Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [85]
* * *
The Cold War years, especially the history and horror of the Berlin Wall, are haphazardly, but well-meaningly, chronicled in the private Haus am Checkpoint Charlie (Map; 253 7250; www.mauermuseum.de; Friedrichstrasse 43-45; adult/concession €12.50/9.50; 9am-10pm). The best bits are about ingenious escapes to the West through tunnels, in hot-air balloons, concealed compartments in cars and even a one-man submarine. You can get similar information for free from the temporary open-air exhibit set up along Friedrichstrasse, Zimmerstrasse and Schützenstrasse.
One block west along Zimmerstrasse, you can drift up but not away aboard the Berlin Hi-Flyer (Map; 5321 5321; cnr Wilhelmstrasse & Zimmerstrasse; adult/concession €19/13; 10am-10pm Sun-Thu, 10am-12.30am Fri & Sat Mar-Nov, 11am-6pm Sun-Thu, 11am-7pm Fri & Sat Dec-Feb), a helium-filled balloon that remains tethered to the ground as it lifts you noiselessly 150m into the air for panoramas of the historic city centre. There are no flights in windy conditions, so confirm ahead by calling the wind hotline at 226 678 811.
DEUTSCHES TECHNIKMUSEUM
Fantastic for kids, the Deutsches Technikmuseum (German Museum of Technology; Map; 902 540; Trebbiner Strasse 9; adult/concession €4.50/2.50, under 18yr after 3pm free; 9am-5.30pm Tue-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat & Sun) is a giant shrine to technology that counts the world’s first computer, an entire hall of vintage locomotives and extensive exhibits on aviation and navigation among its top attractions. At the adjacent Spectrum Science Centre (Map; enter from Möckernstrasse 26; admission incl; as above) you can participate in some 250 experiments.
Return to beginning of chapter
Friedrichshain
Friedrichshain, in the former East Berlin, is a shape-shifter, a slippery creature, still unsettled in its world view and offering a rambunctious stage for good times and DIY surprises. It celebrates its underground-punk-squatter roots in the derelict industrial outposts along Revaler Strasse (Map) and the graffiti-slathered funky town around Ostkreuz. Mere steps away, Simon-Dach-Strasse (Map) is a bar-laden stumbling zone where the young and the restless drink, dance and flirt with all the mad exuberance of a stag party.
Conventional tourist sites are limited to the East Side Gallery, the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall (Click here), and the Karl-Marx-Allee (Map), a grand boulevard built between 1952 and 1960 that is the epitome of Stalinist pomposity. At 90m wide, it runs for 2.3km between Alexanderplatz and Frankfurter Tor and was a source of considerable national pride for the East Germans, providing modern flats for thousands of comrades and also serving as a backdrop for vast military parades. The exhibit at Cafe Sybille at No 72 has more background.
Pockets of open space include the Volkspark Friedrichshain (Map), a wonderland of tamed wilderness filled with trails, playgrounds, tennis courts, a half-pipe, an outdoor cinema and lots of greenery for sunning, grilling and picnicking.
Return to beginning of chapter
Prenzlauer Berg
Ageing divas know that a face-lift can quickly pump up a drooping career, and it seems the same can be done with entire neighbourhoods. It helps that Prenzlauer Berg has always had great bone structure, so to speak. Badly pummelled but not destroyed during WWII, the district was among the first to show up in the crosshairs of developers after the Wall collapsed. Now pretty as a polished penny, its townhouses sparkle in prim pastels, their sleekly renovated apartments and lofts the haunts of urbanites, gays, creative types, families and professionals.
It’s these bourgeois bohemians who keep alive a burgeoning scene of world-cuisine restaurants, trendy bars, cultural venues, designer boutiques and ‘bio’ (organic) supermarkets. Berliners