Berlin from US

1. Depends on if you are changing planes in Europe on the way to Berlin. What is you flight schedule.
2. Don't know.
3. Taxi is the normal way to get rides. But let locals advise on this.
4. Too many to list.
5. Yes, very safe.
6. Between S-Bahn trains, U-Bahns, trams, busses, you can get anywhere quickly in Berlin. https://www.bvg.de/en/service-and-support/tourists
7. Again, depends on you flight itinerary.

1 and 7 can be perfectly explained to you by your daughter.

2: All these listed you can easily buy in Berlin. Large supermarkets have this partly in their sortiment; additionally we have specialized US shops. If you want to bring something check official regulation for private import of food and animal feed.

3: No classic Uber. in Germany private people have no legal permission for commercial transports. Best to use is taxi in Berlin. For transport from BER public transport is best (see link in 6). ABC zone tickets needed.

4: Your interests? Otherwise top 10. #6 is under construction. Check also RS info about Berlin and VisitBerlin and their blog.

5: Yes. Just be aware of tricky and professional pickpockets at crowded places and on public transport (link to prevention PDF).

6: Use journey planner and day tickets or 7-day tickets; AB zone is enough for all rides within Berlin city limits. Do not forget to timestamp paper tickets for validation (instruction; photo).

Have a good journey.

Be sure to pick up a Berlin guidebook. There are many excellent ones to choose from at your local bookstore or Amazon or maybe the public library.

https://www.google.com/search?q=berlin+guidebook&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS1116US1116&oq=berlin+guidebook

This will help you answer your questions about attractions, restaurants, and getting around.

Generally speaking, sealed, wrapped foods are allowed from the US to Europe, but I agree it's better to buy them there. Part of the fun of being in a new place is exploring a local market or grocery store and seeing what they sell. You might also consider not packing toiletries like toothpaste and deodorant and buying them when you arrive.

Have a great trip! Berlin is fabulous!

• 2 No meat or dairy and no fresh fruits and vegetables.
• 3 There are taxis, but the public transportation network is excellent.
• 6 Spend a bit of time to get familiar with it. People have already linked to BVG and my suggestion is that you buy a ticket that covers your entire stay in Berlin, e.g. a 7-day ticket. That will allow you to travel as much as you want during your stay. And Berlin is a big city, so you'll probably have use for them.

Here is link to EU restrictions on bringing food from outside the EU:
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/carry/meat-dairy-animal/index_en.htm

And here is link about public transportation in Berlin. https://allaboutberlin.com/guides/public-transit You might also check youtube (there are zillions of very specific travel videos on youtube)

On public transport, you might also consider the €50 Deutschland monthly ticket.

That will give you the option of some excursions, like Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt and Saxony.

https://int.bahn.de/en/offers/regional/deutschland-ticket

Agree with Lane, you need a guidebook (or two).
This site has Berlin info:
video: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show/berlin
guidebook: https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/berlin-guidebook
articles: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles

Step one: Don't be intimidated. People with a lot less preparation and who are drunker than you have made this work, so you can, too (this is my reminder to myself when I need it in all things). Soak it up and enjoy it. Remember, no good story started with "everything went well." Be willing to laugh when things go sideways, be open to new experiences, don't be afraid to ask for help, and allow your sense of adventure and your instincts to help guide you.

1. You get off the plane, and follow the signs. If you have not yet gone through customs and immigration, you do so upon arrival. The signs will point you to where you need to go, and if you are confused, just ask. People will help.
2. In general, yes, but why? You can pop into a grocery store and get what you need.
3. No, but you can use public transport or taxis or some combination. For the airport to the hotel, you are likely to be tired and a bit overwhelmed. That's normal. Take a taxi for that. But use public transport for most things--cheaper, environmentally friendlier, easier, more relaxed, and often faster.
4. So many great attractions! Be sure to eat a currywurst.
5. In general, yes! Your biggest concern will likely be pickpockets.
6. Pretty easy. Enjoy it and hopefully convince Louisiana to adopt it!
7. Same as when you get to Europe but in reverse. Your first airport in the US requires you to go through customs and immigration. You will show your passport, then pick up your luggage and pass through customs. Then you either catch your connecting flight (you recheck your luggage--just drop it back it off where indicated) or head on home!

Mark provided great links. You will find that people will speak English and hopefully you'll enjoy trying German. You will find help if you need it and should have an amazing time having new experiences and meeting people and learning and seeing cool things.

Check to see if the Hoff will be playing in Berlin during your stay. Many are already huge Hoff fans and those that are not just don’t know it yet.

First of all DEFINITELY get a guidebook and study up. I recommend Rick Steves' guidebooks. The great thing about them is that in addition to recommending itineraries and attractions, he also gives a lot of practical advice, like how to buy tickets, how to ride public transportation, where public restrooms are, how to order food, etc.. Since you have not been to Europe before, you need the practical advice.

Have you flown before, or just not to Europe?

I bring snacks with me all the time when I travel. Packaged stuff like you want to bring is fine but you can get those things in the supermarkets there. Peanut butter is definitely subject to the TSA "liquids" rule so it would need to go in your checked bag.

You will need to ride public transportation in Berlin, at least some of the time. Go on YouTube (or have your daughter do this) and type in "how to ride public transport in Berlin". Find a video that was made in the last couple of years and watch it, several times, to familiarize yourself. It is easy (and fun!) and cheap to ride but don't show up in Berlin and try to figure it out there.

I (female in my 50s) have traveled to Berlin solo four times. It's very safe. But just like you wouldn't cross a dark park in an unfamiliar neighborhood at home, don't do it in Berlin. In what part of the city are you staying?

Also:
Check on your cell phone plan and make sure it includes international data (or look into how you can add that to your plan). A lot of English is spoken in Berlin but the Google Translate app comes in very handy when you are, say, reading labels at the grocery store. Do not depend solely on wifi while you're there. Google Maps is also very handy for public transit schedules and navigating.

When you're ready to depart you'll do pretty much what you do in the US when you're flying. You'll check in (download your airline's app). You'll scan your boarding pass and go through security. Your carry-ons will go through the scanner and you'll go to your gate. Is there something specific you want to know?

Again, YouTube is your friend. You can find videos on just about anything travel related. How to go through security. How to get from the airport in Berlin to the city. How to ride the bus. What foods are popular in Berlin. Basic greetings in German. Top attractions. You name it. Please do lots of research, it'll greatly enhance your trip.

Berlin is a wonderful city with so much history, literally everywhere. It's my favorite city ever and I'll never run out of things I want to do and see there. I hope you and your daughter have a wonderful time!

I visited Berlin last year and while it wasn't my favorite German cities I have some advice.

1)Public Transport-there are buses, trams, Underground rail-subways and overland rails-S-Bahn. Unless you are outside the center core, I never took taxis or Ubers. Public transportation is crowded day and night.

2) You will see drug addicts and drunk people on the streets and bus stops. I think the weirdest thing is that they allow people to publicly drink on the street so you do see a lot of males with half drunk beer bottles at 8 am. Most of them are harmless but I stayed far away from anyone shooting drugs or drinking early in the day. Berlin is like any US city. You have to take precautions.

3)Is Berlin safe? I tell everyone to take the same precautions as if they were visiting NYC. Never leave your purse on a chair. Make sure you know your surroundings and if you feel in danger-get out. If you stay in Mitte in the tourist areas and walk on main roads you should have no trouble.

4)Not sure what you mean when you go to the airport to go home. Presumably you have a connecting flight as there are few direct flights. You go through security just like America and then find your gate. There is really no difference.

5)Must see attractions. I did a tour of the Reichstag building with the dome afterwards and we got to sit in the visitors gallery and look down at the Parliament chamber. Sign up early as spaces are limited. I did several Berlin Walks one just a regular tour and one to the cute town of Potsdam-which I loved more than Berlin.

Check this website for transport and attractions

I have never felt unsafe in any German city, no matter the neighborhood or day or night.

Berlin and every other German city I have ever visited are safe.
As a 7 year old I travelled throughout Berlin by myself using the U and S Bahns without any problem. That was a long time ago, but during my last visit there, I could not detect any changes.
As Mary Jo points out, criminal activity is not common in any German cities.
The biggest problems are caused by an occasional rowdy person. There are some places to avoid, but even those lean more towards unpleasant than unsafe.

Berlin is much safer than NYC (see Numbeo Crime Index by City 2024; without overrating this list quality). We do not have no-go areas.

In Germany we have strong regulations against firearms which maks a huge difference in death cases and heavy injuries. Berlin additionally made very clear rules against small knives, knock-out sprays etc. I am living since years close to two spots (defined by police) and people have nearly all time (day and night) no problems.

Congratulations on taking your first European adventure!
We were in Berlin for three days a couple of weeks ago and liked it a lot. But I think 17 days just in that city would be a bit much. Do you plan to travel elsewhere over the 17 days?

Berlin is a very modern feeling city, having been rebuilt a lot after WW2. If you’d also like the characteristic German/Bavarian feel Munich might interest you. In Berlin, there are a lot of historical sites dealing with WW2 and the Communist/Cold War Era. Some of the things we did were the Topography of Terror museum (which may not be appropriate for your daughter depending on her age) and the DDR Museum, as well as a tour of the Reichtag and Dome (which would be fun for any age). We also took public transit to an area that had some of the original Berlin Wall still standing.

We enjoyed Berlin and used public transport, but were also walked a lot. We used the BVG app to purchase tickets, although paper tickets were still available. It was an easy city to navigate, IMO.

As for bringing your daughter’s favorite pre-packaged snacks, I say bring enough for the first few days (to get over the culture shock). Then explore the grocery stores to find the German equivalents. It would be a lot to bring 17 days worth of food I think. By the way, it was easy to find restaurants serving all kinds of food, Asian, Italian, kebabs, McDonalds, etc. It wasn’t all traditionally German.

Generally, I felt safer there than in most of the larger American cities I’ve been in. Of course situational awareness is always important.

Most of them are harmless but I stayed far away from anyone shooting drugs or drinking early in the day.

Huh??? I am a solo female traveler, and stayed in Berlin for 7 nights a few years ago, and never saw anything like that above. Berlin, like most European cities, is a whole lot safer than most American ones. You should have no problem unless you start wandering the streets late at night, which I doubt you would do.

And I agree with all the others who said to buy food when there. In fact, take your daughter with you and let her pick out her own peanut butter, tuna and protein bars. She will probably get a kick out it, and will be more inclined to eat it.

When I was there in 2022, I stayed in Hackescher Markt, at the Adina Apartment Hotel Hackescher Markt. My room was a studio since I was by myself but they also have 1-2 bedroom apartments with fully equipped kitchens, washers and dryers and so on. They do have hotels in other Berlin locations as well, but I personally really liked this location. The staff was friendly and courteous, and the rooms were very well prepared, large, clean and nice. Breakfast is available although given the kitchen facilities, I just ate in my room in the morning. This might be handy if you are staying there for 17 days.

Also, the hotel is very convenient to the U-Bahn, S-Bahn, and trams, and is an easy walk to the major museums. The DDR museum is only a few blocks away, along with the TV Tower, and Museum Island is a quick 5 minute walk. You can easily walk to Lindenstraß from there, There are several grocery stores a few blocks away along with a couple of wine shops, many cafes and good restaurants. I would definitely stay in this location again. And it's very easy to take the S-Bahn directly to the train station, which is convenient, especially if you are taking day trips to places like Potsdam, or even Dresden or Leipzig.

Trains are easy to use. The rail system is at https://int.bahn.de/en (this is the English site).

To question 2: As a junk-PB aficionado myself, let me just say that you won't find Jif in Europe. And for those of us who love Jif (or Skippy or Peter Pan), there's nothing available anywhere I've seen in Europe that tastes similar. (You can get Skippy at Costco in England, but I've not visited a Costco on the continent.)

I've suffered through (ha!) almond butter in the UK, and it's actually been a treat, aside from the extensive manual labor of stirring the stuff so I'm eating neither pure almond oil nor a thick, sticky, inedible sludge. But it's not Jif. It's not even Skippy.

Is this the Skippy you're looking for? https://www.willys.se/produkt/Jordnotssmor-Creamy-101220163_ST

I have never seen anybody shooting drugs openly in Berlin in my five times visiting there. Maybe if I walked through Görlitzer Park at night (ha, which I would never do). But yes, it is not uncommon to see people with bottles of beer on the U-Bahn or S-Bahn. But people openly smoke weed on the MARTA trains in Atlanta so I'm unfazed by the beer.

My daughter is a picky eater and I want to bring a few things I know
she will eat for sure. (peanut butter, jerky, tuna packets, protein
bars)

And I thought you were going to say cawfish, alligator and poorboys.

Peanut butter in Germany doesn't have the sugar that US PB does. It will taste very different, but we DO have it. This may be true of other products--our milk, for example, also has less sugar because of different pasteurisation processes (and different feeds, etc. for cows--and even the proteins the cows produce). Bringing a jar of PB (if you are checking luggage) can give you a bit more security re: food as you get settled, but I wouldn't do more than that. You can always add salt, sugar, etc. to the food, find something you like, and of course part of the point is to try new things and find out what you like.

My advice if you are worried--go to the online shopping of a German supermarket chain and take a look.
Start here:

https://www.edeka24.de/

https://shop.rewe.de/allcategories

and click on Lebensmittel or the categories you want. You may need a dictionary--I haven't tried translating the website. You can browse and see what kinds of protein bars, jerky, etc. we have here in Germany.

or those of us who love Jif (or Skippy or Peter Pan)

All available near Alexa Mall (photo).

The KaDeWe food floor is worth a visit. If they don't have it, it probably doesn't exist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU57A7C2kiI

& a glimpse of the American section, looks like they have Jif, crunchy & creamy
https://youtu.be/evPopcymQ7E?si=oupum7Bm4ljfsa4i&t=1340

Thanks to everyone who told me where to find Jif!

It's been since well before the pandemic, but we found peanut butter, generally natural, in health food stores all over Europe.

OP, there’s nothing quite like finding yourself in Europe for the first time. A city (and country) as modern and organized as Berlin (and Germany) can seem as strange and exciting as a remote Tuscan village. It can feel intimidating at first, but it’s important to dive in and get a feel for things. Watch what other people do, and do as they do. Find a cafe near where you’re staying and make a point to go there every morning. Stop in the local store (they’re much smaller than in the states) and buy some peanut butter for an impromptu taste test. Oh, and buy all the bread you can! Bread is Germany’s most underrated highlight. There are bakeries everywhere and it is god-tier stuff.

Get yourself a guidebook, study it and keep it. Refresh on the plane. Rick Steves books are GREAT at giving you clear instructions when it comes to navigating airports, trains, trams etc. Perhaps their most high value pages are in the beginning of each book, suggesting itineraries based on number of days, and ranking sights. I’ve found other guidebooks have a tendency to make everything sound important and it’s exhausting. Berlin particularly seems to have an incredible amount of “mid” museum/attractions. If it feels a little overwhelming to look at, I can’t blame you. I’m preparing to go there myself and it feels like a tough nut compared to London, Paris or Rome where the priorities seem to set themselves.

Berlin is like any big city. The biggest danger will be petty theft. Get a money belt and use it for your important stuff. Be especially careful with your phones. Don’t leave them out on tables AT ALL, and make sure you stow them on public transport when you near any stops. Most pick pocketing and quick grabs happen during boarding exiting stops (even if you’re not getting on or off.)

Are you in Berlin for all 17 days? Is that the whole of the plan? Perhaps you have other obligations than sightseeing during that time, but if not you really ought to move around and see some other cities. Western Europe’s train system is one of the great joys of European travel. Trains are fast, clean, comfortable and generally drop you right in the city center. Taking a train to cities like Dresden or Leipzig is a snap, cities a bit further afield like Munich, Salzburg, Rothenburg are also just a matter of hours away.

There are some great tips here. I’m traveling solo part of the time, staying in Berlin for a week after the RS Best of Germany tour concludes. (Arriving early to spend extra days in Nürnberg, Hamburg & Lübeck). Thanks to everyone posting various links. I’m already pouring through the RS Germany book but still have to book a train ticket. So thank you! I’ll post my train question separately.

And, by the way, not everyone likes sugar in their peanut butter! I’m a purest, peanuts, oil & salt. :-)