Your friends are morons.
ORIENTATION
Charlottenburg
Should you forget that Berlin is an old European capital, venture into West Berlin’s Charlottenburg. Originally a separate town founded around the grounds of Friedrich I’s palace, it was an affluent cultural center during the Weimar years as well as the Berlin Wall era thanks to Anglo-American support. The neighborhood retains that old-world opulence, from its upscale Beaux-Arts apartments to the shamefully extravagant Kurfürstendamm, Berlin’s main shopping strip. Ku’damm, as the locals call it, runs east to west through southern Charlottenburg. It’s also home to Europe’s largest department store, KaDeWe, which comprises five massive floors that keep patrons dressed to a tee and their pantries similarly so with truffle oil. Close to central Charlottenburg is the large Bahnof Zoo, a Berlin family favorite, which may join the Ku’damm (and its never-ending flow of teenagers darting in and out of H and M) as the youngest and liveliest areas in Charlottenburg. Other sights include part of the Tiergarten, the sprawling Zoologischer Garten, the Spree River in the northwest, and the Schloß Charlottenburg to the west. Otherwise, the higher neighborhood rents keep out most young people and students, so the Charlottenburg crowd is quiet and somewhat older, and the nightlife options are few and far between.
Schöneberg and Wilmersdorf
South of Ku’damm, Schöneberg and Wilmersdorf are primarily middle class, residential neighborhoods, remarkable for their world class mellow cafe culture, bistro tables, relaxed diners, and coffee shops spilling onto virtually every cobblestone street. Nowhere else in Berlin, and perhaps in all of Germany, is the gay community quite as contentedly outrageous as in the area immediately surrounding Nollendorf-platz. The gay nightlife scene, ranging from dark and smoky bars to chic and sleek clubs, is diverse in decor and music, but also laid-back and welcoming. To the west lies one of Berlin’s most convenient outdoor getaways: Grunewald, popular with city-dwellers trading in their daily commute for peaceful strolls with the family dog along pine-lined dirt trails, is reachable by bus and tram in just about 20 minutes.
Mitte
Mitte is without a doubt the most important district in Berlin. It has the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, the Jewish Memorial, the Column of Victory, and the Berliner Dom. It has the best cultural institutions; Museum Island stacks the world’s best musuems practically on top of each other. And somehow Mitte manages to multitask as a center for Berlin hipsterdom as well, with sick clubs, indie movie theaters, excellent food, and more walking plaid than that nightmare where the tablecloths came alive. Then, of course, there’s the forest-like Tiergarten at the center of Mitte, which shelters sunbathers, barbecuers, and grasping lovers. The main street, Strasse des 17 Juni, serves as a populist gathering place where carnivals, markets, protests, and public viewings of the World Cup take precedent over traffic. However, what’s most fun about Mitte is tracing the history of Berlin down its streets and through its old and new buildings (which are often combined). The Berlin Wall ran directly through Mitte, and East and West Germany made a habit of comparing the sizes of their manhood over the wall. The communists built the Berlin Fernsehturm (TV Tower) as a sign of dominance—it’s still the tallest building in Europe. The Americans responded with Congress Hall, now the House of World Cultures, an architectural wonder that’s earned the nickname “pregnant oyster.” Elsewhere, at the “Topography of Terror” museum, one of the longest standing stretches of the Berlin Wall streaks above the ruins of Hitler’s war offices. And even with all this history to fall back on, Mitte continues to construct and reconstruct icons. The Berlin Schloß, the Hohenzollern Imperial Palace that was destroyed in the 1950s, is scheduled to re-open in 2018.
Charlottenburg
For details on Schöneberg and Wilmersdorf map, click here
For details on Berlin Mitte map, click here
Prenzlauer Berg
What was once Berlin’s overlooked Beirke, replete with crumbling cement and graffiti-covered Soviet-era buildings, is rapidly transforming into perhaps the trendiest area in the city. Attracted by low rents, students and artists stormed the neighborhood after reunification, giving the area a bohemian vibe with a unique DDR spin. Today, the streets are owned by well-dressed schoolchildren and their young, effortlessly hip parents, and the city blocks are interrupted by countless small parks, playgrounds, and costly secondhand stores. In Prenzlauer Berg, everything used to be something else. Delicious brunches are served every summer in what were once butcher shops, students party in a horse stable turned nightclub, and cheap cocktails are served from a bar countertop in a former linoleum showroom. For this neighborhood, what’s cool is ironic, and what’s ironic is the bare-bones, stuck in the’70s, USSR cement siding, burnt-orange shag carpeting past. Cafe-bar owners know what’s hip, so even as relics of Prenzlauer Berg’s are rapidly disappearing, mismatched sofas and floral wallpaper remain the shabby-chic decorating standard. The bar scene is to Prenzlauer Berg as club culture is to Friedrichshain. After dark, Prenzlauer Berg turns into a not-to-be-missed extravaganza of hole-in-the-wall basement concerts, laid-back wine tastings, and trendy, vegan cafes.
Geographically, Prenzlauer Berg is east of the city center, overlapping in some places with Mitte to the west. Cheaper bars cluster around the Kastanienallee, while the area around Lettestr. is ideal for checking out the ’70s decorating revival. Only two U-Bahn lines and a single S-Bahn line cut through the area, so plan on trams or walking to explore the berg.
Friedrichshain
Friedrichshain’s low rents and DDR edge draw a crowd of punk-rock types ever eastward. From the longest remnant of the Berlin Wall that runs along the river to the oppressive, towering architecture of the neighborhood’s central axis, Frankfurter Allee, the presence of the former Soviet Union is still strong. Nowhere is that hard edge felt as sharply as in Friedrichshain’s famous hardcore nightlife monopolizing every rundown train station and abandoned factory along the Spree, turning graffitied cement sheds into wild raves and electro hangouts. However, some locals complain that gentrification has found its way even here, as traditional residential buildings pop up and chic 20-somethings set up shop on the cafe-ridden Simon-Dach-Strasse and Boxhagenerplatz. But however legitimate those observations may be, Friedrichshain is still wonderfully inexpensive and fantastically out of the ordinary. Travelers should keep an eye out at night, as Friedrichshain is still a little rough around the edges and even desolate in some spots.
Kreuzberg
If Mitte is Manhattan, Kreuzberg is Brooklyn. Gritty graffiti covers everything here, and the younger population skulks around chowing down street food good enough for the Last Supper. The parties start later, go later, and sometimes never stop. Kreuzberg once ruled as the center of punkdom and counterculture in Berlin. It was occupied by hausbesetzer (squatters) in the 1920s and ’70s, until a conservative city government forcibly evicted them in the early ’80s. Riots ensued, and during Reagan’s 1985 visit to the city, authorities so feared protests in Kreuzberg that they locked down the entire district. While these days find it a bit tamer, the alternative heart of Kreuzberg remains. Underground clubs turn on when the lights go down in abandoned basements, burned-out apartment buildings, and shaky rooftop terraces; the clubs that party the hardest in Berlin all find shelter in Kreuzberg. Kreuzberg is also notably home to Berlin’s enormous Turkish population. Döner kebabs, those shawarma sandwich-like miracles, go for €2-3 all across this district, and the Turkish Market along the southern bank of the Landwehrkanal is one of the most exciting, raucous, cheap, and authentic markets in Western Europe. If you want to learn things about Berlin, go to Mitte. If you want to not remember your entire trip, come to Kreuzberg.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Charlottenburg
BEROLINA BACKPACKER
Stuttgarter P. 17
HOSTEL
030 32 70 90 72 www.berolinabackpacker.de
This quiet hostel keeps things elegant with pastel walls and bunk-free
dorms. Backpackers enjoy the high ceilings and big windows; some rooms even have balconies and intricate molding. Surrounding cafes and close proximity to the S-Bahn make up for its distance from the rush of the city. Communal and private kitchens (communal €1 per day, private €9.50) available for use. Relax and enjoy a breakfast buffet (€7), or the “backpackers’ breakfast” (a roll with sausage, cheese and coffee; €3) in the popular and newly decorated pale blue dining area.
S3, S5, S9, or S75: Charlottenburg. Internet €0.50 per 15min. Wi-Fi included. 5 bed dorms €10-13.50; singles €29.50-35.50; doubles €37-47; triples €39-64; quads €46-60. Reception 24hr. Check-out 11am.
A AND O HOSTEL
Joachimstaler Str. 1-3
HOSTEL
030 809 47 53 00 www.aohostels.com
On a busy, commercial street, A and O may not have an ideal location unless you plan on frequenting the Erotik Museum 40m away, but it has reliable rooms and close proximity to the Bahnhof Zoo transit hub. The lobby and bar are packed nightly, as is the roof patio despite its resembalence to a dilapidated mini-golf course. Rooms have metal bunks, big windows, personal lockers, and ensuite baths.
30m from Bahnhof Zoo. Wi-Fi €5 per day. Breakfast buffet €6. Linens €6. 8-10 bed dorms from €10; smaller dorms from €15. Doubles from €25; singles from €39. Prices may change significantly in busy months. Reception 24hr.
FRAUENHOTEL ARTEMISIA
Brandenburgische Str.
HOTEL
030 873 89 05 www.frauenhotel-berlin.de
This elegant hotel for women only was the first of its kind in Germany. A quiet rooftop terrace with sweeping views of Berlin is adjacent to a sunny breakfast room. Rooms are spacious, with large windows and molding around the ceiling. Named after Italian painter Artemisia Gentileschi, the hotel hosts rotating art exhibitions.
U7: Konstanzer Str. Breakfast buffet €8. Wi-Fi included. Singles €49-54, with bath €64-79; doubles €78/78-108. Additional beds for €20. Reception daily 7am-10pm.
For details on Prenzlauer Berg map, click here
For details on Friedrichshain map, click here
For details on Kreuzberg map, click here
close to home
Pensions are family-owned guest houses. They are cheaper than hotels, but more expensive than hostels. Many offer long-term rates.
Schöneberg and Wilmersdorf
JUGENDHOTEL BERLINCITY
Crellerstr. 22
HOSTEL
030 78 70 21 30 www.jugendhotel-berlin.de
Located on a quiet street and bordered by trees, this Jugendhotel Berlincity has first-class rooms, but no dorms. This hostel is a splurge for solo travelers and small groups (think arching-brick-ceilings-and-dark-wood-floors kind of splurge), and usually larger groups get more reasonable rates. The hostel has a strict no smoking and no alcohol policy.
U7: Kleistpark. Wi-Fi €1 per 30min., €5 per day. Sheets and breakfast included. Singles €38, with bath €52; doubles from €60/79; triples €87/102; quads €112/126; quints €124/150; 6-person rooms €146/168. Reception 24hr.
JETPAK
Pücklerstr. 54
HOSTEL
030 83 25 www.jetpak.de
JetPAK is way out in the boonies; if you’re even remotely concerned about having a somewhat central location, think hard before booking here. That said, there’s a lot that sets this hostel apart, and might make it worth the walk, bus, or train. Converted from an old German army camp, the hostel has been warmed up with colorful walls and comfortable beds and sofas, and is now more convincing as a summer camp. With showers heated by the hostel’s own solar panels, this JetPAK is also one of Berlin’s most environmentally conscious places to kick back and reap the benefits of nature.
U3: Fehrbelliner Pl. or U9: Güntzselstr., then bus #115 (dir. Neurippiner Str.): Pücklerstr. Follow the signs to Grunewald, and turn left on Pücklerstr. Turn left again when the JetPAK sign directs you, just before the road turns to dirt. Breakfast, linens, and Internet included. 8-bed dorms €14; doubles €23.
ART-HOTEL CONNECTION
Fuggerstr. 33
HOTEL
030 210 21 88 00 www.arthotel-connection.de
Recently redecorated with deep purple walls, crystal chandeliers, and dark wood floors, this hotel is (almost) nothing but class. A gay hotel that describes itself as “hetero-friendly,” Art-Hotel boasts some of the most sophisticated style in Schöneberg. But lest we get too serious, this hotel also offers “playrooms,” with slings and other sex toys.
U1, U2 or U15: Wittenbergpl. Mar-Oct singles €48; doubles €64; “playrooms” €99. Nov.-Feb. €43/59/89. Reception 8am-10pm.
JETPAK CITY HOSTEL
Pariserstr. 58
HOSTEL
030 784 43 60 www.jetpak.de
There’s nothing like large rooms with pine bunks, large windows, and brightly colored walls to lessen the institutional hostel feel. Owned by the same people who started the JetPAK in Grunewald, this hostel is much more central and practical for the city traveler, if not quite so one-of-a-kind. But after all, real estate hints at the importance of “location, location, location.” The bathrooms are newly tiled, and the common room has couches and a foosball table. Most JetPAK travelers book ahead of time online.
U3 or U9: Spichernstr. Linens included. Most breakfast items, including croissants, €1. 8-bed dorms from €18; 6 bed dorms from €19; 4 bed dorms from €20. Reception 8am-midnight.
Mitte
Travelers with a limited number of nights should especially think about paying the few extra bucks a night for a place in Mitte. Most of the hostels are nice, and a few of them are literally minutes away from major sights.
CIRCUS HOSTEL
Weinbergswet 1A
HOSTEL
030 20 00 39 39 (Skype: circus-berlin) www.circus-berlin.de
A cushy place with luxurious beds in the hippest part of Mitte, Circus has a chill cafe, a great bar with nightly specials, DJs, and a pimping karaoke night. Wi-Fi only works well in rooms, and the lack of a “chill-out area” leaves more net-addicted guests wanting, but forgive us for nitpicking. Breakfast is generous and all you can eat, and the mattresses are like clouds. Rooms come with a load of “extras”; the podcast audio tours, jogging route maps, quality food recommendations, and outstandingly helpful staff really do make a difference.
U8: Rosenthaler Pl. Linens included. Segways €35 per day. Bikes €12 per day. Breakfast €5. Towels €1. Luggage lockers €10 deposit. 8- to 10-bed dorms €19; 4-bed dorms €23. Singles €43; doubles €28. Reception 24hr.
HELTER SKELTER
Kalkscheunenstr. 4-5
HOSTEL
030 28 04 49 97 www.helterskelterhostel.de
The receptionist’s warning: “The bar’s open all day, but if you’re too drunk at breakfast, we cut you off.” A bit dirty, a bit worn, but that’s just because every night here is wild. If hostel-wide drinking games and late nights are your thing, then take a chance on this place, and years from now you’ll remember it as a Berlin highlight.
U6: Oranienburger Tor. From the station, head south on Friedrichstr. and take a left on Johannisstr. The hostel is on the 3rd fl. through a courtyard. Follow the signs. Linens, towel, coffee, tea, and Wi-Fi included. Breakfast €3 (free for guests staying longer than 3 days). Smoking allowed in common area. Kitchen available. First 10min. on computer free, €1 per 30min. after. Key deposit €5. Megadorm €10-14. Singles €34; doubles €22-27. Reception 24hr. Check-in 2pm. Check-out noon.
BAXPAX DOWNTOWN HOTEL/HOSTEL
Ziegelstr. 28
HOSTEL, HOTEL
30 27 87 48 80 www.baxpax.de
Baxpax Downtown has a bag full of fun hostel tricks. Two aboveground pools are revealed in the summer (one on the lower patio, the other on the roof, where, by the way, there’s a sweet minibar). Downstairs has its own bar, where a giant stuffed moose head keeps court. The hangout room has a pinball machine, and the patio has a bizzare 6m long bed in case you
want to get weird with your friends.
U6: Oranienburger Tor. From the station, head south on Friedrichstr., then turn left on Ziegelstr. Key deposit €5. Linens €2.50. Towel €1, free in doubles and singles. Breakfast €5.50. Laundry self-service €5, full-service €8. Non-smoking. 20-bed dorms €10-31; 5-bed dorms with private shower €16-36. Singles €29-92; doubles €54-132. Reception 24hr. Check-in 3pm. Check-out 11am.
WOMBAT’S CITY HOSTEL
Alte Schönhauser Str. 2
HOSTEL
030 84 71 08 20 www.wombats-hostels.com
Mod, spotless, comfortable, with a rooftop bar and terrace—if Wombats is wrong, we don’t want to be right. Hotel-like amenities exclude the possibility of clutch deals, but relax on the beanbags in the lobby and consider that you get what you pay for—that is, except for your first drink at the bar, which is free. The apartments with mini kitchens are nice enough to live in long-term.
Let's Go Europe 2011: The Student Travel Guide Page 80