What to do in Berlin for 2 weeks?

Take a day trip to Potsdam. I really enjoyed my visit to Potsdam. Also, depending on when you are there and whether or not you're a sports fan, they have a basketball team and it might be a hoot to go to a game. http://www.albaberlin.de/index.php?menuid=1&topmenu=1&keepmenu=inactive Pam

If you're into the outdoors, you might consider a tour of the "Spreewald". It's about 60-70 miles south of Berlin and really different. It's not really a "Wald" - forest, but more of a moor area, with waterways and boating and one of the small pockets of people of slavic origins in Germany, called the "Sorben"... Sorbs. They are Germans but have their own language. I think you can book a tour in Berlin or go visit one of the towns, like Luebben.

Berlin itself can keep you busy for the entire time just following the ideas on the tourist website. However, if you want to switch it up a few day trips can do that quite easily. I try to do daytrips that are not much more than 1 hour or so travel time to the destination. Potsdam is highly recommended and even closer. I would also suggest Leipzig. Some travelers try to do Dresden as a day trip from Berlin but while the city is definitely worth a visit the transportation time would be about 4 hours round trip. I would strongy recommend spending the night if you are indeed interested.

I'll second the suggestion for a trip to Potsdam. It's a beautiful little town, rent a bike (depending on when you go) and ride around. There's also a new website I've found called Spotted by Locals. The website for Berlin is http://www.spottedbylocals.com/berlin/. Who knew there was a Ramones museum in Berlin?

A trip to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and the neighboring women's camp, Ravensbruck would easily fill up a day. There truly is so much to see in Berlin, that I doubt that you will get bored there. If you do a walking or bike tour through the city on your first day, you will get a fantastic orientation of the city as well as more ideas about what to see and do there. There are several tour companies to choose from. I recommend checking Trip Advisor to see which ones suit you the best, with the themes, times, locations, etc. Read the reviews to see what others experienced on their tours. A trip to Potsdam and the palace there is a great idea, as is a trip to the Spree Wald. I don't know how far you want to go, but you might consider Lübeck or Dresden as day trips.

Sarah, Some very good advice here as to how to spend time outside of Berlin. As others have suggested, Potsdam. Take a tour of Potsdam and after the tour you could go back to some of the sites covered, such as Neues Palais, especially if you're interested in Prussian history, for a more thorough visit. Potsdam is well served by tram system. To access Neues Palais take the tram, a sign tells you which one, across from the Potsdam Hbf. I did this at the end of May. Also near the train station is the history museum on Brandenburg-Preussen, about a 10 min. walk. Just walking about in Potsdam is interesting and an eye-opener. I first saw it on a tour from West Berlin-Potsdam in 1987. That really gave you a feeling back then of its history.

Sarah, will you have time to visit Dresden ?

Thanks everyone! I'll definitely look into Potsdam. I didn't want to spend all my time in the city and wasn't sure where I should go other than Schwerin. I'll also look into Leipzig and see if anything catches my interest :)

You can do lots of of interesting day trips: - Potsdam. Nice town + German Versailles - Dresden. World class museums + old town with the Zwinger - Saxon Switzerland. Very picturesque mountains close to Dresden, great for hiking - Meissen. Beautiful old town, and you can visit the porcelain manufactory and buy something for a few thousand Euros - Quedlinburg. One of the most beautiful medieval towns of Germany, world heritage site - Spreewald. Rent a canoe and explore the channels for yourself - Görlitz. On the border to Poland, offers all architectual styles since the Middle Ages and will probably be Germany's next world heritage site - Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm. A huge park and also a world heritage site, just stroll around and have a picnic - Kaiserbaeder. On Usedom island, the best way to spend a day on the beach in Germany
-Stralsund. A perfect example of Brick Gothic, also a world heritage site

Sarah, If you are interested in classical music, then Leipzig is worth at least a day trip from Berlin. The houses/museums of Bach, Mendelsohn, Liszt, and Wagner are there as well as the famous Leipzig Gewandthaus (the symphony hall). When I spent a day trip here from Berlin last summer, I didn't get to any of these music related sites, as yet, but went to the Voelkerschlachtdenkmal instead, accessible by tram across from the train station. This is the huge monument commemorating the victory of the Allies over Napoleon at Leipzig when they caught him in a concentric battle. The museum is on the premises of the monument too.

Going to a concert of the Berlin Philharmonic would also be memorable if you like classical music. It is one of the best orchestras in the world, their current director Simon Rattle is fabulous, and the Philharmonie concert hall has excellent acoustics. If you are interested, you should buy your tickets online at the Berlin Phil.'s website as far in advance as possible, as many programs get sold out. Should you, however, not be able to get a ticket, don't despair, but try going to the box office to see if they have any returns. They often do. For a preview of the Berlin Phil., if you have a good Internet connection at home, try their Digital Concert Hall, which broadcasts both live and recorded concerts. Both sound and picture are great if you can hook your computer up to an HDTV. www.digitalconcerthall.com. You do have to pay to watch, but you can try out just one concert for only 9 Euros.

If you haven't done this already, take a look at some guidebooks (not only Rick Steves; I like DK Eyewitness and Fodor's), pick out everything you'd like to do, and then prioritize. There are so many awesome museums in Berlin (I was only there for 4 days so I really had to narrow them down). I also went to the old Tempelhof airport, just to see it. It's extremely vast and people use it for picnics, bike rides, kite-flying, and lots of other outdoor activities. It's worth a look.

Sarah: I second the trip to Sachsenhausen. It is located in Oranienburg, about 40 mins north of Berlin. You will take the pink line - is it S1? Also, in Berlin - you might like to visit Tacheles. I think it is on Oranienburger Strasse. It is an art gallery/bar & really interesting place to check out at night. I'll say don't waste too much time at Checkpoint Charlie. Interesting to see, but the museum there is kind of a tourist trap & doesn't have any information that you couldn't easily read online. Definitely check out the tour of the Reichstag while in Berlin. Nearby, while you're there, you can hit the Tiergarten & the Brandenburg Gate. (Also, if you're interested, near this area is where they filmed part of Valkyrie. They filmed the murders on the site where it happened.) You might also want to consider heading to Lutherstadt Wittenberg, if you're into history. It is even further south of Berlin than Potsdam (maybe an extra hour) - but can easily be done in 1 day. The Altstadt has the church where Martin Luther hung his 95 Theses & you can walk to the top of the church tower for 2 euro. The train ride will be the most expensive thing you purchase all day. (Also - keep in mind that Berlin's opens its museum doors for free some days. I think that it is Thursdays, but you'll have to check on that.)

If you are a music lover, go to a Berlin Philharmonic concert!
I went to hear a concert when I was there and they are world class! I love Berlin and I was there only for one week. Two weeks even better! Enjoy!