I am thinking of visiting Berlin over the Christmas break.

* Weather -- is Berlin cold, rainy & miserable in December, getting
dark at 4PM like the UK?

* Areas to stay -- are hotels in the East side of the city cheaper
then West side? I am looking to spend 40E for Single. There are a few
possibilitiies listed on hrs.de

* Day trips -- any day trips within an hour or so train journey of
Berlin?

Thanks
Bruce

[email protected] (bruce phipps) wrote in
news:[email protected] om:

    > I am thinking of visiting Berlin over the Christmas break.
    >
    > * Weather -- is Berlin cold, rainy & miserable in December, getting
    > dark at 4PM like the UK?

Yes, probably colder as Eastern Germany has a slightly more continental
climate than more westerly parts of Europe. Christmas/New Year is about
when "real" winter sets in, with freezing and snow getting more likely.
The days are just as short as where you are, as Northern parts of Germany
are the same latitude as Southern UK.

    > * Areas to stay -- are hotels in the East side of the city cheaper
    > then West side?

No. The general rules apply: Luxury hotels are most expensive, followed
by middle class hotels, cheapest are bed and breakfast. Suburbian
accomodation is cheaper than city centre, etc.. There's accomodation of
all these "classes" in both former halves of the city.

    > I am looking to spend 40E for Single. There are a few
    > possibilitiies listed on hrs.de

I'm a local so don't normally search for tourist accomodation in my home
town, but I think you'll have no problem finding something in that price
range.

    > * Day trips -- any day trips within an hour or so train journey of
    > Berlin?

Plenty. Most obvious is Potsdam with its castles among forests and lakes,
which can be reaches with a 30 min. S-Bahn ride from Berlin city centre.
Otherwhise I could recommend something else if you told us your
interests.

Regards

--
La mer qu'on voit danser le long des golfes clairs
A des reflets d'argent, la mer
Des reflets changeants sous la pluie

Thanks for your reply, Wolfgang.
    >
    > > * Areas to stay -- are hotels in the East side of the city cheaper
    > > then West side?
    >
    > No. The general rules apply: Luxury hotels are most expensive, followed
    > by middle class hotels, cheapest are bed and breakfast. Suburbian
    > accomodation is cheaper than city centre, etc.. There's accomodation of
    > all these "classes" in both former halves of the city.
    >

I'm in Berlin for 5 nights, so I plan to spend 3 days in a hotel in
the "west" side -- there seem to be many hotels in Charlottenburg or
near Kurf'damm -- and 2 days in the "east" side -- not so many hotels
here, is Frankfurter Allee convenient for sight seeing in the "east"?


    > > * Day trips -- any day trips within an hour or so train journey of
    > > Berlin?
    >
    > Plenty. Most obvious is Potsdam with its castles among forests and lakes,
    > which can be reaches with a 30 min. S-Bahn ride from Berlin city centre.
    > Otherwhise I could recommend something else if you told us your
    > interests.

Potsdam is a possibility. I also thought of maybe venturing into
Poland, maybe to one of the border towns -- but is it too far for a
day trip.

I'm keen on WorldWar 2 historical sites (Wannsee, Checkpoint Charlie
etc.). Also, I am keen to sample some good German beer. Is Berlin beer
as good as Munich beer?

Bruce

bruce phipps schrieb:

    > Potsdam is a possibility. I also thought of maybe venturing into
    > Poland, maybe to one of the border towns -- but is it too far for a
    > day trip.

Kostrzyn might do.

Regards, ULF

Ulf Kutzner schrieb:
    > bruce phipps schrieb:

    >> Potsdam is a possibility. I also thought of maybe venturing into
    >> Poland, maybe to one of the border towns -- but is it too far for a
    >> day trip.
    >
    > Kostrzyn might do.

As well as Szczecin or Poznan (which I would recommend, although you'd have
to rise early to get the 6:30 train), which both offer more interesting
sights than Kostrzyn IMHO.

... Martin

[email protected] (bruce phipps) wrote in
news:[email protected] om:

    > I'm in Berlin for 5 nights, so I plan to spend 3 days in a hotel in
    > the "west" side -- there seem to be many hotels in Charlottenburg or
    > near Kurf'damm -- and 2 days in the "east" side -- not so many hotels
    > here, is Frankfurter Allee convenient for sight seeing in the "east"?

Frankfurter Allee is good, it's close to the city centre and has U-Bahn.
But I don't see the point of having two accomodations for east and west.
The city centres and various tourist attractions of former West and East
Berlin are close enough to each other, about 15 minutes by rail. When you
stay in one, you can reach the other easily, and they blend into each
other anyway. I recommend to pick just one accomodation conveniently
located close to a U-Bahn or S-Bahn stop, and you're done.

    > Potsdam is a possibility. I also thought of maybe venturing into
    > Poland, maybe to one of the border towns -- but is it too far for a
    > day trip.

You've been given advice for Poland already. Otherwhise there are the
smaller towns of Brandenburg state which surrounds Berlin. Nothing
spectacular, but some of them quite enjoyable and with interesting
histories, and often with surprising scenery surrounding them. E.g.
Brandenburg (city), Neuruppin, Strausberg, Königs-Wusterhausen ...

    > I'm keen on WorldWar 2 historical sites (Wannsee, Checkpoint Charlie
    > etc.).

You'll be happy then, there's plenty of WW2 and Cold War sites. Too much
to explain all in a usenet posting, therefore I urge you to read up on
them before you come. There are also some interesting books about these
subjects.

    > Also, I am keen to sample some good German beer. Is Berlin beer
    > as good as Munich beer?

It has more alcohol. :) Otherwhise it's more bitter. Bavarian beer is
milder in both respects.

Regards

--
Loki Helmut Cha Cha Cha

http://www.wschwanke.de/ usenet_20031215 (AT) wschwanke (DOT) de

Wolfgang Schwanke wrote:

    > [email protected] (bruce phipps) wrote in
    > news:[email protected] om:
    >
    >>[...]
    >>Also, I am keen to sample some good German beer. Is Berlin beer
    >>as good as Munich beer?
    >
    > It has more alcohol. :) Otherwhise it's more bitter. Bavarian beer is
    > milder in both respects.

More alcohol? Not if you're drinking Berliner Weisse, which is quite
low in alcohol. Some of Berlin's brewpubs (Hausbrauereien) brew
Hefeweizen beers with the same alcohol content as their Bavarian
counterparts. I seriously doubt that a Berliner Pilsner has more
alcohol than a Pils brewed in Bavaria, and it's rare to see something
like a Bockbier served in Berlin than in Bavaria.

Besides, the Lindenbräu "Neo-Bayrisches Brauhaus," in Potsdamer Platz,
is owned by a Hofbräu Traunstein, based in Bavaria. The beers are
more or less Bavarian in style, especially the Hefeweizen.

One more thing: serving sizes are smaller. Bavarian pubs serve in
half-liters; Berlin pubs serve in 0,4-l sizes (or smaller).

Schwarzbier, a specialty of eastern German breweries, is also worth
trying. The most well-known is Köstritzer.
--
dgs

bruce phipps wrote:

    > [...]
    > I'm in Berlin for 5 nights, so I plan to spend 3 days in a hotel in
    > the "west" side -- there seem to be many hotels in Charlottenburg or
    > near Kurf'damm -- and 2 days in the "east" side -- not so many hotels
    > here, is Frankfurter Allee convenient for sight seeing in the "east"?

Why bother? Berlin has an excellent mass-transit system, and it gets
you all over the city - and it's a fairly big city, too.

I was in Berlin in early September. Booked a room at a great rate via
Priceline; it turned out to be the Marriott near Potsdamer Platz, a
short walk to the Brandenburger Tor and not much farther to the Museum
Insel. S-Bahn and U-Bahn stations were close by, too. It worked out
exceptionally well. Recommended.

    > Potsdam is a possibility. I also thought of maybe venturing into
    > Poland, maybe to one of the border towns -- but is it too far for a
    > day trip.

The Polish border isn't that far away.

    > I'm keen on WorldWar 2 historical sites (Wannsee, Checkpoint Charlie
    > etc.). Also, I am keen to sample some good German beer. Is Berlin beer
    > as good as Munich beer?

WW2 and Cold War historical sites are easily found, and the area near
Potsdamer Platz has a line of bricks laid in the ground that traces the
route of the infamous Berlin Wall. I've addressed German beer in
another post; there are some brewpubs in the city, including one in
the Potsdamer Platz complex that does Bavarian-style beers. Not far
from that brewpub - a short walk from the U-Bahn station, too - is one
of the two Mommseneck "Haus der 100 Biere" pubs, with a good variety of
beers on tap. Recommended.
--
dgs

dgs <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

    > Wolfgang Schwanke wrote:
    >
    >> [email protected] (bruce phipps) wrote in
    >> news:[email protected] om:
    >>
    >>>[...]
    >>>Also, I am keen to sample some good German beer. Is Berlin beer
    >>>as good as Munich beer?
    >>
    >> It has more alcohol. :) Otherwhise it's more bitter. Bavarian beer is
    >> milder in both respects.
    >
    > More alcohol? Not if you're drinking Berliner Weisse, which is quite
    > low in alcohol.

Berliner Weiße is technically a beer, but it's considered rather a soft
drink. "Real" beer does contain more alcohol.

    > Some of Berlin's brewpubs (Hausbrauereien) brew
    > Hefeweizen beers with the same alcohol content as their Bavarian
    > counterparts.

May I recommend http://www.luisenbraeu.com/, Convenient to pop in after a
visit of Charlottenburg castle, and
http://www.prostmahlzeit.de/altberlinerwbs/ in the Nikolaiviertel close
to Alexanderplatz. Both server local beer and local food.

    > I seriously doubt that a Berliner Pilsner has more
    > alcohol than a Pils brewed in Bavaria, and it's rare to see something
    > like a Bockbier served in Berlin than in Bavaria.

Well, "regular" beer probably does. There are those stories of Bavarians
who consume half a liter of Berlin beer as they are used to at home, and
are surprised they get completely drunk.

    > One more thing: serving sizes are smaller. Bavarian pubs serve in
    > half-liters; Berlin pubs serve in 0,4-l sizes (or smaller).

And there's a reason for that.

Regards

--
Aprosdoketon, das (gr.): unerwartet gebrauchtes Fremdwort.

http://www.wschwanke.de/ usenet_20031215 (AT) wschwanke (DOT) de

non-smoking restaurants in Berlin
http://www.smokefreeworld.com/germany.shtml

    > More alcohol? Not if you're drinking Berliner Weisse, which is quite
    > low in alcohol. Some of Berlin's brewpubs (Hausbrauereien) brew
    > Hefeweizen beers with the same alcohol content as their Bavarian
    > counterparts. I seriously doubt that a Berliner Pilsner has more
    > alcohol than a Pils brewed in Bavaria, and it's rare to see something
    > like a Bockbier served in Berlin than in Bavaria.
    >

I am not too keen on weisse beer. I prefer helles/pils pale lagers. I
presume these are available in Berlin pubs and bars?

Bruce

Martin Bienwald schrieb:

    > >> Potsdam is a possibility. I also thought of maybe venturing into
    > >> Poland, maybe to one of the border towns -- but is it too far for a
    > >> day trip.
    > >
    > > Kostrzyn might do.
    >
    > As well as Szczecin or Poznan (which I would recommend, although you'd have
    > to rise early to get the 6:30 train), which both offer more interesting
    > sights than Kostrzyn IMHO.

But in such a case, I would snip a hotel night in Berlin and opt for one
in Poznan.

Regards, ULF

bruce phipps wrote:

    >>More alcohol? Not if you're drinking Berliner Weisse, which is quite
    >>low in alcohol. [...]
    >
    > I am not too keen on weisse beer.

Are you sure you understand what Berliner Weisse is? Yes, it's got
wheat in, but it's *nothing* like a Bavarian wheat beer. It's quite
sour, normally, and the sourness is offset by serving it mixed with
a syrup, usually raspberry or woodruff flavored. It has more in
common with the likes of a Belgian lambic than a Bavarian wheat beer.

    > I prefer helles/pils pale lagers. I
    > presume these are available in Berlin pubs and bars?

Helles is a Bavarian style, but sometimes found in Berlin. Pils
is ubiquitous; it's the most-consumed style of beer there, as is
made obvious by brands such as the local Berliner Pilsner, as well
as several other Pils brands found at pubs throughout the city.
You would also do well to search out black beers, which are dark
lagers, such as the very well-known Köstritzer Schwarzbier.
--
dgs

[email protected] (bruce phipps) wrote in message news:<[email protected]. com>...
    > Thanks for your reply, Wolfgang.

    > I'm keen on WorldWar 2 historical sites (Wannsee, Checkpoint Charlie
    > etc.)

Then The Original Berlin walks is a must. Check it out on this site:
http://www.berlinwalks.de/

You find my pictures from Berlin on this site:
http://www.thorsnas.com/berlin/index.htm

Jan