Cars drive past the illuminated victory column during the Festival of Lights in Berlin, October 14, 2009.[Agencies]
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Cars drive past the illuminated victory column during the Festival of Lights in Berlin, October 14, 2009.[Agencies] |
BERLIN - Got 48 hours to spare in Berlin, an eclectic city which proudly bares the scars of the turbulent 20th century history it overcame to become a political and creative powerhouse, bang in the center of Europe.
Reuters correspondents with local knowledge help visitors get the most out of a visit to the city celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
FRIDAY
6 p.m. Berlin has always been a hub for art and culture so spend your first evening in the historic Jewish quarter of Berlin, home to a countless galleries, boutiques and bars.
Start on Oranienburgerstrasse with a visit to Kunsthaus Tacheles -- a ruined department store that is now an artists' squat. Huge, colorful graffiti-style murals cover the outside, while art is exhibited inside.
Further down the street, take a moment to admire the golden dome of the Moorish-style New Synagogue, before cutting through a courtyard to reach Auguststrasse, famed for its art galleries and array of international cuisine.
8 p.m. Have dinner either at Kasbah, a Moroccan restaurant with Oriental decor; or Baccanali, serving homemade Tuscan specialties in a simple but convivial atmosphere.
10 p.m. Then head to Claerchens Ballhaus, a timeless institution dating back to 1913. People of all ages come to the ballroom seven days a week to dance under a massive disco ball.
SATURDAY
10 a.m. Get a feeling today for the difference between former Communist east Berlin and west Berlin, which were separated for nearly 30 years by an "anti-fascist protection barrier" that became the symbol of the Cold War.
Start in Friederichshain, a working-class eastern district strewn with bulky Communist buildings that has changed much less since 1989 than the gentrified historic city center.
Have a hearty (and cheap, very cheap) brunch at one of the many cafes peppered around Simon-Dach-Strasse before heading to the weekly market on Boxhagener Platz.
12 p.m. Next, stroll down to the East Side Gallery, the largest remaining section of the Berlin Wall which was painted with murals by 118 artists from 22 countries in 1990.
Many of the gallery's 106 murals were inspired by the collapse of communism -- keep a look out for one of the most famous, the "Brotherly Kiss," showing former East German leader Erich Honecker kissing ex-Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.
2 p.m. In the afternoon, head west across the border. The first stop is the appropriately named Kaufhaus des Westens (department store of the west), or KaDeWe -- Berlin's answer to London's Harrods and Paris' Galeries Lafayette.
The highlight of KaDeWe is its gourmet food department, boasting some 3,400 different wines and more than 1,300 cheeses.
Then hit the shops on Kurfuerstendamm. If you arrive at the end of November, Berlin's famous Christmas markets will be up and running, with mulled wine and roasted nuts aplenty.