Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [113]
Flohmarkt Strasse des 17 Juni (Map; 10am-5pm Sat & Sun) West of the Tiergarten S-Bahn station, this big market is a tourist favourite, making bargains as rare as tulips in Tonga. Come here for Berlin memorabilia, stuff from granny’s closet and jewellery.
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Made in Berlin
Bonbonmacherei (Map; 4405 5243; Oranienburger Strasse 32, Heckmannhöfe, Mitte) The old-fashioned art of handmade sweets has been lovingly revived in this basement-store-cum-show-kitchen. Watch candy masters Katja and Hjalmar using their antique equipment to churn out such tasty treats as the signature leaf-shaped Maiblätter (May leaves).
Berlinerklamotten (Map; www.berlinerklamotten.de; Court III, Hackesche Höfe, Mitte) Flip through the racks of this arbiter of fashion-cool to dig up urban, cheeky outfits and accessories made right here in the German capital. On weekends, a DJ pumps out high-energy sounds to get you into party mood.
Tausche (Map; 4020 1770; Raumerstrasse 8, Prenzlauer Berg) Heike Braun and Antje Strubels, both landscape architects by training, make by hand cool bags in various sizes that are practical, durable and stylish. Best of all, they’re kitted out with exchangeable logo flaps that zip on and off in seconds.
IC! Berlin (Map; 2472 7200; Max-Beer-Strasse 17, Mitte) With no less a luminary than determined fashion chameleon Madonna among its fans, the IC! Berlin brand is the place to go for fashion-forward sunglasses, smart screwless specs and a solid dose of Berlin design cool.
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Music
Platten Pedro (Map; 344 1875; Tegeler Weg 102, Charlottenburg) Vinyl purists happily make the trip out to this cultish store packed to the rafters with vintage albums, from pop to punk to polka – and not a CD in sight! It’s near Schloss Charlottenburg.
Space Hall (Map; 694 7664; Zossener Strasse 33, Kreuzberg) This galaxy for electronic-music gurus has four floors filled with everything from acid to techno by way of drum ’n’ bass, neotrance, dubstep and so on. A dozen or so players stand by for easy pre-purchase listening.
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GETTING THERE & AWAY
Air
Berlin has two international airports, Tegel (TXL; Map), about 8km northwest from the city centre, and Schönefeld (SFX, Map), about 22km southeast. For information about either, go to www.berlin-airport.de or call 0180-500 0186. Schönefeld is currently being expanded and rebranded as Berlin Brandenburg International (BBI), scheduled to start operation in late 2011. Once BBI is open, Tegel will close.
Most major international airlines serve Berlin, as do discount carriers Ryanair, easyJet, Air Berlin and Germanwings. For airline contact information, Click here.
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Bus
Berlin’s central bus station, ZOB (off Map, Masurenallee 4-6; Kaiserdamm, Messe Nord/ICC) is anything but. In fact, it’s in deepest western Berlin, next to the trade-fair grounds, about 4km west of Bahnhof Zoo.
Tickets are available from travel agencies in town and from the on-site ZOB Reisebüro ( 301 0380; 6am-9pm Mon-Fri, 6am-8pm Sat & Sun). The main operators are BerlinLinienBus ( 861 9331; www.berlinlinienbus.de) and Gulliver’s ( 311 0211; www.eurobusexpress.de).
Backpacker-oriented hop-on, hop-off service Busabout ( in the UK 08450 267 514; www.busabout.com) stops at the Citystay Hostel in Mitte.
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Car & Motorcycle
The A10 ring road links Berlin with other German and foreign cities, including the A11 to Szczecin (Stettin) in Poland; the A12 to Frankfurt an der Oder; the A13 to Dresden; the A9 to Leipzig, Nuremberg and Munich; the A2 to Hanover and the Ruhrgebiet cities; and the A24 to Hamburg.
Citynetz (Map; 194 44; www.mfz-citynetz.de; Joachimstaler Strasse 4; 9am-8pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat & Sun) provides ride-share services.
HIRE
All the major international chains maintain branches at the airports, major train stations and throughout town. Check the Yellow Pages (under Autovermietung) for local branches or call the central reservation numbers