Berlin Travel Forum

i am researching about what to do in Lisbon for 3.5 days with teens ages 17 and 14. suggestions of good hotels/appartments are great. and if we should spend more time (or less)thanks

i mean what to do in Berlin not lisbon... sorry

teens ages 17 and 14 can be extremely different... so it is easier for us to give you some tips + advice, when you tell us what they are interested in. Maybe the zoo? or "Museum für Verkehr und Technik" ? When I was in this age, I already was interested in arts and loved to see paintings or the exhibitions in the museums of Egypt and Islamic art, we have a lot of this in Berlin.<<<spend more time (or less)>>> you can spend 2 weeks and didn`t see all the museums and places of interest.

They're old enough to help with the planning. Let them do some research and come up with suggestions.

well 1st of all im the 17 year old
2nd i am interested in outdoor stuff but still like pretty much anything else.(sorry that didnt explain anything) my brother likes things that are ineractive.(eg. street fairs and hands on museums. not just look at a painting place or look but dont touch places)
3rd i know you could spend years in places and not see all thast that city has to offer but if it is like impossable to see anything then i would make my stay there longer. thanks for all the helpful info.

check out this one, it is in some areas a hands-on-museum:
http://www.dtmb.de/index_en.html

Taken from my travel tips:

First you should check Berlin's Tourist Info for tips:
http://www.visitberlin.de/english/zielgruppen/e_zg_kinder-familien.php?

And in addition to that you could consider

- visiting Berlin's Zoo and Aquarium
http://www.zoo-berlin.de/en.html

- seeing the "Bonbonmacherei" (a small sweets manufacture) inside Heckmanhöfe (Oranienburger Straße, left hand side of the New Synagogue).

- visit Sea Life & Aquadome inside Radisson SAS Hotel
http://www.sealifeeurope.com/local/index.php?loc=berlin

- visit Lego-Miniland inside Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz

- see the model railway "Loxx"
http://www.loxx-berlin.com/en/index.html

- or see Berlin from above. "High Flyer" is a captive ballon, but, provided you have a bigger chequebook, you could even fly on a "candy bomber". http://www.air-service-berlin.de/index.php5?page=&#9001;=2

you guys have a lot of great ideas... i didnt know where to start thanks!

I was in Berlin at age 13 with my grandmother - we spent about 3.5 days there. This was in 1976 when there was still a Berlin wall and you had to fly in - we flew from the States and Berlin was our first stop. This is what I wrote at the time:

When we got off the plane in Berlin we had to go get our luggage. We could not find anything or anyone to carry the baggage. So I took the suitcases and Grandmummy took the rest. We managed to carry it to where the taxis picked people up. We stood there for about ½ hour trying to get a taxi. They kept on going. We finally got a cab and it took us to the hotel. When we got there, neither Grandmummy or I was tired, so we went to the zoo. I saw a baby rhino and two rhinos fighting. We saw the ugliest looking vultures you ever saw. The monkeys were putting on a show. Even the giraffes were acting funny. We left the zoo and went to Dortmunder Union – the food was very good. Then we went window shopping. We went into a bakery and bought a piece of cake and a doughnut. The doughnut was cake with a big hole in the middle and covered with icing.

Then we did some more window shopping. Then we came back to the hotel. I took a shower. They don’t have a shower but they have a shower massage. We are getting ready for bed. By the way, they have a feather bed and they have a feather mattress that you get in between and they also have heated towel racks. Forgot my bathing suit and your camera won’t focus right. We are taking it to a camera shop. We are going to East Germany tomorrow and also a musical in the opera house. For the hot and cold they have dots (red and blue) on the faucets. Grandmummy and I are going to have breakfast in our room. Their soap holder is one tile.

Monday September 20, 1976

Dear Mom
Today is Monday. We got up had breakfast in our room. They had ten rolls. Grandmummy saved some for lunch. I had hot chocolate.

We went out to the bank. Then we went to the camera store and to get me a bathing suit. Then we went back to the hotel and ate lunch. After lunch we went on a tour of East Berlin. They almost didn’t let me in because I was under 16 without a parent. We went in through the gate (it took us ½ an hour). We got to see buildings. We went into a museum and saw some Egyptian Art and we saw the Russian War Memorial. We got back on the bus and left. When we got home we ate at the Carousel restaurant We came home and went to the swimming pool. We got back and we had locked ourselves out. We got in finally. A famous circus came to town and we are going to see it.

My grandmother's letter to my mom

[On Hotel Kempinski Berlin stationary]

Dearest - Just a note to add - We have been shopping – bought BB a bathing suit in Bilka’s – something like Gutman’s – Lycra multicolored – low back – lucky we could find one! The hotel man said “A bathing suit this time of year?? Ach!” in a despairing voice & suggested a department store. But they wanted 99 DM – about $45.00!! Some were Jantzens - & std low backs or halter – I couldn’t see wasting that much money – yet I hated for her not to have one – how you 2 could pack & not pack one I’ll never know! She thinks it was left at my place – but all her things were put in box or yellow bucket for small things when I took the suitcase for repair. Also the camera shop says something is missing from the front of the camera or else broken. When was the camera used last? And he confirmed my suspicion that it was not our inability to focus – so I’ve shown her how to use the Konica & I hope that works – we had lunch using what was brought for breakfast (leftover). Now going on tour for E. Berlin – taking the longer tour that include the museum – Have tickets also for Potsdam tomorrow & W. Berlin for Weds. am. Going to the Palace by ourselves in the afternoon – Expect to go to a musical tomorrow night in the Opera House – Going to walk around and relax tonight

Tuesday, September 21, 1976

Today is my [13th] birthday. We got up at 6 thirty to go swimming, decided not to and went back to bed till we heard a knock on the door. It was breakfast. We ate breakfast. Then we went to catch our tour bus. The lady said it was an English tour and the tour guide spoke German. It turned out that ¾ of the bus was German. We got through the gate and went to Potsdam. We went to Fred the Great’s San Souci castle. We had to wear oversized slippers. Then we went to lunch at 2 o’clock and finish at 4. We saw where the Potsdam Agreement was signed. Grandmummy took a picture of the wall from the house. A lady saw her and described her to a man. A lady heard this and told her to put on her overcoat and then we slipped out. After that we came back to the hotel. I went swimming. Then we went to the restaurant downstairs.

Wednesday September 22, 1976

Another day has passed. We got up and dressed. Then we went to breakfast. After that we went to our tour bus. We took a tour of West Berlin. First we saw an art gallery. Then we went to the Brandenburg gate. We saw the Russian Memorial and the Wall. Then we went to the 1936 Olympic stadium. The bus drove around it. Then we got off and went to the hotel. After that we ate lunch and went to the top of the building with the Mercedes Benz sign on it. On top we looked through a telescope. It was cool. Then we went to the Egyptian museum and saw Queen Nefrititi. Grandmummy ook a picture with the camera that develops before your eyes (Polaroid). The guards were fascinated. We took a bus to the station. We went to a bakery and Burger King. Then we went to the hotel and there is where we ate.

Thursday, September 23, 1976

Thu. Sep 23 - Leave Berlin on Pan Am at 9:15 - Arrive Munich Reim airport 10:25 am

Today we got up at 6:30 packed, dressed and went to breakfast. After breakfast we went back to our room. There we finished packing and went to catch a cab. We got to the airplane and it was on time.

Hello Deb Barb Beth! Thank you for taking the effort on you, to post this long text!! I live in Berlin (and was not allowed to go to East berlin because border police didn`t let me ) so reading your notes was very informative and bringing up the old memories + pictures...
I had to laugh about "bathing suit this time of year? Ach!"

My grandmother died two years ago, and in going through her stuff, I found my letters. (Why she had them and my mom didn't, I don't know) Since my mom was taking my son (her grandson) on a trip, I typed my letters up to let him read before he went. So it was already done.

If you go to my home page, the whole trip is there.

Actually I am confused as to whether you are going to Lisbon or to Berlin

We are 2 + 2 teens and looking for suggestions for Berlin and willing to exchange any info we get

tkboc

lionmouth goes to Berlin

He's planning a whole trip and he posted to each individual city (Lisbon, Barcelona, Madrid, Marseilles, Paris, Berlin, Prague etc), and he made a mistake when he typed up the Berlin post and put Lisbon instead. He also has a question about how to get from one place to another, but I didn't know any answers to that.

Deb Barb Beth thanks for the detailed post. oh and fyi im a girl. its ok though. im getting so much good informatin. im taking good notes. thanks everyone

Oops sorry - we are girls too.

Am I right or wrong?? "Deb Barb Beth" stands for Deborah Barbara Elisabeth

Hey again! Here are my plans so far of what to do each day. Tell me if I will have time to do all the activities I hope we can do each day.( but don’t want it too busy) Or if it is impractical to do certain activities on the same day (example: they are far away from each other, though I tried to not let that happen) Also any other activities we should do. So you can help us more: I am interested in outdoor stuff but still like pretty much anything else. (Sorry that didn’t explain anything) my brother likes things that are interactive. (Example: street fairs and hands on museums. not look at a painting place or look but don’t touch places) My dad loves history. And my mom likes anything to do with the Catholic Church (we have been to Italy) and she likes beaches. As always suggestions are appreciated.(esspecialy a hotel/ apartment)Thanks

Day 45- Prague/Berlin – Hotel:

Day 46- Berlin – Hotel:
• Zoo And Aquarium

Day 47- Berlin – Hotel:
• SPECTRUM the Berlin Science Center

Day 48- Berlin – Hotel:

Day 49- Berlin/Lucerne – Hotel:

It stands for Deb (which is an ancronym - real first name Dorothy Ellen), Barbara and Elizabeth. Not Deborah

Hi Deb,good to know where your screenname comes from

Hi lionmouth : the interests are quite difficult to satisfy , because Catholic Church mostly means atrwork which you shouldn`t touch... Infos about the most important Catholic church in Berlin are to be found under
www.berlinerdom.de
the most important old medieval church is Nikolaikirche (adress= Nikolaikirchplatz 1
10178 Berlin )

I really think that you ought to go to SOME museums in some places. For instance in London there are many museums, and also in Berlin there are some iconic places that ought to be on the itinerary even for museum averse people. Some of them are art museums and some are not (like the Science Museum or the War Museum in London). For instance I (Deb in this case) took my son at about age 8 or 9 to many museums, and castles and churches. We just tried to keep trips managable and give him something to do (like a scavenger hunt). In the Louvre it was counting cherubs. In old castles it was sometimes finding toilets. Sometimes in churches he would draw pictures of the decorations (like in St. Peters, he copied sections of the floor) I've got a picture of him in Salzburg sitting under a decorated cow with a drawing that he made on the Sound of Music tour. I think in Berlin, Barb was impressed with the big museum in what was East Berlin. Not so much an art museum.

of course we will go to SOME museums. when we went to Italy we went to the Sistine chapel and got a tour. My brother took off his headphones 15 minutes into the tour. I don’t think he likes big tour groups. We usually just tour a place not in a group, but on our own. My brother likes freedom to do what he wants. Like when we had a private guide in each city he loved it even if we went into a museum (or historical place) like in Venice we went to San Marco Basilica and he was fine. Sorry just kind of rambling I don’t even think this makes sense.

Regarding (catholic) churches in Berlin: There is not really a standout in Berlin, the city was never important for the church (and the other way round). The most important church is for sure the mentioned Berliner Dom - but it is not a catholic church (though it is designed like one). The medieval churches (Marienkirche and the mentioned Nikolaikirche) are nice, but not really great, especially if you had a look at other german churches.

Zoo and Aquarium are very nice, you can plan nearly a whole day if your family likes zoos in general. Take your time there, before and after you can have a short walk in the surrounding areas (not very pretty, but some good stores at Tauentzienstraße/Kurfürstendamm, including the KaDeWe, the biggest department store in contintental europe and there is one of THE symbols of Berlin, the Gedächtniskirche not far away.

Don't know the Spectrum at Deutsches Technikmuseum, but not far away from there are: Potsdamer Platz (modern architecture plus mall, a hi-flyer balloon: http://www.air-service-berlin.de/index.php5?page=190-11-0-1-1-2-3&lang=2 ), a nice park called viktoriapark at Kreuzbergstraße, nice restaurants in Bergmannstraße and area.

If it's really hot, you might go to Strandbad Wannsee, the longest beach in Berlin.

Deb -> Thanks for including your letters, very interesting.

stativi is right, I mistook "Sankt-Hedwigs-Kathedrale" (near boulevard "Unter den Linden") for Berliner Dom. Both churches and Nikolaikirche are worth a visit for people interested in these matters, but also in this point stativi is correct:
you couldn`t compare these buildings with Freiburger Münster, Kölner Dom or Mariendom + Severikirche in Erfurt (just to name 3 examples from many more in Germany)

another museum i suggest strongly is the Museum für Naturkunde (museum of natural sciences) at Invalidenstraße. One could visit the historic center of Berlin (Unter Den Linden, Nikolaiviertel, Oranienburger Straße) after that which together would fill another day.