Berlin

Going to a conference in Potsdam so thought we would spend some time in Berlin first

I spent a week in Berlin in 2012. The sights that I most enjoyed were:
1) The tour of the Reichstag (you must book in advance)
2) The Insider Tour "famous" walk http://www.insidertour.com/ - This just gives you a great orientation to the city and the main sites
3) The DDR Museum - a bit kitschy, but I really enjoyed the exhibits on daily life in the DDR.
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I also visited the Pergamon Museum, the Altes and Neues Museums, the German Museum, the Ann Frank museum, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews, Topography of Terror, the Berlin Zoo, took a day trip to Potsdam, saw the Berlin Philharmonic, walked along Ku'damm, got a currywurst at Konnopke's Imbiss, and ate at lots of great little restaurants, and more. Berlin is a fantastic city and I could easily go back and spend another week there.
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I bought the 3-day museum pass which was worth it. I also bought a one-week transit pass and that could be a good option for you to check out. If you buy one that covers zones A, B, and C, it will cover transit to Potsdam also. They have passes of various lengths.
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Also, attached is a link with some of the great tips I got from this forum before my trip:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/to-the-west/a-week-in-berlin-special-things

Thanks Laura. That is so helpful

We spent 3 days in Berlin and really enjoyed the Pergamon museum, the museum at Checkpoint Charlie, and a 'Hop On, Hop Off' city bus tour. Also had fun at KaDeWe, Europe's largest department store.

> "Going to a conference in Potsdam so thought we would spend some time in Berlin first"

Don't forget to see Potsdam too, which is wonderful in June/July. The city, which was the summer residence of the Prussian kings and German emperors, offers much more than just Sanssouci. If you want to see all of Sanssouci, i.e. not just the main palace but also the Picture Gallery, the New Palace, the Roman Baths, the Chinese Tea House or the Communs, you already need a full day. The second park is the New Garden, with the Marble Palace and Cecilienhof. If you cross the famous spy bridge you see Glienicke, the third park, on the left, and Babelsberg, the fourth park, on the right side. Especially Babelsberg is lovely. If you follow the path on the lakeshore from Glienicke you reach Peacock Island, the fifth park, after a few minutes. Between these parks are picturesque buildings like the Ruinenberg (= ruin mountain), the Belvedere or the Church of the Redeemer.
Potsdam itself offers a partly preserved old town with a Dutch and Russian quarter, called Alexandrovka. The city is surrounded by lakes, and a few miles away is Caputh, where Albert Einstein lived until 1933. Just around the corner is Werder, a small town on a island, which is the centre of a fruit-growing region. From there you could bike to Lehnin, which offers a beautiful medieval abbey.
It's really a very nice area, and it would be a shame if you would solely focus on Berlin, especially sicne you stay in Potsdam anyway.

I loved Berlin! I took a daytrip to Lutherstadt Wittenburg while I was there (500th anniversary of Martin Luther's 95 Theses is coming up in 2017).

I know most people don't travel to Europe to visit zoos, but if you like that sort of thing, I found the Berlin Zoological Garden one of the better on the continent. Quite simply, it has a huge menagerie. The two star attractions, Knut the polar bear and Boa Boa the panda, have died, but it's still worth a visit.

Berlin actually as two zoos, the above mentioned Berlin Zoological Garden in the old western half, and Tierpark Berlin in the east. I have not visited the latter.

The Pergamon Museum and the DDR Museum were my favorites. I also enjoyed the Neues (new) Museum (didn't get to the others on the Island). I went to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, found it disorganized and over-priced. You learn as much from the billboards outside the museum along the line where the Wall stood. If you enjoy palaces, there's a lovely one, the Charlottenburg.

I spent two weeks there during college as part of a summer abroad program and I am trying to remember what we did other than go to class and hang out at Alexander Platz...Alexander Platz was pretty cool though. We always said meet at the "Michael Jackson" statue. It wasn't until I got back state side that I realized it was indeed a statue of Michael Jackson that they had put up for his HIStory Tour, I am sure it is not there now, but it is a good memory. The International Clock is there, but I don't know if it is enough to go out of your way for. I really liked the East Side Gallery. It is what remains of the Berlin Wall. We also enjoyed an Organ Concert at Der Dom which was amazing and I hate organ music. We went up in the TV tower. It was interesting to see the city from above. We wandered around KaDeWe (a giant department store) and surroundings. THen Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial church. I think this area was my fav part of Berlin.
Here is a really good blog entery about Berlin. http://www.europealacarte.co.uk/blog/2010/10/11/things-to-do-in-berlin/

Hello!
You can travel to Szczecin, NW part of Poland in the seaside area, a capital of region called Western Pomerania with many interesting places for instance The Pomeranian Dukes' Castle, National Museum, Summer Theater, Roses Garden and Ładoga Restaurant on the Oder River. In the area - among others Szczecin Landscape Park, Szczecin Lagoon, Jasienica Abbey in Police, The Old Town of Nowe Warpno, Festival of Slavs and Vikings, Regional Museum and Open Air Museum in Wolin, Międzyzdroje - a seaside resort known as 'The Pearl of the Baltic' and attractions of Świnoujście - a town situated on 44 islands, for example the lighthouse, The Eastern Fort and nature reserve Karsiborska Kępa. You can travel from Berlin by train. There are a few direct trains from Berlin Gesundbrunnen Station and many trains from Potsdamer Platz (underground) Station or The Main Train Station (Berlin Hauptbahnhof) with a change in Angermünde. And also direct motorway to Szczecin (German name is Stettin). Travel is about 2 hours.
Good trip!
Michal

When I was in Berlin last October I purchased a 72 hour Berlin WelcomeCard with Museuminsel for 36 Euro. it got me into all the major museums and was my bus, tram, u-bahn pass for three days. There is plenty to do in Berlin for five days including day trips and it's all good. I skipped the Berlin wall at Checkpoint Charlie in favor of a much more solemn and sparsely visited section on Bernauerstrasse in Prenzlauerberg. The three major museums on Museum Island had no waiting lines in mid-October but in summer I'd follow his recommendations in securing an entry time. I'm a museum junkie and these are some of the best. Rick's guidebook was a BIG help for this solo, senior traveler. When I was there they were having the Festival of Light. I'm sure in the summer there will be all sorts of events. Eat the chocolate, the croissants and the soft pretzels. I wouldn't have the currywurst again..just sayin'. I didn't have much of an itinerary when I was there, I just explored and had a great time.

You can tour an East German STASI prison in the suburbs northeast of Berlin. We took the tour in the company of a guide who had been a prisoner, for the crime of wanting to leave the country.

With memories of WW2 fading, it's important to remember man's inhumanity to man in our own generation.