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I'm heading Berlin next wednesday with my dad for a few days and I wanted to know if anyone can give hints as to what to see while there and perhaps places to avoid (I'd prefer not to get mugged or pickpocketed if possible).

The last time I was in Berlin was 1986 (and in the East German side), but that city has an absolute profusion of fantastic museums. Which I'm sure Thanas will elaborate on at length, if given half a chance.

There are no places where you´d have to be esspecially worried about muggings or pickpocketing. You can walk around even in the night without problems.
Just know that Berlin in the winter isn´t exactly all that great.

For the large tourist attractions I recommend the Museums Insel. You can buy a ticket that covers several of the museums and they are all next to each other. The waiting lines can be very long but if you know when you want to go you can reserve a time slot on the internet. This means that during a certain time you can just skip the line and they will let you in. Apparently very few people are aware of that.
Also on the Museumsinsel (but not covered by the ticket) is the Berlin cathedral which is worth a visit. Walking to the top and getting a good view is nice and in its catacombs you can see the sakophags of dead german kings and emperors and stuff like that.
Another intersting museum is the medical historical museum of the pathological facility of the Charite. They´ve got some scary shit in there.
http://www.bmm-charite.de/en/museum/our-museum.html

The Reichstag is worth a visit. Also be sure to get a timeslot ticket or you will have to wait for ever.


If you are interested in Soviet military stuff I allways recommend the Soviet Memorial in Treptower Park.
Soviet Memorial

For just strolling around the city, Kreuzberg (around Kottbusser Tor and Oranienstraße ) and the bordering parts of Neukölln are probably the most interesting option.
From there it can be nice to go south towards the Landwehrkanal and walk along the channel or take a tourist boat ride on the channel. The latter is a bit cheesy and the captain will tell bad jokes but you get to see a lot of the city. All of this is probably a lot better in the Summer than now in this rainy, muddy weather.
I´d also recomment the old airport the Tempelhofer Park but that is definately a Summer activity.

Good Bars and Pubs can be found in Neukölln around the Weserstraße and in Neukölln and Kreuzberg along the Maybachufer and Paul-Linke Ufer Personally I like the Anker Klause, Freies Neukölln or Damensalon for example but to be honest most of the pubs are rather similar and you can have a good time pretty much everywhere. Friedrichshain offers a lot of Bars as well but I find that they have become rather overcrowded with party tourists giving it a spring brake feel. Be aware that these are of the "Berlin style" type and not exactly upscale places. I have not idea where to find more posh places.

If you want an awesome brunch be sure to check out the Russian restaurant Pasternak in Prenzlauer Berg on Sundays. It is absolutely fantastic.


If you have any specific questions just ask. I might be able to answer.

If you want to do Museums, get up at 6am and get there before the great tourist horde arrives. The Museumsinsel is a must.

And the view from the TV Tower is absolutely awesome.

If you want to buy weed it is best, at least for tourists, to get it in Görlitzer Park.
The process is easy. After entering the park you will see drug dealers. They don´t hold up signs but you will know them when you see them. I don´t know how but they will know that you want to buy drugs and will ask you if you want some. They usually have packs of 50 Euros but you can ask for less. If that is the case it is best to bring some sort of container. If you don´t have a container the guy will wrap it in a kleenex or some other improvised thing. Then you can ask for a bit more and he will give you a bit more. I usually don´t do that, though, as they are pretty poor and need the cash. I consider not asking for more kind of like tipping at a restaurant.

And be aware of dog shit. The city is full of it. Especially now when it has been liquified by all the rain.

I'm not sure exactly what it's called in German but the National History museum is an incredible place. Zaune already mentioned the TV Tower and someone else brought up the Reichstag. If Cold War stuff if your thing then Checkpoint Charlie is pretty cool.

I can't comment on nightlife or drug dealing since I was 15 when I visited. The Holocaust Memorial, well, I think everyone should visit it at least once, even if it is depressing as all hell.

Eternal_Freedom wrote:I can't comment on nightlife or drug dealing since I was 15 when I visited. The Holocaust Memorial, well, I think everyone should visit it at least once, even if it is depressing as all hell.

When I visited, it was ruined due to at least two tourist couples kissing on top of what must have been nice places to have a lie down.

IIRC the Pergamonmuseum is mostly closed for restoration now, which is unfortunate. The botanical garden is rather interesting if you like that sort of thing. I like public transit systems and you can try a bunch of them in Berlin, which features several kinds of underground and surface rail. Do you like books?

If you´re into public transport and trains and stuff like that I recommend the U1 starting at Warschauer Straße. Or at least its tracks. It is a raised tram over the street and the tracks are built on a steam punkesque bridge.

my dad is 62 years old so nightlife and drugs are pretty much of the table and besides they're illegal here anyway (drugs that is, not the nightlife) and my princible is for the most part that if it's illegal in Finland I prefer not to do it.

Lord Revan wrote:my dad is 62 years old so nightlife and drugs are pretty much off the table...

Oh, I dunno. Is it not written, "you're only as old as you feel"?

Zaune wrote:

Lord Revan wrote:my dad is 62 years old so nightlife and drugs are pretty much off the table...

Oh, I dunno. Is it not written, "you're only as old as you feel"?

true but I know my dad well enough to know that he won't be trying to relive his youth.

well before I forget here's the debrief from my trip (I'll put it on this thread to as to not crowd the vent thread), the day we arrived we spent about 4-5 hours at the Berlin zoo and later in the evening we visited the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church. on day 2 we visited checkpoint Charlie and the Wall museum next to it and spent few hours there then later we visited a museum called "story of Berlin". on day 3 we visit the Museuminsel (more precicely the (southwing of the) Pergammon museum and the new museum).

in all it was a nice trip. though it helped that my dad was with me as he speaks german while I don't that much.

Lord Revan wrote:well before I forget here's the debrief from my trip (I'll put it on this thread to as to not crowd the vent thread), the day we arrived we spent about 4-5 hours at the Berlin zoo and later in the evening we visited the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church. on day 2 we visited checkpoint Charlie and the Wall museum next to it and spent few hours there then later we visited a museum called "story of Berlin". on day 3 we visit the Museuminsel (more precicely the (southwing of the) Pergammon museum and the new museum).

in all it was a nice trip. though it helped that my dad was with me as he speaks german while I don't that much.

Haha, I was at the "Story of Berlin" a couple of months ago. It´s pretty cheesy but kind of fun in a Disneyland way. The best part is that you go into a bunker ein the end.