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berlin is this real life the ultimate guide with our sincerest thanks to marcus alex caroline sofia nina matt lutz and jeremy.

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introduction 1 german 2 suriving berlin 4 transport 3 history 4 galleries 5 museums 6 sites 7 contents nightlife 10 shopping 11 outdoors 12 contributors 13 introduction 1 good to know 2 language 4 tr ansport 6 history 10 galleries 14 museums 22 sights 28 to u r s 3 2 food and drink 42 c o ffe eandca ke 5 0 street food 56 nightlife 60 shopping 70 second hand 74 markets 76 outdoors 78 contributors 86 3 2 berlin is this real life

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willkommen in berlin upon arrival the very question of is this real life may pop into your head it may be after your first time seeing someone face down on a park bench with a pilsner beer in hand or perhaps it will be after you read a german menu for the first time and attempt to order your food nevertheless the culture shock is one to note the city of berlin is known for its unique and anti-corporate economy with independently created lifestyles poor but sexy berlin is a diverse and vibrant city with a tumultuous historical past noted as europe s `capital of cool berlin is germany s largest city berlin is a city of culture and is shaped by encompassing a diverse range of creative industries and serves as a popular tourist destination berlin is home to the famous humboldt university where albert einstein and karl marx studied if that groundbreaking historical fact doesn t enthral you maybe the art will studied if that groundbreaking historical fact doesn t enthral you maybe the art will the whole city is a canvas made up of street art graffiti and stickers leaving little space untouched art covering everything from telephone poles shop fronts to u-bahn stations and even the pavement itself artistic talent can also be seen in the city s architecture such as the emblematic reichstag this building features the glass dome designed by norman foster other lesser known buildings from the gdr era have been converted into distinctive night clubs whether a historical outing or a night on the town visitors are sure to get a taste of the old and the new a guide to berlin would be incomplete without mentioning the vast array of food the city has to offer from traditional spätzle noodles to the more prominent kebab all taste buds are catered for even on the strictest of budgets not to mention the copious amounts of coffee and cake consumed daily such as the rich german chocolate cake complimented by a steaming latte macchiato when you re not eating cake and drinking coffee berlin is the perfect place to practice retail therapy for those with more than a pretty penny in their pockets the gallery of lafayette is the perfect place to take a stroll through designer when you re not eating cake and drinking coffee berlin is the perfect place to practice retail therapy for those with more than a pretty penny in their pockets the gallery of lafayette is the perfect place to take a stroll through designer stores those shopping on a shoe string budget will appreciate the plethora of second hand shops and markets scattered all over the city -mc hh 4 berlin is this real life 1

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good to know emergency numbers police 110 ambulance 112 fire 112 stay out of the bike lanes biking is a huge method of transportation and getting in their way will only cause a fuss on the streets recycling plays a big part in the berlin community save your bottles during your stay and return them to your local market to receive a small reimbursement have cash on you at all times berlin is made up of many independent companies meaning most places will not take credit cards or any other type of plastic be prepared to pay to use public restrooms these fees s can range from 30cents to 1 depending on how populated the area is have cash on you at all times berlin is made up of many independent companies meaning most places will not take credit cards or any other type of plastic internet can be found at various cafés coffee shops and shops noted as internet cafes inside you will pay between 30-80 cents per half hour to use their computers head phones and/or webcams 2 berlin is this real life the germans love their sparkling water when requesting still water ask for ohne gas for sparkling water ask for mit gas do not attempt to jaywalk traffic is moving at a fast pace and if you jaywalk in front of a mother and her children prepare to be scorned for setting a bad example stay out of the bike lanes biking is a huge method of transportation and getting in their way will only cause a fuss on the streets tips are appreciated in bars and restaurants ranging between 5 10 depending on the service expect to pay a glass deposit at most bars and clubs ranging from 50c to 1 you can drink in the streets most people do speak english but it is good to know the basics so turn the page for a crash course 3

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although many berliners speak english especially the younger generation it doesn t hurt to try and speak the local language a phrase words and phrases should help make your stay feel a bit more authentic and even endear you to the locals directions excuse me where is the toilet the train station the air por t the police go left right straight ahead along go along this street it is near here entschuldigen sie wo ist die toilette der bahnhof der flughafen die polizei gehen sie links rechts geradeaus entlang gehen sie diese straße entlang es ist nah hier pleasentries hello goodmorning/afternoon/night how are you i am good and you what is your name my name is do you speak english i don t understand please thankyou bye goodbye hallo guten morgen/abend/nacht wie geht es ihnen/dir mir gehts gut und dir wie heiße du ich heiße sprechen sie english ich verstehe nicht bitte danke tschüs auf wiedersehen conversation what s new i missed you so much shall we go clubbing i have a hangover i am hungry like a wolf i am looking for john what are you looking at in your dreams is this real life was gibt s neues du hast mir so gefelht clubben gehen ich habe einen kater ich bin hungrig wie ein wolf ich suche john was gukst du du träumst wohl ist dies das wahre leben i want i want a glass of wine four beers a single room a double room ich hatte gern ein glas wein vier bier das einzelzimmer das doppelzimmer 4 berlin is this real life 5

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public transport the berliner verkehrsbetriebe bvg operates the city s s-bahn u-bahn tram and bus networks which all interconnect very efficiently making travel simple bvg s website www bvg.de provides a journey planner which helps you find the fastest route and is regularly updated with service alterations to make life easier be sure to grab maps for both the s u-bahn network and the tram services conveniently both the s u-bahn network and the tram lines are colour-coded in addition to being numbered tram the eastern side of the city is served by an extensive network of trams they stop frequently but generally travel on a dedicated section of the road meaning they are quite quick most tram services run 24 hours a day transport {transport at first it the sheer size of berlin can be quite daunting but the variety of both public and private transport options help shrink the distances and will take you to pretty much anywhere you want u-bahn the u-bahn is the city s metro train service stops are frequent and conveniently located meaning you ll generally arrive close to your destination monday to thursday trains run from 4:30 am to 12:30 am and all night on fridays saturdays and sunday s-bahn the s-bahn is an urban rail service and extends further than the u-bahn but stops less frequently given its reach it is very useful for daytrips to places such as potsdam or wannsee trains run from 4:30 a.m to 12:30 a.m monday to thursday with additional services on friday saturday and sunday nights buses the bus network operates throughout the day and night and also serves as a handy late-night replacement for trains monday to thursday nights in addition to the metro buses are the express buses denoted by an x which have fewer stops services run frequently during the day and from 12:30 am to 4:30 am monday to friday they serve as a replacement for the u-bahn airports two airports currently serve berlin tegel to close in mid-2012 and schönefeld served by numerous buses it is easy to get from tegel to any of the main train stations those travelling to schönefeld have fewer complications as it s served by both the bus and s-bahn 6 berlin is this real life transport 7

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