Berlin is a scene-stealing combo of glamour and grit, teeming
with top museums and galleries, grand opera and guerrilla clubs, gourmet
temples and ethnic snack shacks. Whether your tastes run to posh or
punk, you can sate them in Berlin.
Despite its often hectic pace, Berlin functions on an exquisitely
human scale. Traffic flows freely, public transportation is brilliant,
you can walk without fear at night, clubs have no velvet ropes and your
restaurant bill would only buy you a starter back home. Come and join
the party and be swept away by the riches, quirks and vibrancy of this
fascinating city. Here are ten things to add to the top of your list.
1. Channelling your inner-archaeologist at the Pergamon museum
An Aladdin’s cave of treasures from ancient realms,
the Pergamon museum is an essential entry on any list of must-see
sights. Inside the vast complex, custom built on Museumsinsel (Museum
Island) in 1930, is a feast of classical sculpture and monumental
architecture from Greece, Rome, Babylon and the Middle East that will
amaze and enlighten. Most of it was excavated and spirited to Berlin by
German archaeologists at the turn of the 20th century.
2. Getting palace envy at Schloss Charlottenburg
An exquisite baroque palace, Schloss Charlottenburg
evokes the onetime grandeur of the Prussian royals. It is particularly
special to visit in the summer when you can fold a stroll, sunbathing
session or picnic in the lush palace park into a day of peeking at royal
treasures.
3. Losing your weekend on Berlin’s sizzling dance floors
Berlin’s reputation for intense and unbridled
nightlife is rooted in the libertine 1920s when everyone from Marlene
Dietrich to Christopher Isherwood partied like it was 1999. After
reunification the club scene exploded, with the most vital venues taking
over all sorts of dark, disused and derelict locations, from postal
offices to power stations, bunkers to factories. From here, hard-edged
techno conquered the world, using the impetus of reunification to tap
into the simultaneous explosion of the UK rave scene and the popularity
of ecstasy. Illegal and underground parties thrive, often taking over
S-Bahn stations and trains, abandoned buildings, ATM foyers and other
unlikely locales – at least until the police show up.
4. Shopping for kitsch and couture in the Scheunenviertel
Retail therapy gets a unique Berlin twist in the
Scheunenviertel, the ultimate shopping mecca for individualists.
Boutiques here are edgy, stylish and definitely light years from
high-street conformity. From couture to streetwear, home decorations to
gourmet foods, accessories to art, you will find a diverse and mostly
home-grown selection in this village-like labyrinth of lanes.
5. Standing before history at the Reichstag
Likely to give you more flashbacks to high-school
history than any other Berlin landmark, this grand old building by Paul
Wallot (1894) is where the German parliament, the Bundestag, has been
hammering out its policies since 1999. This followed a total makeover by
Lord Norman Foster, who preserved only the building’s historical shell
while adding the striking glass dome, which is accessible by lift.
In the ’80s, megastars including David Bowie, Pink Floyd and Michael
Jackson performed concerts on the lawn of the Reichstag, which rubbed up
against the western side of the Berlin Wall. When word got out that
East German fans were trying to eavesdrop from the other side, the stars
turned some of the loudspeakers around, almost provoking an
international incident!
6. Gaining insight into Jewish life at the Jewish Museum
Berlin’s Jewish Museum (Jüdisches Museum) is an
eye-opening, emotional and interactive journey through 2,000 years of
Jewish history in Germany, not just the 12 years of Nazi horror that
such presentations often focus on. This exhibit deftly navigates through
all major historic periods, from the Roman era to the community’s
current renaissance, with stops in the Middle Ages and the
Enlightenment.
7. Mingling with old masters at the Gemäldegalerie
About 1,500 works span the arc of artistic vision
between the 13th and 18th centuries, with key canvasses by Rembrandt,
Titian, Goya, Botticelli, Holbein, Gainsborough, Canaletto, Hals,
Rubens, Vermeer and other heavy hitters.
8. Roaming, picnicking and carousing in the Tiergarten
Berlin’s rulers used the grounds to hunt boar and
pheasants before having them shaped into a public park by master
landscape architect Peter Lenné in the 18th century. With its huge shady
trees, groomed paths, woodsy groves, lakes, creeks and meadows, the
Tiergarten is one of the world’s largest city parks and a wonderful
retreat from the city bustle. It is popular for strolling, jogging,
Frisbee tossing, picnicking, grill parties, sunbathing and even gay
cruising (especially around the Löwenbrücke).
9. Hobnobbing with high society on Kurfürstendamm
No trip to Berlin would be complete without a
saunter along Kurfürstendamm (Ku’damm for short) in Charlottenburg.
Along with its continuation, the Tauentzienstrasse, it is the city’s
longest and busiest shopping strip, lined with everything from big
department stores to high-street chains and designer boutiques for size
zero fembots. Amid all this, the Gedächtniskirche (Memorial Church)
stands quietly, if incongruously, as a poignant reminder of the
absurdity of war.
10. Posing for pictures with the Brandenburg Gate
So where were you when the Berlin Wall fell? For
tens of thousands the answer is ‘at the Brandenburg Gate’. Who can
forget the images of the crowds of euphoric revellers perched atop the
Wall, hugging complete strangers and shaking hands with border guards?
Amid cheers and champagne, the Cold War was over and a new era of hope
and freedom began.
( Source :www.lonelyplanet.com/germany/berlin/travel-tips-and-articles/70422)
