Berlin

[vikki67]

Anyone been. Are the Berliners friendly, is the city easy to get aroud, any must sees and any no no's.

Thanks Vikki

[tyrepill]

I was there last October,Very easy to get around using public transport.Obtain a day ticket for 6.50 Euros,and you can travel on buses and trains all day

[vikki67]

Hi thanks for the reply. Could you tell me if you have to validate the tickets on the public transport. Can you use the same tickets on the trains and buses, and can you tell me the difference in the travel zones. I've seen on another site something about tickets valid on AB zones ETC. Could you tell me you can buy one ticket for all zones or do you have to buy diifferent tickets for different zones. Hope these questions make sense.

Thanks Vikki

[shivvy]

Hi Vikki67.
I posted a similar question a couple of months ago and got some useful answers. Here is the link.
http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Travel/Question 488574.html
I really enjoyed Berlin. I agree with tyrepill - it is very easy to get around however we bought a 3 day ticket which worked out as better value than the daily one. Both allow you to travel on all public transport ie the trams, the train (S-Bahn) and the underground (U-Bahn).
The reichstag, brandenburg gate, jewish museum, fernsehturm, and the museum at checkpoint charlie are all worh visiting.
The city bus tour is worthwhile taking early in your trip to help you get your bearings and to give you a chance to hop on and hop off at popular tourist sites.
If you like shopping then KaDeWe is worth a visit - particularly the food floor which goes on for ever with a huge choice. Try experiencing some traditional Berlin food. The locals are more than happy to advise you.
I don't know if you can speak any words of German but using a phrase book to help with a few of the basics is very much appreciated by the locals.
There are a couple of weekend flea markets which are worth having a look.

[shivvy]

Don't worry too much about the area that AB covers as it includes most of the tourist sites within Berlin city. I think you would only need an alternative ticket if you were travelling towards the outskirts of the city.
Once you buy your ticket you need to validate it once only (I think this is just to give you a start/expiry date for it). You can do this on a train platform.

[vikki67]

Thanks Shivvy I'll be looking at te links later.

I can't wait.....

Vikki

[spudqueen]

Are the people who live in Berlin called Berliners? When JFK went there he said 'ich bin ein Berliner' which translated means 'I am a doughnut'.

[Narolines]

Well yes, they are - but what JFK should have said is "Ich bin Berliner", which would mean "I am a citizen of Berlin". It was the fact that he put in the indefinite article "ein" that led led to the unfortunate translation.