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10x tips for Berlin | Diverse and multicultural metropolis

Berlin, Berlin, Berlin. Germany has great cities and you can eat very well there! I have been to quite a few cities in Germany. city ​​trips in Munich, Frankfurt, Dresden you name it. Berlin remains the most beautiful city in Germany for me. What a beautiful, diverse & multicultural metropolis! In this blog I share all my personal tips for Berlin and what you can do in this beautiful city.

1. Charging in Berlin

I love to travel. Before COVID, I was often abroad. Unfortunately, these are uncertain times now, due to Covid. We wanted to get away from it all, away from the Netherlands. This Corona period creates a lot of ambiguity and this brings stress.

But where are you going? We didn't feel like booking a trip with the risk that the trip would be canceled or that you would have to be quarantined on arrival (despite we have already been vaccinated). So rather not by plane, but just by public transport. Well, suddenly the choice is no longer huge. We thought, why not travel to a neighboring country? No sooner said than done. We chose to go to Berlin. The great city I've been to a few times before and the metropolis that never disappoints me. Recharge your batteries in Berlin!

Berlin Cathedral
Berlin Cathedral
Berlin Wall

2. How do you get to Berlin?

Earlier I went to Berlin with the FlixBus. You are in Berlin in 6.5 hours (depending on your departure stop). I also went to Berlin by plane once. Not very ideal, because I live 2 hours from Schiphol. So I had to travel to Schiphol first. Then you have to be at the airport 2 hours earlier, so it can all take quite a long time. We looked at the website of nsinternational.nl and saw that a ride to Berlin only takes 4 hours! You are really in the heart of Berlin, Ideal. The costs are worth it. You will spend about 75 euros per person there and back. However, the earlier you book, the cheaper the ticket price. As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the best tips for Berlin, go by train!

Also read: Which airports / airports are there in Germany?

German train

We were going to leave and a friend would take the mouth caps. We almost wanted to get in and then I said: do you have the mouth caps with you? She was completely in shock and said oops forgot! There we were, at the station without a mouth cap. The train would leave in 3 minutes! Fortunately, my sister had some mouth caps with her just to be sure and we didn't get a fine.

3. Where to stay in Berlin?

Once we arrived in the heart of Berlin, we first went to our hotel. During a previous stay in Berlin I stayed at Hotel Berlin Berlin† This hotel is really super deluxe.
You have literally everything, including a gym, spa and a delicious breakfast with all the trimmings.

During this stay we opted for a budget hotel, MEININGER Hotel Berlin Mitte† The reason for this was because we would actually only use the hotel to spend the night. The budget hotel was fine and met our expectations. The hotel was right in the center and was clean and fine for a weekend away! Breakfast was not included and we liked this because we wanted to discover the breakfast spots in Berlin (because there are plenty).

Checkpoint Charlie | Tips for Berlin
Checkpoint Charlie | Tips for Berlin

4. Pizza from Ristorante Peperoncino

Friends, family who know me, everyone knows that I am secretly a huge fan of Italy. I myself have been to Italy dozens of times and I know almost all the ins and outs. I also studied Italian in Rome, which means I am proficient in the language. Pizza & Pasta, I love it! Fortunately, I found a tent in Berlin, which made it feel like I was in Italy at that moment. Peperoncino restaurant is the restaurant where I really felt at home. We had ordered a delicious pizza Margherita.

Pizza Margherita in Berlin
Pizza Margherita in Berlin

Directly across from us was a man who had also ordered a pizza and no one was sitting across from him, but there was also food across from him and a drink too. We thought: hey how crazy ... is that boy on a date with himself? So it turns out that later his girlfriend came with whom he had a big fight. Anyways after we had finished our meal I thanked the chef once more, whereupon he said in Italian… Ho dimenticato il basilico. So he had forgotten the basil, but luckily the taste was no less!

Tip: also at Vapiano you have delicious pizzas and pastas! yum.

Pasta in Berlin
Pasta in Berlin

5. Breakfast in Berlin

Breakfast is super important to me. What are they saying again? Breakfast as a king, lunch as a nobleman and dine like a beggar† I cannot function properly without a hearty breakfast. In Kreuzberg (multicultural district) we went looking for a place to have breakfast. So came across Hasir at restaurant. We asked how much a Turkish breakfast cost. The waiter said breakfast with them cost 13,50 euros. Well, what does that include? He was talking about tea, jam, bread. You had to pay extra for egg! No, not 1 euro, but 4,50 euro extra. Excuse me? For 13,50 euros you can expect something more.

Tips for Berlin | Have a nice breakfast
Tips for Berlin | Have a nice breakfast

When I politely asked if I could use the toilet, the waiter casually said 5 euros. I thought the toilet is made of gold or something? So we're not going to do that! We left the restaurant and we came across a gem spot, namely Brotmeisterliche Fruhstücke. You can have a delicious breakfast here for a good price!
I chose scrambled eggs with 2 tasty German sandwiches.

Tip: If you see Brotmeisterei Steinecke in Berlin, you know that you can have a good breakfast there!

6. Shopping in the heart of Berlin

Berlin has many shops and shopping centers. I like to shop in the Kurfürstendamm. The Kurfürstendamm is one big shopping boulevard. You can find everything here. One of my favorite stores is the M&M store <3. This store is great if you like chocolate. You have that in abundance at the M&M store. But in addition to the M&M store, you will also find luxury boutiques and affordable shops here, such as H&M, Mango, Zara and DM drugstore.

Tip: Berlin is a busy city. It's not dangerous, but like you should do in any big city…just watch your stuff!

Berlin in Christmas spirit
Berlin in Christmas spirit

7. Sightseeing in Berlin

There is plenty to do in Berlin. This metropolis is hip, it is cultural and bursting with history. A must-see is the Branden burgertor! This is the main gate of Berlin.

Tip: Do you want a photo without people? Then go early in the morning or late in the evening. At night, the Brandenburg Gate is lit up!

You may not believe this, but in the evening we walked back from the Brandenburg gate to our hotel. 3 guesses what I saw?! I looked closely and I thought this can't be true! I just literally saw a fox in the center of Berlin less than 10 meters away from me. Fortunately, the fox did not notice us, because this could have turned out differently.

The Berlin Cathedral is also a must see! Unfortunately, when we were there, the cathedral was covered in scaffolding. Germany has a heavy history and this is reflected when you go to the Berlin Wall (also called East Side Gallery) & the Holocaust memorial.

Tips for Berlin | Brandenburg Gate
Tips for Berlin | Brandenburg Gate

8. Christmas Markets

Germany is the country where Christmas is really exuberantly celebrated. You can see this outside by the beautiful lighting, but also by the super cozy Christmas markets. I have come across several Christmas markets in Berlin. You can buy everything there and of course eat delicious food! It is good to know that wearing a mouth cap in shops is mandatory. This also applies to the Christmas markets. If you are going to have Glühwein or a nice chocolate milk, the mouth cap can of course be taken off! Most Christmas markets are free to visit. At some Christmas markets, such as the Gendarmen Christmas market, you have to pay an entrance fee of 1 euro.

Also read: Christmas shopping in Europe? Here are the 7 best shopping cities for Christmas

Tips for Berlin | The Christmas market!
Tips for Berlin | The Christmas market!

9. Public transport in Berlin

The first day we walked a lot in Berlin. At the end of the day we had 30.000 steps. I always like to walk, because you encounter more than when you use public transport. We did buy a metro ticket the second day. This, because we wanted to see the Berlin wall. If we were to walk it would take a very long time. We opted for a metro ticket that we could use for 24 hours. The price of this was only 8,80 euros! A very good deal. Normally, a single ticket is 3 euros. So if you plan to travel by metro at least 3 times, it is better to opt for a ticket that is valid for 24 hours.

Tip: avoid a fine and stamp the ticket before using it.

U bahn Berlin

10. 2G policy in Germany (December 2021)

In Germany the 2G policy is very strict. What exactly does this mean? You must have been vaccinated or cured twice. You have to show your QR code at every store except supermarkets and pharmacies. Just showing the QR code is not enough. They also ask to go to the details in the QR code App so that they can see your first and last name. You must also show your passport. It's a bit of a hassle. The control is even stricter than at an airport. I'm not exaggerating, I had to show my passport 2 times. Because even if you go into the H&M, Zara or Mango, they first want to see if the QR code matches your passport.

2G policy in Berlin

So are you not vaccinated? Then you unfortunately cannot enter most stores. Because even if you have done an antigen or PCR test and the result is negative, you will not be admitted. Only vaccinated and people who have recovered from Covid can go shopping (December 2021).

Tip: Before you go to Germany, check the rules regarding the Covid policy. And oh yes double double check don't forget your mouth cap

Leda

I love discovering new places, new people and new cultures. Recently I traveled through South East Asia for four months. That was really spectacular! When will you get another chance like this? Sometimes you have to create opportunities yourself. I see travel more as an investment. So invest in yourself and explore!

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