Anna Job-
Last January while on a Visarts Trip to Berlin, we had the pleasure of sharing our hostel with a hundred students from UCD. While chatting to one of ‘them’ at the bar, he told me he found Berlin boring. Shocked and appalled I asked him how he possibly came to that conclusion. ‘Well, you see we haven’t really left the hostel at all, only to go out drinking’ he replied. Lesson 1 on Berlin: Do not stay in your hostel. A city famous for its history and culture, why anyone would want to spend a day in a hostel when you could explore one of the biggest and best cities in Europe is beyond me. So, let’s start at the beginning with a few basics.
Aer lingus and Ryanair fly into Schönefeld airport, which thanks to an S-Bahn connection will take you straight into the heart of Berlin in about 20-30 minutes. The Berlin Welcome card is brilliant for tourists and can be purchased for periods of 48hrs to 5days. It offers great deals and discounts into many main attractions, clubs and restaurants. Check out http://www.visitberlin.de/en/welcomecard for more information.
For a Hostel you can’t go wrong with the Odysee Globetrotter (S-Bahn Warschauer Strasse), situated in Friedrichshain, is a great student friendly hostel in a quirky area. The Globetrotter is a five-minute walk from Boxhagener Platz and Simon-Dach Strasse, which are lined with cheap restaurants, bars and vintage shops. It’s also within walking distance to the East Side Galley.
After checking into the hostel stop by Cupcake (12, Krossener Straße), for a tasty coffee and snack – Guess, Yves San Laurent and the MTV European Music Awards have all ordered delicious cupcakes and baked treats from this bakery.
After a caffeine break why not hop on the S-Bahn or Tram to Unter den Linden or Freidrichstraße? From here there are a million and one things to do but a walking tour or a bus tour is usually a good way to start. Bus tours leave from the Brandenburg Gate: Platz des 18. März or “Unter d. Linden 74” Tussauds. But if it’s a sunny, summer day I’d recommend skipping the bus and taking a boat tour on the Spree instead. Tours leave roughly every half hour from a dock beside the German History Museum on Unter den Linden. From Unter den Linden you are within walking distance to some of the most famous and interesting sights such as Museum Island, Humbolt University, Potzdamer Platz, the Reichstag, Tiergarten and the Jewish memorial.
After a day of sightseeing, stroll along to Thai restaurant Papaya, (11,Krossener Straße) which has two outlets, one for noodle based dishes and one for soups and is brilliant value! Friedrichshain is also a great area to try cheap but tasty Falafel, Kebabs & Currywurst. Other restaurants and cafes outside Freidrichshain which are worth checking out are Petrocelli, (36 Kurfurstendamm) where from 16.00-18.30 all pizzas are €6.50, Chocolatier Fassbender and Rausch (Gendarmenmarkt) and the gourmet food floor in the KaDeWe (Kurfurstendamm).
Berlin is famous for its nightlife and trust me you won’t be disappointed. Pub crawls in Berlin meet nightly beside the S-Bahn Station Hackescher Markt at 8.15pm.
Café Zapata/Kunsthaus Taschles (Oranienburgerstrasse 54-56a) was originally a department store which was taken over by squatters after the fall of the Berlin wall. It’s home to an art house cinema, club, garden party and art gallery and is definitely worth a visit. The Weekend (Alexanderplatz) is another club, which puts the Dublin club scene to shame. When you enter the building you’ll be shown to an elevator that brings you straight up to the club on the 12th floor. From there you can go up to the 15th floor where the fun really begins. It’s a rooftop bar with a fantastic view of Berlin. It’s open right into the early hours of the morning, so why not stay and watch the sun rise with a cocktail or two and be thankful you didn’t spend the whole weekend in your hostel.
