Parking a car

This general response based on experience elsewhere but not in Germany. Most of the bigger cities have what we call "park n ride" at metro/train stations. The price to park varies from free to a few Euro. I am guessing the same situation would apply in Germany. You could use a mapping app to look at the areas to see if you can see large parking facilities.

You can try to park near train stations in suburbs. I stayed in 2010 in Falkensee west of Berlin and parked my car for free in one of the streets near Falkensee Bahnhof. No idea if things has changed in the meanwhile. Was some twenty minutes and a few euro´s with the train to Berlin Hauptbahnhof.

Parking in the inner cities of Germany is generally not nearly as expensive as in the US. Usually ranges from €10-20 for overnight, and if you only stay for a few hours during the day, considerably less. If you already have a car anyway, you're not saving much in the way of cost or convenience by parking outside the city. Munich is the exception, but it doesn't seem like you plan to visit there anyway.

Commuters tend to fill the rather small Ubahn station parking lots early in the morning, and because they usually have monthly parking passes, they generally pay far less than you would to park in the same space. Usually only the Hauptbahnhof will have a particularly large parking garage.

Rick's guidebook just assumes that you won't drive into Berlin, so unfortunately has no advice. When I did it years ago, I'm sure I used a combination Michelin driving map and Michelin Green guide and did not park outside the city. Nowadays, www.viamichelin.com is a pretty useful app for driving directions, but Google Maps may be more searchable for other landmarks.