Experts, please help with choosing apartments/neighborhoods

Hi, Berlin experts, I need your help please.

My husband and I will be in Berlin for a week this Fall (late Sept). I have read through many threads here, looked for reviews, gone through dozens and dozens of apt rental websites.

I have been to Berlin once before but I%26#39;m not too familiar with some of these areas. Also, with the S-bahn disruption (if it lasts for another 2 months), I need some help.

We will be arriving at Tegel and traveling to the apt via public transport. During our stay in Berlin, we will also make a trip to Dresden. Otherwise, we will be doing usual %26quot;tourist sightseeing%26quot;. We are NOT looking for areas with lots of bars, we mostly will eat in at night in our apt.

I am down to a couple of choices:

1) On Kopenhagener Strasse near Schönhauser Allee in Prenzlauer Berg

2) At Hermannplatz

3) Between Bernauer Strasse station and Zionskirchplatz

1,2 %26amp; 3 are comparable in prices.

4) On Mollstrasse near Alexanderplatz

5) A couple places at Wildepark near Rathaus Schoneberg station

4 %26amp; 5 are about 100 euros more expensive.

Thank you very much in advance for your insight and assistance.

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I%26#39;m kind of partial to #3 because it%26#39;s my neighbourhood!

Excellent public transportation: 3 very convenient tram lines and 2 U-Bahn lines within easy walking distance, and those lead quickly to 2 S-Bahn lines (which are both in operation). Museum Island, Potsdamer Platz, and Friedrichstrasse are minutes away.

A %26quot;neighbourly%26quot; residential neighbourhood with renovated old apartment blocks and a nice little park (Arkonaplatz), lots of young families and quite a bit of greenery. Two flea markets on Sundays.

I know you said you don%26#39;t want lots of bars, but still, it%26#39;s nice to be in a quiet neighbourhood, yet have the opportunity to go nearby to a place with lots of life and colour and people watching, not to mention bars and cafés. Kastanienallee has that and more, and Oderburger Strasse too. They%26#39;re close by but the party scene is not around your neck. Also dozens of great inexpensive restaurants and eateries in the immediate area if dining in your apartment every night becomes, well, sorta boring.

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Agree with Bill. In any case, the moment I read the place of %26quot;3%26quot;, I thought that it should be a bad apartment not to take. The area is excellent.

As for the others, my ranking would be

(4) (near the TXL bus line from the airport, central for the sites)

(1) nice neighbourhood, good reach of public transportation

(5) nice neighbourhood

(2) I used to live there and I think this area is an acquired taste (which you will not get from a week%26#39;s visit).

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Thank you, bill2p and lylou.

I just found out from the owner (who owns #2 and #3) than the #3 apartment is NOT available.

Looks like I%26#39;ll stick with choice #1 in this case. Last time I was in Berlin, I stayed at Park Inn AlexanderPlatz, so I know how convenient choice #4 is. However, I%26#39;m not sure if it%26#39;s worth 100 euros more.

None of my guidebooks have tram lines. I guess I need to look at BVG website and study all the lines that go near Schönhauser Allee. If you experts don%26#39;t mind, can you quickly tell me the easiest ways to get from

a) Tegel to Schönhauser Allee (TXL bus to Buesselstrasse then S-bahn to Schönhauser Allee?)

b) Hauptbahnhof to Schönhauser Allee, assuming the S-bahn trains still not operational around the Ring? (I can%26#39;t quite figure out this one)

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%26lt;a) Tegel to Schönhauser Allee (TXL bus to Buesselstrasse then S-bahn to Schönhauser Allee?)%26gt;

Correct. You%26#39;ll be taking the S-Bahn Ring clockwise.

%26lt;b) Hauptbahnhof to Schönhauser Allee, assuming the S-bahn trains still not operational around the Ring? (I can%26#39;t quite figure out this one)%26gt;

Well, you could take the M1 tram to Friedrichstrasse and then an RE train or an Ersatzbus to the Hauptbahnhof. The problem is, they%26#39;re working on the tram line right now, so you%26#39;d also have to take an Ersatzbus along a short part of the tram route (until Eberswalder Strasse). This is no big deal, but involves one more transfer than usual.

Or the S-Bahn Ring counter-clockwise to Gesundbrunnen, then the S-Bahn south to Friedrichstrasse, and then the Ersatzbus or RE train. Might take a lot longer than the tram.

The trains ARE running around the S-Bahn Ring. It%26#39;s the S-Bahns on the main east-west cross-town tracks that are suspended.