask questions, the tour guide will be happy to answer. The direct contact to your guide and the usually comparatively small number of attendees make the tour more personal and less superficial.

Duration is 3 - 6 hours (in the latter case, it's not only walking) depending on the tour. Prices: 12 - 15 Euro, children below 14, accompanied by an adult are free (as of February 2007). Discounts for Welcome Card holders.

You can purchase your ticket from your guide or book online in advance. In the latter case, do not forget to print your confirming e-mail and bring a photo-ID.

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Address: http://www.berlinwalks.com/
Directions: Meeting points depend on the tour.
Website: http://www.berlinwalks.com/tours_prices.php

If you believe a Berlin Walk (see tip) would burn too many calories and a bus tour create too many new, you may want to consider attending a tour on bike.

You can pick from two different tours, one along the Berlin wall - or what's left of it - and another one along Berlin's main sights.

Meeting point is always Prenzlauer Berg, but it's an easy find. Prices 17 € including bike rental, 12 € if you bring your own bike. Reductions for students under 18 and Welcome-Card holders.

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Address: Kulturbrauerei or U-Schönhauser-Allee
Directions: Check their website for further information on the meeting points.
Website: http://www.berlinonbike.de/english/

This walk guides you from Zoo Station to Brandenburg Gate via Tiergarten Park, Victory Column and the Sovjet Monument. Length is approx. 2.5 miles or 4 km.

Alternatively, you can replace the Sovjet monument with Bellevue Palace and Haus der Kulturen der Welt (House of World Cultures), which would add another 200 yards or meters.

Start at Zoologischer Garten station. Zoo Station was West-Berlin's central station and made it into a variety of literature (Christiane F. - We Children from Bahnhof Zoo), rock songs (U2 - Zoo Station) and - mostly - sociological studies.
Cross Hardenbergplatz and turn left. At the end of Hardenberg Platz, there's a somewhat narrow way which will take you to Landwehrkanal, the canal, where Rosa Luxemburg was killed.
Turn right into Gartenufer and follow the canal. On the right hand side, you'll see a couple of the Zoo's enclosures, so this part of your walk will be accompanied by the twitter of some exotic birds (pic #1).

After maybe 200 yards/meters, there's a bridge that takes you across Landwehrkanal and into Tiergarten. There's a beer garden (with lousy service) at a nice pond if you already need a beer.
When you now stroll through Tiergarten, it's a good idea to choose smaller, narrower ways than the one I marked in pic#2. It's still pretty easy not to miss Victory Column, build in 1873 to commemorate the successful completion of the Victory Column ;-).

From there, you can turn right into Strasse des 17. Juni which name commemorates the 1953 revolt of East-Berliners against the GDR government.
Albeit you are still in the former western part of Berlin, you'll see the Sovjet Monument on the left.

Alternatively, you can cross the square at Victory Column and go down Spreeweg, which will provide you with a view over Bellevue Palace, the residence of the German President. Turn right into John-Forster-Dulles-Allee to see Haus der Kulturen der Welt (nick-named Pregnant Oyster), the Chancellory and Reichstag Building (pics # 3 & 4).

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Directions: Four S-Bahn and two subway lines as well as a number of bus lines stop at Zoologischer Garten.

This is a 1.5-mile or 2.5 km walk through Spandauer Vorstadt, a part of the borough "Mitte" which, together with "Scheunenviertel" around Rosenthaler Str. was the Jewish Quarter of Berlin. Streets like Oranienburger Str. or Hamburger Str. date back to times when this area actually was a "Vorstadt" ("before the city") with streets merchants used to go to other cities.
Many places commemorate Jewish life (watch out for "Stolpersteine"), and I see with delight that the Jewish congregation is now back and growing.

Start your tour at Hackescher Markt S-Bahn station. Cross the square, go through Hackesche Höfe, the most well-known courtyards, and maybe see Rosenhöfe, too. You won't miss either of those.
Then turn left into Sophienstr (pic #1). There are some galeries, more courtyards, and without the cars, one could think, time stood still since the 19th century. Many better known Berliners are buried at Sophienkirche's cemetery.

Pic#2: Turn left into Große Hamburger Str. Here, you'll find a Jewish school and Berlin's oldest Jewish cemetery. Philosopher Moses Mendelsohn was buried here, but Nazis had destroyed the cemetery to build trenches. Only a reconstruction of Mendelssohn's tombstone can be found.

Now turn right into Oranienburger Str. to find Kunsthof, New Synagogue and Heckmann Höfe (pic #3). Although not a red-light district, you'll see hookers along Oranienburger Str. (not in front of the synagogue) after sunset, so if you have kids, you might want to come at broad daylight.
Go through Heckmann Höfe and turn left. Go down either Auguststr. or Tucholskystr. Turn right into Oranienburger Str. again to find Tacheles.

Pic #4: Tacheles is Yiddish for plain-talking, which was difficult in the GDR when artists had to hide their message "between the lines". Formerly a department store, the building is certainly not something for everyone, but it has a very moving history.
Now you are at Friedrichstrasse with a subway station and a tram stop right in front of you.

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Directions: Many S-Bahn and tram lines stop at Hackescher Markt.

A pretty long (3.5 miles / 6 km) walk from Central Station (Hauptbahnhof) to Hackescher Markt. However, you can skip parts of it, i.e. start at Brandenburg Gate (minus 0.7 miles) or take the subway from Potsdamer Platz to Stadtmitte (minus 0.5 miles).

Exit Central Station, cross the bridge at the opposite end of the square in front of the station. Turn left to walk alongside river Spree. You'll see the main buildings of the governmental quarter. At Reichstag Building head to Brandenburg Gate (pic 1). A cobblestoned line indicates where the wall stood.

Going down Ebertstr. you'll come along the Shoa/Holocaust memorial. Then comes Potsdamer Platz, formerly Europe's most frequented square. In front of Sony Center some slices of the wall can be seen. From Reichstag Building to Potsdamer Platz you basically followed the line of the former border. There's a somewhat hidden watchtower where you can see the copyright sign on pic 2.
Stroll through Sony Center and have an ice cream at Café e Gelato (see tip).
Then either hop on the U2 only to exit at the next stop ("Stadtmitte") or walk down Leipziger Str. which admittedly is a drag.

Pic 3: Go down famous Friedrichstr. (Checkpoint Charlie at your back) and turn right into Mohrenstr. to find Gendarmenmarkt, one of Berlin's nicer squares, especially on a warm evening.
From here, it's a stone's throw to Bebelplatz with its neoclassical buildings. In the middle of the square, you can see a simple, yet powerful sculpture through a glass plate: The "Empty Bookshelves" commemorate the Nazi bookburnings which took place here.
Now turn right into Unter den Linden, once Berlin's most glamorous boulevard, then cross Lustgarten.

Lustgarten is part of the Island of Museums, which is listed as UNESCO World Heritage. Between Old Museum and National Gallery, you'll see a bridge to your right (pic 4). Cross the bridge, turn left and then right again and you are in front of Hackescher Markt, an S-Bahn station.
Alternatively you could go to Domaquaree to visit AquaDom and Sea Life.

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Directions: Central Station / Hauptbahnhof is obviously easy to find. Just make sure you pick the right exit (south). There should be a square rather than a main street.

Prenzlauer Berg, now officially part of the borough of Pankow, was developed in the second half of the 19th century to provide workers, the industrial revolution was still in its infancy, with tenements. A railway service helped greatly to turn Prenzl'berg into Europe's largest working-class district with often miserable living conditions.

For some reasons, roughly 75% of the housings survived WWII, so Prenzlauer Berg has since possibly been Europe's largest collection of Gründerzeit / Victorian style apartment buildings.

During the GDR, locals were notorious for their (often wrapped) opposition against the regime. This may be one reason (among others) why the government did not dare to replace the typical Prenzlauer Berg building with those sad, uniform, high-rise tenements.

At the same time, the borough seemed to be stuck in the past: Many buildings looked as if WWII battles had ended only yesterday. Gray facades that had not seen any paint for decades were covered with bullet holes and other scars.
At a time when efficient heating systems were normal in the west, old-fashined coal stoves were standard in Prenzlauer Berg.
The day after I moved to Berlin in 1995, I bought a newspaper and came across an article saying that an old lady was killed by a balcony coming down. In an interview, an official said that they had to renovate staircases first, as they could keep residents off from their balconies but not from staircases and those structures were dangerously close to collapse, too.

That was, when Prenzl'berg attracted the "I'm-broke-but-I-have-ideas" sort of folks, mostly artists and students, and later the more wealthy youngsters who made a fortune during the Dot-Com hype. Coffehouses, clubs, affordable restaurants, courtyard theaters and galleries came at a fast pace.

(Continues in the following tip)

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Directions: Take the U2 (subway) to Eberswalder Straße which is a 5- or 7-minute ride from Alexanderplatz.

(This is a continuation of "Prenzlauer Berg (Pt. 1)")

In order to quickly refurbish Prenzl'berg without forcing too many locals to leave, state granted cheap loans and promised residents, they could live in their apartments without paying mortgages for years (up to 15 years, depending on the efforts taken, I believe).

Often, after houses were refurbished, former landlords came to claim possession and felt dispossessed for a second time after they learned that they won't be able to demand mortgages, but soon discoverd a loophole: The no-mortgage contracts were non-transferable, and if tenants moved out, no matter how "voluntarely", the apartment fell back into the landlord's possession.
Instead of the expected upswing, German economy took a downturn, unemployment, especially in the east, came to an all-time high, and a financial scandal in direct relation to the refurbishment works and the loans granted, forced some officials to retire, whereas others prefered to leave Europe.
Works in Prenzlauer Berg area (as well as elsewhere) came to a grinding near-stop.

When President Clinton, together with Secretary Albright, Chancellor Schröder and Minister Fischer had dinner at the Gugelhof restaurant at Kollwitzplatz, real estate agents from literally all around the world discovered Prenzlauer Berg and invested millions. This and a growing number of tourists changed parts of Prenzlauer Berg from a Bohème or "hipster's quartier" to a Paris-in-1920 like chic arrondissement, attracting tourists and wealthy investors alike. As a result, many places are now less vibrant, shops are more mainstream and less adventurous, independant courtyard theaters are rare to non-existent.

I'm not saying that's bad or good per se. It was probably inevitable.

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Pros: Prenzlauer Berg has flair. Its' slow-paced yet vibrant, has a large variety of restaurants, clubs and coffeehouses, people are mostly outgoing and relaxed.

Cons: Graffiti. Dirt. Lacks a lake and a park worth to be mentioned.

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This walk is roughly 2 miles (3.5 km) long, depending on which route you take.
For information on Prenzlauer Berg, see my two tips covering history and recent developments.

Take the U2 to Eberswalder Straße, turn into Danziger Str. At the first side-road on the right hand side is a backdoor of Kulturbrauerei (Culture Brewery, pic 1), the former Schultheiss brewery which now accomodates a couple of clubs (see tip). Walk through the building complex and turn left into Sredzkistr. Go down Sredzkistr and turn right into Husemannstr.
Husemannstraße is a part of Prenzlauer Berg which was refurbished when the GDR still existed. Erich Honecker came over to boast about the superiority of socialism - two years before the wall came down.

Husemannstraße will take you to the triangle-shaped Kollwitzplatz / Kollwitz Square (pic 2). Google's map shows the farmer's market on a Thursday afternoon. Its larger sibling on a Saturday is a lot more attractive (see tip).
Käthe Kollwitz, the sculpturer, lived in a house at the crossrossroads where you should turn left into Knaackstraße.
Check the water tower for venues, then go down Rykestraße (pic 3). Rather than the usual restaurants, Rykestr. accomodates mostly small home furnishing stores. The synagogue is Berlin's oldest and survived the November progroms 1938.

Now you should on one way or another somehow go back to Husemannstraße and go down Husemannstraße in opposite direction. This way, you only need to cross Danziger Straße, and go straight to find Helmholtzplatz (pic 4).
Here, residents are younger, less wealthy and won't go to bed early, but signs of gentrification are visible.

Now either turn left into Lychener Straße and go back to the subway station or turn right into i.e. Schliemannstraße. At Stargarder Str. turn left to find Gethsemane Church on the right. The church played an important role during the 1989 unrests (pic 5).

Behind the church, a little to the left is Schönhauser Allee, an S-Bahn and subway station.

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Directions: The subway station "Eberswalder Straße" is served by the U2 and a 5 or 7-minute ride away from Alexanderplatz.