GIVEAWAY: All you need for Literary Wanderlust to BERLIN

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1. I studied the history of art at university as a mature student, and am planning to visit Berlin next year for my 50th birthday. On my to-do list whilst I’m there is to visit some of the city’s fantastic art galleries. The Berlinische Galerie on Alte Jakobstrasse 124-128, Kreuzberg, is the first one I will be making a beeline for!

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2. I’ve never been to Germany. I have friends who have recommended Berlin but it’s still on the “to do” list

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3. I’ve never been to Berlin. To be honest, I’m a bit skint, so any travelling I do at the moment is via fiction. I’d love to read these two books – One Clear, Ice-Cold January Morning At The Beginning of the Twenty-First Century has been on my wishlist for a while now. As for favourite books set in Berlin, it has to be Emil and the Detectives. Childhood favourites are always the best.

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4. I went to Berlin in 1991 and enjoyed it. I went back in 2010 and was totally amazed with all the changes I saw.
   As an assistant teacher in a Global History class it was great to see a number of the sites we talked about in class every year.
   I’ve read and enjoyed In the Garden of Beasts and The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse. I have also seen the play Caberet.

   I totally agree with one of the other comments above – make use of the public transportation system. It is necessary.
   Use the hostel. My trip in 2010 was with a group of high school students. The hostel was a great way to save money and very convenietly located.
   There is so much more to see still. I’d love the opportunity to go again.

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5. I went to Berlin in 1991 and enjoyed it. I went back in 2010 and was totally amazed with all the changes I saw. a great city.

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6. I visited Berlin for the first time last October. I was on a research trip for my upcoming spy fiction novel set in Berlin – A Young Man’s Game. After reading every TripAdvisor review, Yelp restaurant guide, studying the Berlin U-Bahn map, and going down practically every street on Google Streetview (Google please update the map for Berlin most hasn’t been updated since 2009!) it was amazing to finally arrive in this great city. My plan was to follow in my character’s footsteps to ensure the details in my book were correct and to see what he could see as he walked, ran, and travelled through the city. I wanted to experience the places I’d written about in the novel, and also do the usual touristy places – Checkpoint Charlie, Museums, East Side Gallery, etc.

   Tips from my trip:
   – get the Berlin Welcome Card online before you go, just print off and put it in your wallet, or purse and forget about it. You can then travel on the ‘underground’, trains, buses, and trams, and not worry about being stopped by ticket inspectors. Get the extended one that covers you from the airport into the city. You then get discounted attraction coupons.
   – Use the public transport whenever you can, Berlin is deceptively spread out and blisters really spoil your trip. It was really easy to get around, just need to know what the end stops of the line you want are to make sure you’re going the right way.
   – Mustafa’s Gemuese Kebab in Mehringdamm is out of this world. A completely different experience than the kebabs in the UK. I would go back to Berlin just for this. Only 4 euros too. It is worth the wait.
   – The DDR is a great interactive museum about life in East Germany, it’s just behind Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom). If you know which day you are going to the DDR Museum you can order the ticket online before your trip and use it to skip the queues.
   – There’s a very cool and different robotic animatronic show I’d recommend: Monsterkabinett at Rosenthaler Strasse 39 (8 euro) on Weds, Thurs, Fri and Sat and a nice bar right next door – http://www.monsterkabinett.de/ (No disabled access though – it’s in a cellar)
   – I prefer bars that are unusual and strange. I recommend the Klo Bar (http://berlin-klo.de/). It definitely is strange – an homage to the toilet and potty humour. Drinking out of urine sample bottles, toilets for seats, giant turds dropping from the ceiling. Staff were really friendly.
   – If you are going to visit the Topography of Terror Holocaust museum get there when it opens and you’ll get an hour or so to take in the horrifying experience before the crowds get there.

   I will definitely be going back there again.

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   • Such great suggestions, thank you so much!

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7. I have been to Bonn which is beautiful but never to Berlin. It has such a fascinating history though with the wall etc.

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8. Berlin is on my tbv (to be visited!) list, as I have heard great things about it & am fascinated by the Berlin Wall, how families were divided by it & how East could see West just across the road, but with little hope of visiting.
   Both books look great!

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9. Berlin is a city I haven’t really considered visiting before, but now I’m intrigued!

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10. I have not been to Berlin, but as WWII buff I am sure I will not be bored.

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11. I am looking forward to visiting Germany when I come to Europe.

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12. I’ve never been to Berlin & wonder what my parents who lived & worked in the city during the Berlin Airlift would think if they could see it now. They had lots of black & white photos of the devastation, Russian tanks & most of all their dog Kleine, a huge Newfoundland they’d found alone in a ruined building. Don’t think they would recognise the vibrant, exciting united city Berlin has become. Strangely , to me, they never talked about their time there 1948-49….

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13. I haven’t been to Germany, yet another one on my bucket list. I learnt German at school and it would be nice to practice the language although I may be rather rusty. Berlin sounds like such a vibrant place and of course the history is so interesting x

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