Burrowing Into Berlin

Exploring Berlin’s Capital the Fort Marmot Way

Berlin is a special place for me. It is the first truly overseas city that I ever explored. It is a city of scars and ghosts, sophistication and debauchery, glory, and pain. It is one of those cities that “has everything” a modern traveller could ask for, and few things that they probably never knew they were into. History, art, sports, food, and all night bondage parties, it’s in Berlin and surprisingly easy to find.

Getting there, and getting around.

So if you are coming in from abroad you will most likely enter Berlin in one of two ways. You land at Schoenfeld airport or get of the train at the Hautpbanhof (central train station). There is another airport, Tegel, that is possible point of arrival if you are flying in from another European city. Germany is a Schengen Agreement country so if you entered Europe at another point (other than the U.K.) you will likely not go through any sort of customs. Tegel will require a bus ride into the city proper, Schoenfeld is a longish train ride, and the Hauptbanhof is in the middle of it all.

Which means upon arrival, one of the first things you should do is get a pass for the public transit in the city. Berlin is extremely walkable, but it also has a very elaborate and efficient public transit system. Trains (S-Bahn), subways (U-Bahn), busses and street cars (trams) can get you all over the city and to some of the outlying suburbs as well. There are a number of extended passes available, with some just for tourists on the Berlin transit website, the transit kiosk ATM things, and at tourist info booths at the airports and train stations. For my money, getting a however many day pass for the whole city is the most useful. 30-40 Euro might seem like a lot up front, but in my experience, I was hopping on and off some form of transit so frequently, that the peace of mind was worth it. The tourist passes include some discounts and admissions that require some fine print digging and are of dubious value so do a little reading beforehand. Also if you do overpay a little, just consider it a “tip” for Berlin maintaining a fabulous transit system. One last thing, there are no gates or ticket reading stations to get on and off any means of transit. The occasional bus driver will ask to see a pass but that is rare. Easygoing as this is, DO NOT RIDE WITHOUT A VALID PASS! Make sure the pass is current and stamped in one of the validation machines. I watched the polizei shake down a dude that was riding without a ticket and it didn’t look pleasant.

What to eat.

Do not come to Berlin expecting schnitzels, embarrassingly large pretzels, and litre beers served by busty blonde women in dirdl. Save that shit for Bavaria. Berlin is a very much a crossroads city where there is not one defining food culture. There are plenty of places to get a pork knuckle and sauerkraut, but that’s limiting yourself. I’ve had Korean fried chicken, burgers, steak, shwarma and even some schnitzel in Berlin and all was fabulous. There are two “trademark” Berlin dishes though, currywurst, and doner kebab.

I can’t give a commentary on currywurst due to my annoying tendency to swell up when I eat tomato in any form. So no curry ketchup covered hot dogs for me. However, doner kebab, is a cannot miss in Berlin. it’s a Turkish import that is ground beef or lamb that a long time ago was the inspiration for Greek/American gyros. The Berlin version is trimmed a bit thinner and crisper, with milder seasoning than your typical gyro. You also get a huge variety of toppings from your run of the mill lettuce to pickled beets. Get a large, fill it with your favorite veggies, get extra garlic yoghurt and eat it right on the street. Wash it down with a Berliner Kindl beer (you can drink in public) and get on to your next adventure. Doner is perfect at 3am when you stumble out of a burlesque show and at lunchtime between art galleries. My favorite is Pergamon Doner in Alexanderplatz, but really any streetside stand will do.

Things to do.

Berlin offers a lot. There is the well frequented tourist strip between the Bundestag/Brandenburg Gate and Alexanderplatz along Unter den Linden. If you have never been to the city before it is worth a stroll. That passes right by Museum Insel (Museum Island) which by itself can fill a several day vaction, if museums are your thing. There is shopping in Kurfurstendamm and Mon Bijou Platz, nightlife all over the place, professional sports, you name it. It’s a slick cosmopolitain city, but everywhere you go you find ghosts.

Not specters or apparitions, but the echoes of history. Berlin has been ground up and rebuilt time and again and everywhere you go you can feel it. The bullets holes in the walls, the Soviet architecture with 21st century advertisements, 12th century churches, and even a Weimar era cabaret. Go do, honestly, whatever you want to do and you will see the ghosts. As you enter a museum you will see battle damage from 1945, your streetcar will pass by a section of the Berlin wall, or a Soviet memorial might peek out of the trees of the Tiergarten. Even at the zoo, some of the panels about the animals mention how Berlin’s history affected their care. So while you are there, take it in. Feel the past around you and enjoy the glorious modern city you see today.