Monday, April 16, 2012

Berlin Trip for 4 Days in August

I will be visiting Berlin for 4 days in August. The last time I was in Berlin was in 1989, before the WALL came down. I know alot has changed since then. Can anyone tell me what I should see in the 4 days there. Whats new since 1990 that I MUST see or visit. Thank you.




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What has changed? Almost everything, except perhaps the KaDeWe and the Memorial Church.





What you should see? Quite a lot. I would suggest starting with a walking tour in the city (see for example at Insider Tours%26gt; http://www.insidertour.com ). This would give you some general review of the city%26#39;s most important sites, and you can talk with the guide about your plans and what to do.





There are also quite a few places that offer itinerary for Berlin. For example Frommers.





There is a lot to see in former East Berlin or in the former Wall zone and %26quot;no man%26#39;s land%26quot;. However, even the West was renewed, and I am not talking about fabulous museums like the Paintings Gallery, the Hamburger Bahnhof, the Berggruen, the Jewish Museum, the Pergamon.




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You won%26#39;t find the Kurfürstendamm all that much changed, but it%26#39;s lost the lustre it had as West Berlin%26#39;s premier street.





Potsdamer Platz, which was a no-man%26#39;s-land full of squatters and rabbits, with the Wall running through it, is now a high-rent district of post-modern glass and steel.





You%26#39;ll be hard-put to find any traces of the Wall, nor any huge differences between adjacent city districts that used to be on one side or the other.





The Government Quarter has sprung up, with many monumental buildings flanking the Spree River, and Norman Foster%26#39;s domed restored Reichstag.





Most of East Berlin will be unrecognizable.





Streets that in 1989 were lined with ominous, broken down buildings, with destroyed stucco and bullet holes from the Battle of Berlin, are now mostly restored with fresh pastel colours. The eastern Berlin districts of Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg are now among Berlin%26#39;s most coveted districts to live in and play in, full of cafés, restaurants, boutiques and trendy bars.





Friedrichstrasse - before 1990 a seedy, gritty inner city thoroughfare - has become one of the city%26#39;s top upscale shopping districts. The adjacent Gendarmenmarkt (East Berlin%26#39;s %26quot;Platz der Akademie%26quot;) has been restored to one of Europe%26#39;s most beautiful squares.





All the major railway stations, including grotty Friedrichstrasse and Alexanderplatz, have been refurbished, but the new Hauptbahnhof (where the former Lehrter Bahnhof once stood) is a light-filled architectural wonder that puts most other rail hubs to shame.





Don%26#39;t make the mistake of staying in former West Berlin out of old habit. The axis of Berlin has definitely moved east, and you%26#39;ll find that most of the things you%26#39;ll want to see are in Mitte or Tiergarten.

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