Let's Go Europe 2011: The Student Travel Guide
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Bus #M45 from Bahnhof Zoo to Luisenpl./Schloß Charlottenburg or U2: Sophie-Charlotte Pl. Altes Schloß €10, students €7; Neuer Flügel €6/5; Belvedere €2/1.50; Mausoleum free. Audio tours available in English included. Altes Schloß open Apr-Oct Tu-Su 10am-6pm; Nov-Mar Tu-Su 10am-5pm. Neuer Flügel open year-round M and W-Su 10am-5pm. Belvedere and Mausoleum open Apr-Oct daily 10am-6pm, Nov-Mar daily noon-5pm.
MUSEUM BERGGRUEN
Schloßstr. 1
MUSEUM
030 326 95 80
Think Picasso is a jerk whose art didn’t deserve the hype it got? This intimate three-floor museum will put away your anti-Picasso sentiments. The first and second floor are Picasso-packed, with added bonuses of French Impressionist Matisse’s art and African masks. The third floor showcases paintings by Bauhaus teacher Paul Klee and Alberto Giacometti’s super-skinny sculptures of human forms.
Bus #M45 from Bahnhof Zoo to Luisenpl./Schloß Charlottenburg or U2: Sophie-Charlotte Pl. €12, €6 students, children free. Audio guide included. Open Tu-Su 10am-6pm.
BRÖHANMUSEUM
Schloßstr. 1A
MUSEUM
030 32 69 06 00 www.broehanmuseum.de
If you’re wondering where all the stuff you couldn’t sell at your great-aunt’s estate sale went, here it is. The Bröhanmuseum showcases epic brös ißing brös... Just kidding, we mean Art Nouveau and Art Deco paintings, housewares, and furniture. Along with figurines and lampshades that resemble knicknacks you sneered at (and now regret not buying) at neighborhood garage sales, the ground floor also pairs several groupings of period furniture with paintings from the same era (1889-1939). The first floor is a small gallery dedicated to the Modernist Berlin Sezession painters, though occasionally upstaged by oddly chosen shocking green walls, and the top floor houses special exhibitions.
Bus #M45 from Bahnhof Zoo to Luisenpl./Schloß Charlottenburg or U2: Sophie-Charlotte Pl. The museum is next to the Bergguen, across from the Schloß. Admission €6, students €4. Open Tu-Su 10am-6pm.
OLYMPIASTADION
Olympischer Pl. 3 (Visitor Center)
STADIUM
030 25 00 23 22 www.olypiastadion-berlin.de
This massive Nazi-built stadium comes in a close second to Tempelhof Airport in the list of monumental Third Reich buildings in Berlin. It was erected for the infamous 1936 Olympic Games, in which African-American track and field athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals. Hitler refused to congratulate Owens, who has since been honored with a Berlin street, Jesse-Ownes-Allee and his name has been engraved into the side of the stadium with the other 1936 gold medal winners. The six stone pillars flanking the stadium were originally intended to signify the unity of the six “tribes” of ethnicities that Hitler believed fed into true German heritage. Recent uses have included the 2006 World Cup final. The independently operated Glockenturm (bell tower) provides a great lookout point and houses an exhibit on the history of German athletics.
S5, S7, or U2: Olympia-Stadion. For Glockenturm, S5 or S7: Pichelsburg. €4, students €3. Tour with guide €8, students €7, children under 6 free. Open daily Mar 20-May 9am-7pm, June-Sept 15 9am-8pm, Sept 16-Oct 31 9am-7pm, Nov-Mar 19 9am-4pm.
ZOOLOGISCHER GARTEN
8 Hardenberg Pl.
ZOO
030 25 40 10 www.zoo-berlin.de
Germany’s oldest zoo houses around 14,000 animals of 1500 species, most in open-air habitats connected by winding pathways under dense cover of trees and brush. While you’re there, pay your respects to the world-famous polar bear Knut, or he may go nuts. Originally deemed the cutest polar bear alive, Knut has been diagnosed by animal specialists as a psychopath addicted to human attention. Luckily, he’s still pretty cute.
U2 or U9: Zoological Garten, or S5, S 7 or S75: Bahnhof Zoo. Main entrance is across from the Europa Center. €12, students €9, children €6. Combination to zoo and aquarium €18/14/9. Open daily from 9am-7pm (last entry 6pm). Animal houses open 9am-6pm.
AQUARIUM
Budapester Str. 32
AQUARIUM
030 25 40 10 www.aquarium-berlin.de.
Within the walls of the zoo, but independently accessible, is an aquarium with three floors of fish, reptiles, amphibians and insects. Highlights include the pychadelic jellyfish and the slimey carp petting zoo.
U2 or U9: Zoological Garten, or S5, S7 or S75: Bahnhof Zoo. €12, students €9, children €6. See above for aquarium-zoo combination tickets. Open daily 9am-6pm.
Schöneberg and Wilmersdorf
Schöneberg sights are a mix of gorgeous parks and whatever cultural bits and pieces ended up in this largely residential neighborhood. Travelers with limited time in Berlin should note that attractions here are few and far between, and aren’t easily and efficiently visited.
GRUNEWALD AND THE JAGDSCHLOß
Am Grunewaldsee 29 (Access from Pücklerstr.)
PARK
030 813 35 97 www.spsg.de
This 3 sq. km park, with winding paths through wild underbrush, gridded pines, and a peaceful lake, is popular dog-walking turf and a great change from the rest of the bustling Berlin. About a 1km walk into the woods is the Jadgschloß, a restored royal hunting lodge that houses a gallery of portaits and paintings by German artists like Graff and Cranach. The house is the picture of understated elegance, surrounded by even more blooming botany. The one-room hunting lodge is worth skipping, unless you find pottery shards particularly gripping. Instead, walk around the grounds, or take a hike north in the forest to Teufelsberg (“Devil’s Mountain”), the highest point in Berlin, made of rubble from World War II piled over a Nazi military school.
U3 or U7: Fehrbelliner Pl., or S45 or S46: Hohenzollerndamm then bus #115 (dir. Neuruppiner Str. of Spanische Alle/Potsdamer): Pücklerstr. Turn left on Pücklerstr. following the signs and continue straight into the forest to reach the lodge. Check the Jadgschloß visitor’s center for a map. Admission to the hunting lodge €4, €3 students. Tours in German offered on the weekends €1. Open Tu-Su 10am-6pm.
BRÜCKE MUSEUM
Bussardsteig 9
MUSEUM
030 831 20 29 www.brueckemusuem.de
This museum displays an uncommon collection of Brücke art, German impressionism inspired by its French contemporaries. The brief Die Brücke (“The Bridge”) stylistic period was characterized by bright, fierce colors. The Brücke Museum building, inside the Grunewald forest, is a work of contemporary art itself. The staff loves the collection (which says something), and often rotates special exhibitions displaying pieces related to the Brücke period, including the obvious French Impressionist works, but also world art, such as African craft works.
U3 or U7: Fehberlliner Pl., then bus #115 (dir. Neuruppiner Str. to Spanische Allee/Potsdammer): Pücklerstr. €4, €3 students. For a ticket including special exhibits, €5/4. Open M and W-Su 11am-5pm.
GAY MEMORIAL
MEMORIAL
Just outside the Nollendorf U-Bahn station
Blink and you might miss it. This unassuming, unmarked memorial is shaped like a Crayola crayon, and striped with as many colors as a box of the art supply. The small monument commemorates the homosexuals killed in World War II.
U1, U3, U4, or U9: Nollendorfpl.
ST. NORBERT KIRCHE CEMETERY
Access from Belzinger Str., between Martin-Luther-Str. and Eisenacher Str.
CEMETERY
Sunken in a few feet from street level and walled off by unlocked gates, this enchanting cemetery brings R.I.P. to the living. With a mix between manicured shrubs and a patch of wild, over-grown ivy in front of every tomb, a quick stop here on a busy day is beautiful. An adjoining children’s playground outside the gates brightens things up. We wouldn’t say this is worth a trip itself, but the cemetery is good for a stroll after stepping out of one of Schöneberg’s popular cafes.
U7: Eisenacherstr. Gate usually locked by 6pm.
Mitte
Like any KFC, Mitte contains 95% good stuff and 5% crap. Stick with
the recommendations, and you’ll be fine. You’re on your own with KFC.
PERGAMON MUSEUM
Am Kupfergraben 5
MUSEUM
0302 090 55 77 www.smb.museum
If it kept its two main exhibits, the Pergamon temple and the Ishtar Gate, the rest of this museum could show off cotton balls and it’d still be worth it. The museum reconstructs the Pergamon temple nearly to its full size, and the battle mural on the wall displays jagged toothed snakes ripping off heroes’ arms while titans rip lions’ mouths apart. The Mesopotamian Ishtar Gate, reconstructed tile-by-original-tile, rises 30m into the air, then stretches 100m down a hallway. You’ll hardly believe it.
U2, U5, U8: Alexanderpl. €10, students €5. Free Th after 6pm. Open M-W 10am-6pm, Th 10am-10pm, F-Su 10am-6pm.
TOPOGRAPHY OF TERROR
Niederkirchner Str. 8
MUSEUM
0302 545 09 50 www.topographie.de
This exhibit opened May 2010 and looks at the origins, development, and deployment of Nazi terror from 1930 to 1946. This detailed, personalized, fair, and informative exhibition provides one of the best insights into Nazi strategies and the extent of the horror. No detail (or image) is deemed off-limits, and travelers with weak stomachs are warned. That said, the conclusions of this exhibit are so incredibly important and so poorly understood that a trip here should really be considered a must. A bookshop, cafe, and library take up the bottom floor, while a segment of the Berlin Wall and the excavated foundations of Hitler’s old terror headquarters fill out an enormous, otherwise empty, courtyard.
U2: Potsdamer Pl. From the Metro, head east on Leipziegerstr. and take a right on Wilhelm-Leipziegerstr. The exhibit is directly across from the Hi-Flyer. Free. Open daily 10am-8pm.
MEMORIAL TO THE MURDERED JEWS OF EUROPE
Cora-Berliner-Str. 1
MEMORIAL
0302 639 43 11 www.stiftung-denkmal.de
Imposing concrete blocks equidistant from each other commemorate the Jews who were killed by the National Socialists. If you’re looking for reflection or somberness, you won’t find it aboveground, where kids play hide and seek, tourists nap on blocks, and policemen from the nearby American embassy work in a paranoid frenzy to keep cars from stopping. See the memorial quickly, then head below ground for a moving, informative exhibit on the Jewish history of WWII. Especially devastating is the “family” room, which presents pre-war Jewish family portraits and then investigates the individual fates of the family members. The last room continuously plays one of thousands of compiled mini-biographies of individuals killed in the Holocaust. To read the bios of every murdered Jew would take over six years.
U2: Potsdamer Pl. From the Metro, walk north on Ebertstr. Free. Open daily Apr-Sept 10am-8pm; Oct-Mar 10am-7pm.
HOMOSEXUAL MEMORIAL
On Ebertstr.
MEMORIAL
www.stiftung-denkmal.de/en/homosexualmemorial
While Berlin now accepts homosexuality like few places do in the world, it wasn’t so until 1969, before which homosexuality was illegal under a law passed by the Nazis. As a result, homosexuals were not included in many memorials against Nazi violence. This memorial, which opened in 2008, consists of a giant block with a screen that plays a video of two men kissing on loop—though part of the memorial, this video is set to change every two years.
U2: Potsdamer Pl. From the Metro, walk north on Ebertstr. The memorial will be on your left, in the garden. Open 24hr.
HOUSE OF WORLD CULTURES
John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10
EXHIBIT HALL
3039 78 70 www.hkw.de
Originally built by the Americans to show off to the nearby East Berliners, the House of World Cultures now hosts festivals, movie screenings, lectures, and an incredible anarchist bookstore in a bizarre structure that’s been affectionately called “The Pregnant Clam.” The formless statue in the pool out front becomes a butterfly when you view its reflection.
U55: Bundestag. From the Metro, head southwest down Paul Löbe Allee. Free. Event prices vary. Open daily 10am-7pm. Exhibitions open M 11am-7pm, W-Su 11am-7pm.
NEUES MUSEUM
Bodestr. 1
MUSEUM
www.neues-museum.de
One of the top museums in the city, this collection of Egyptian and Greek antiquities goes beyond what you’d expect. Mummies abound, sarcophogi run rampant, and somewhere in it all, that famous bust of Nefertiti—yeah, that one—sits glowing in her own room. The building was heavily damaged in the war, and this new New Museum does a brilliant job of incorporating the old structure into a fantastically modern creation. To avoid the lines, reserve a ticket online.
U6: Friedrichstr. S5,S7,S75,or S9: Hackescher Markt. Tickets correspond to a time, and after they’ve been purchased visitors must return at the time printed on their ticket. No line Th 6-8pm. €10, students €5. Free Th after 6pm. Open M-W 10am-6pm, Th-Sa 10am-8pm, Su 10am-6pm.
SOVIET MEMORIAL
Str. des 17 Juni
MEMORIAL
WWII tanks and anti-aircraft guns flank this memorial built by the Soviets in 1945. It is estimated that between eight to 10 million Soviets died fighting in the war, including 80,000 who died in the Battle of Berlin. The memorial is expected to be finished by late 2010.
Bus #100: Pl der Republik. Head south through Tiergarten to Str. des 17 Juni and take a right. Free. Open 24hr.
BRANDENBERG GATE
Pariser Pl.
GATE
0302 263 30 17
During the day, tourists swarm this famous 18th-century gate; the wise traveler will return at night to see it lit in a blaze of gold. Friederich Wilhelm II built the gate as a symbol of military victory, but Germans these days prefer to shy away from that designation, you know, because of WWI and, uh, WWII. A system of gates once surrounded it, but today only this most famous gate remains.
U55: Brandenburg Tor. Free. Open 24hr.
HUMBOLDT UNIVERSITY
Unter den Linden 6
UNIVERSITY
Home to some of the greatest thinkers of the modern age, including Freud and Einstein, this university is closed to the public and doesn’t make much of a sight touring-wise, but it’s neat to stop by and feel like you’re somehow being involved in something. During the day, vendors sell used books out in front. Maybe you’ll find Einstein’s old unread copy of The Mayor of Casterbridge.
U2: Hausvogteipl. From the Metro, walk north along Oberwalstraße.
VICTORY COLUMN
Großer Stern 1
MONUMENT
030 391 29 61 www.monument-tales.de
This 27m tall monument celebrates Prussia’s victory over France in 1880. The statue of Victoria at the top is made of melted-down French cannons, and during WWII, Hitler had the statue moved to its present location to increase its visibility. The column is under renovation; an exhibition that examines the significance of various “monuments” built throughout the world is expected to be finished in 2011.
U9:Hansapl. Present your ticket at the cafe to get a €0.50 discount on all drinks. €2.20, students €1.50. Open Apr-Oct M-F 9:30am-6:30pm, Sa-Su 9:30am-7pm; Nov-Mar M-F 10am-5pm, Sa-Su 10am-5:30pm.
NEUE WACHE
Unter den Linden 4
MEMORIAL
030 25 00 25
This building was built as a guard house for the nearby city palace (hence, “New Watch”). The building has been used as a number of memorials since then, and in 1969 the remains of an unknown soldier and an unknown concentration camp victim were laid to rest here. Since 1993 the Neue Wache has served as the central memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Victims of War and Tyranny. A statue of a mother holding her dead son stands alone in the center of an enormous empty room.
U2: Hausvogteipl. From the Metro, walk north along Oberwalstr. Free. Open daily 10am-6pm. The interior of the monument is still visible when the building’s gate is closed.
SCHLOßPLATZ
Schloßpl.
SQ
UARE
Schloßplatz manages to be a sight where castles themselves are feuding. The Berliner Schloß, the Hohenzollern imperial palace stood on this spot until the communists tore it down in 1950 to build the Palast der Republick. After reunification, the Palast der Republick was torn down, this time to make way for a replica of the Berliner Schloß. The new building will house the collections of Humboldt University among other exhibitions. Construction is set to start in 2013 and finish in 2019. Currently, the field sits open in some parts, while others are under excavation. A nearby visitors center has German-only information on the forthcoming building.