A week in Berlin and Prague

Look under To the East under post "prague" where half of your question was already answered by me and many others.

For Prague, I would definitely recommend Lida Guest House. It's the only place I have ever stayed BECAUSE it was recommended by Rick, and I enjoyed it. The operator, Jan, is very friendly and enthusiastic. It's a little outside the downtown area, but the streetcar ride to the old town gives you a chance to see the neighborhoods close up.

I loved the Berlin zoo. Sanssouci Park in Potsdam makes a good daytrip.

Sarah, It's difficult to recommend things "not to miss", as my interests may differ from yours. The best method would be to have a look at the Guidebook to find things that appeal to you. I was there last year, and was most interested to see sites related to WW-II and the Soviet era. For accommodations, have a look at Pension Peters in Berlin. It's in a great location between Bahnhof Zoo and Savignyplatz, and the staff are wonderful! In Prague I would highly recommend the Green Garland Pension in the old town. It's only a short walk from the Charles Bridge and again, the staff are wonderful! The staff at both Hotels will be able to recommend good restaurants in the area. If you stay at Pension Peters and don't mind "pub grub", Dicke Wirtin's is just across the street. There are also lots of restaurants in Savignyplatz within about a two minute walk, and Schwarze's Cafe is just down the block and it's open 24-hours! If you stay at the Green Garland Pension, there's a nice restaurant right around the corner called U Betlemske Kaple (if my interpretation is correct). Good food and of course some good Czech Beer! Happy travels!

Prague-beer
The native food left something to be desired, but there are plenty of sandwich shops and pizzerias around. There is a very good Indian restaurant behind the Tyn Church in Old Town Square with a good lunch special. Jewish Quarter Berlin-Deutches Historical Museum Pergamon Walking tour (they have plenty in English. Worth every penny.) Gemaldegalerie Turkish food in Kreuzberg-Hasir is delicious, try the spicy lamb kabab. Shopping in Prenzlauer Berg

For Prague, go to tripadvisor.com. Arcadia Residence is still #1. Great place. Huge rooms, like an apartment. Wonderful breakfast. Pasquale will give you restaurant recommendations. We stayed 4 nights and had wonderful meals each night and quite inexpensive.

Hi Sarah, I've never been to Prague. But can offer advise about Berlin. First off it's a great city! So much to do! We stayed at the Circus hotel in the Mitte area. Very nice hotel and rated #1 on tripadvisor. They also have a hostel. http://www.circus-berlin.de/circus_hotel_berlin.html As far as sites: Museum Island, the Bode Museum was our favorite The Berlin Wall The Topography of Terror A walking Tour we used New Berlin Tours The Reichstag Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church Ampelmann Store/ something unique to Berlin http://ampelmann.de/ Underworld Tours http://berliner-unterwelten.de/guided-tours.3.1.html I suggest if you do a tour purchase your tickets the morning you want to do the tour. We went in September and it was very busy. Several tours sold out! Food: Currywurst
Doner Kebab YUM Enjoy this fabulos city! Can't wait to get back in 2014!

Berlin: I stayed at the Mercure Checkpoint Charlie and was very pleased with the hotel and the location. My favorite sights in Berlin were the DDR Museum, the Pergamon Museum and the Neues Museum. Two places I wish I had skipped: the Checkpoint Charlie Museum and the Jewish Museum. Prague:
Take into account that the Jewish Quarter sights are only open in the morning on Friday and closed on Saturday. Because of that, they are usually most crowded on Sunday - but not to be missed.