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Guide to Berlin |
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Guide to Besrlin We are moving backwards in time, by a little more than 50 years from now. Although West Germany, Austria and East Germany shared the same language and culture, East Germany was relatively poor. From 1949 to 1961 about 2.7 million people left East Germany for West Germany to take advantage of greater economic opportunities and political freedom. They did this by moving in to West Berlin, the city’s more affluent half that belonged to West Europe. Thus East Germany was losing innumerable educated people. In 1961, it constructed a barbed wire and concrete fence around West Berlin, to prevent this exodus. The city residents realized that their city had been cut in to two halves, literally, when they woke up from their bed on August 13, 1961. The Berlin Wall was demolished in 1989. Two Germanys were unified officially on October 3, 1990 as one country with Berlin as capital. Three and a half million people live in Berlin, the largest city in the country. A modern city with rich history, it is full of energy with more than 160 museums, 50 theatres and numerous historical monuments. Although much of this historic city has been rebuilt, old and new architecture shine side by side. Many aspects make this city unique. One of them is the 43,800 gas lamp standards that illuminate parts of the city even today. The City Tourist Information Center: The City’s Tourist Information Centers are a great boon to visitors. In addition to providing information, they help in booking for accommodation, theater tickets and packaged tours. They also sell public transport tickets including the popular Berlin Welcome Card. The card which can be purchased in any of the city’s Tourist Offices or online, enables free travel on all buses and trains in this cosmopolitan city for one adult and up to three children. The City Tourist Offices also sell half price tickets for certain cultural events. Airports: The city has three international airports, Tegel, Schönefeld, and Tempelhof. Cabs, known as “Taxis” in Germany, are easily available outside the airport terminal buildings. The city's integrated public transport system, known as BVG, enables the visitor to buy one ticket and hop between metro (known as U-Bahn), bus, surface rail (S-Bahn) or trams. There are also a number of small ferries to travel across the several lakes that the city has. Taxis are available at all major hotels, main bus, metro, rail, and tube and tram stations. Most drivers speak English. All taxis are cream colored and metered. Car rentals are also available in the city. Cars can be reserved online and then collected at the airport on arrival. Driving is a pleasure, thanks to the city’s wide avenues and roads. Cycling is easy and safe, too. Cyclists can take their bicycles on the U- and S-Bahns in special compartments that have a bicycle sign. West Berlin has more cycle paths than its East counter part. There are plenty of bike rental shops that charge between €6.00 and €25.00 per day. Places of interest: There are hundreds of tourist attraction spots in the city among which following are some: The Berlin Wall: This nearly 12 ft tall 100 miles long wall, a symbol of Cold War era, is a memorial with some bits and pieces of the wall decorated by local artists. The Brandenburg Gate: Being the last remaining gate of the Berlin Wall, this 200 years old gate is considered to be one of the greatest symbols of German unity and appears in today’s German Euro coins. Checkpoint Charlie: This former border check post at the Wall is now a great tourist site and contains a museum. The “Soldier’s post” saw itself in many Hollywood films. The Fernsehturm: This tallest tower is visible from most places in the city. Berliner Funkturm (The Berlin Television Tower): This tower is built entirely on insulating material and hence unique in the world. Its open-air observation deck is a sought after site for Arial photography. Potsdamer Platz: This historic monument situated at the Berlin Wall was renovated after the unification. Just to the West of Potsdamer Platz lie several small clothing shops, clubs, bars and galleries. Museums: There are innumerable tourist sites for museum lovers in this culturally rich and historic city. There is one area, known as Museumsinsel (meaning Museum Island), in the city, where most of the major Museums are located. Most museums are closed on Mondays. Some of the most popular ones are Altes Museum, Pergamon Museum, Alte Nationalgalerie, German Museum of Technology in Kreuzberg, Museum for Post and Telecommunication, Gemäldegalerie (Picture Gallery), Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery), Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery), Jewish Museum, Hamburger Bahnhof (Museum for contemporary art), Museum of European Cultures, Berlin State Gallery, Bauhaus Museum, Broehan Museum, Deutsche Guggenheim Museum, German Film Museum, Kaethe Kollwitz Museum, Museum of European Cultures, Vitra Design Museum, The Berggruen Collection (Picasso and his Age), Museum of Natural History, German Museum of Technology, Museum of Medical History, Berlin Wall Documentation Center, Prussian Palaces and Gardens in Berlin, Schwules Museum (Gay Museum), Berlin open-air Gas Lamp Museum, adjacent to S-Bahnhof Tiergaten, and Undergroundtrain / Tube-Museum. Theaters: The city, backed by rich theatrical history, has numerous theatres and shows that captivate the visitors all nights of the week by offering a wide range from traditional performances to modern plays. The Volksbühne or “People's Stage” offers an interestingly experimental alternative theatre. Its classical music treat includes traditional operas as well as avante garde productions. Some of the famous theater and classical music organizations include Berliner Ensemble, Deutsches Theater/Kammerspiele des Deutschen Theaters, Konzerthaus Berlin, Maxim Gorky Theater and Volksbühne. The English Theater situated at Fidicinstraße 40, Berlin-Kreuzberg offers performances in English throughout the year. Zoos: There are many zoos in the city. Zoologischer Garten zooZoologischer Garten is the city's oldest zoo. The City’s Film Industry: The city shines as the centre of the German film industry and houses the head quarters of the European Film Academy. Several films have been made with “Berlin Atmosphere” in different periods of time. Some of them are: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt (meaning "Day in the life of Berlin", a 1927 Documentary Type Film), Berlin Alexanderplatz (that depicts Berlin of 1920s), The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933 Berlin), Germany, Year Zero (that shows the nightmarishly dilapidated remains of 1945 Berlin), Linie 1(A 1988 Film of the 1986 Musical about U-Bahn Line 1 in West Berlin), Run Lola Run (that was filmed 1998 in post-reunification Berlin), Good bye, Lenin! (Set in East Berlin in 1989), Der Himmel über Berlin (meaning “Berlin’s Wings of Desire”, a cult film about the divided city 1987), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (A musical and cult film about a German singer-transvestite who escapes East Berlin in 1989), Der Untergang (meaning “Downfall”, a 2004 German film portraying the final days of the Third Reich in Hitler's bunker) and Sonnenallee (A teen comedy set in East Berlin in the 1970s). Clubs and contemporary music in the city: In spite of high rate of unemployment, artists the world over and young Germans continue to make this city their home. Known as a party city, many of its bars, restaurants and eateries are open until late at night. Popkomm, Europe’s largest music industry convention, and German MTV decided to move their headquarters from Cologne and Munich, respectively, to this multi-cultural city. Academic and Scientific life in the city: There are several world class universities in the city. Some of them are a few centuries old. Though until recently German was the instructional medium in most universities, today there is a significant shift to bilingual instruction, in German and English, to accommodate current needs of the global environment. Popular universities and schools of higher learning include Freie Universität, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität, Universität der Künste, Evangelische Fachhochschule, Katholische Fachhochschule, Fachhochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin, Fachhochschule für Wirtschaft, Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler and Technische Fachhochschule. Cost of education in German Universities is lower than those in some other countries in Europe, North America, Australia or New Zealand. Sport: The city is home to famous football clubs such as Hertha BSC Berlin, and Türkiyemspor Berlin. The city hosted the 1936 Olympics. It is designated as one of the host cities for this year’s World Cup and will host the 2009 athletics world championships. The city’s hope for the future: Although German people fondly endorsed reunification, the city had to bear financial costs significantly. Large influx of expatriate asylum seekers and Germans from East Germany, between 1989 and 1993 threatened to destabilize the society. The city administration had to bear the cost of rebuilding eastern Berlin’s transportation systems, municipal services and much more. According to some estimates this interesting city will need at least 25 years to get its financial and social restructuring fixed. Berlin strives hard toward this goal by restoring its beauty, splendor and rich history! Useful contacts: »Tegel Airport »Telephone - +49 180 500 0186 »BVG (Berlin Transport) »Telephone - +49 30 19449 »Pedalkraft (Pedal Power) for Bike rental »Straße und ggf. Hausnummer »Telephone - 618 77 72 »The Brandenburg Gate »Pariser Platz, 10117 Checkpoint Charlie: »Friedrichstraße 43-45 »Telephone - +49 30 253 7250 Jewish Centre »Lindenstraße 9-14 »Telephone - +49 30 25993 300 Pergamonmuseum »Bodestrasse 1-3, 10178 »Telephone - + 49 30 2090 5577 Old National Gallery »Bodestrasse »Telephone - +49 30 2090 5555 »Old Museum »Bodenstr. 1-3, Mitte »Telephone - +49 30 209 05 577 »The Story of Berlin »Kurfürstendamm 206 »Telephone +49 30 887 20 100 »German Museum of Technology Berlin »Trebbiner Strasse 9, 10963 Berlin-Kreuzberg »Telephone - +49 30 90 25 4111 »Berliner Ensemble »Bertolt-Brecht-Platz 1 »Telephone - +49 282 31 60 »Maxim Gorky Theater »Am Festungsgraben 2 »Telephone - +49 20 22 11 15 »The English Theater »Fidicinstraße 40, Berlin-Kreuzberg »Telephone - +49 30 691 12 11 Related
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