When faced with such a huge array of incredible museums, cracking cuisine, the best night clubs on earth and a history richer than a Black Forest gâteau, it can be difficult to know where to start. However, this compilation should go some way to helping you decide how best to tackle this amazing city; offering hints you won’t find at the tourist office, as well as letting you know what really doesn’t live up to the hype. Team Curso/CTR

1. download E-Book: http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/berlin-calling/15230542

2. When faced with such a huge array of incredible mu-seums,
cracking cuisine, the best night clubs on earth
and a history richer than a Black Forest gâteau, it can
be difficult to know where to start. However, this com-pilation
should go some way to helping you decide
how best to tackle this amazing city; offering hints you
won’t find at the tourist office, as well as letting you
know what really doesn’t live up to the hype. We’ll
also offer practical tips; how to get around, when to
beat the queues at the most famous sites, or which
fast food outlets to visit when you need to stave off a
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hangover.
Whatever you do, you’re sure to have a great time.
The culture is vibrant and the beer is cheap. Perhaps
best-known these days for its thriving arts scene and
ever-growing hipster credentials, Berlin in its current
incarnation has a lively, young atmosphere perfectly
complemented by the historical monuments which
greet you on every corner.
In a city once ravaged by war and conflict, Berlin
has overcome some major obstacles in weaving its
extraordinary tapestry of people and pursuits – those
which make it the diverse and ever exciting city it is
today.

3. The capital city of Germany, Berlin, is filled
with history which is embraced throughout.
The first German settlers reached the area
now known as Berlin in the 11th century. Cen-turies
after this, by 1709 the city was named
the capital of Prussia and had around
55,000 inhabitants, ruled by Frederick III,
who had crowned himself king of Prussia.
Berlin continued to grow at a fast pace in the
1700s as it was made the centre of culture and
arts in Prussia, as well as the army. By 1814,
the city was in fantastic economic shape
and had a population of around 400,000,
making it the fourth largest city in Europe.
During the First World War, Berlin suffered as a re-sult
of Germany’s rations, and the rising unem-ployment,
sinking morale as the war progressed.
By the end of World War 1, the Monarchy and Aris-tocracy
were no more and Germany became
a Republic known as the Weimar Republic.
After the economic devastation caused
by the Treaty of Versailles, Berlin began
to enjoy the 1920s as the economy be-gan
to stabilise and the nightlife scene
began to grow and Berlin grew to be-come
the largest industrial city in Europe.
Following the economic disasters caused by
the Wall Street Crash in America, Adolf Hit-ler
rose to power as Chancellor of Germany.
The Nazi’s anti-Semitism was clear from the
start of their rise to power: all Jewish doc-tors
were required to leave Charité hospital.
The Nazi’s at-tempted
to de-stroy
the Jewish
community in
Berlin. Before Hit-ler’s
reign, around
160,000 Jews lived
in Berlin and after
1939, only around
75,000 remained.
Hitler had built s e v e r a l
buildings across Berlin, together with
his architect Albert Speer a whole new
Berlin was planned and was to be named
‘Welthaupstadt Germainia.’ However the
outbreak of war postponed all of these plans.
During the war, Berlin suffered a great deal as a
result of several air raids, several bombings and
the battle of Berlin left the city crippled with an
estimated one fifth of all buildings destroyed.
With the end of the War, the city was left
divided into 4 sectors by the allies. The
area occupied by the Soviets became
known as East Berlin, they removed railway
tracks and destroyed industries in Berlin.
On the 26h of June 1948 the Soviets blocked
ground access to West Berlin which lasted
for a year. Conditions worsened across Berlin
and in 1961 the Communist government be-gan
to build a wall dividing East and West. This
was built alarmingly fast and hundreds of fam-ilies
were separated. East Berliners could no
longer travel to the West, however, West Ber-liners
could visit the East through checkpoints.
The wall continued to divide the city until The
Fall of the Berlin Wall on the 9th of November
1989. This marked the end of the Cold War
and Germany and Berlin became reunited.
By 1990 only small sections of the wall remained
as most had been demolished and in 1991
the German Parliament voted to move the
capital of Germany back to Berlin from Bonn.
Sarah Kueter
SHORT HISTORY OF BERLIN
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4. NEIGHBORHOOD GUIDE
For the purpose of the guide, we have split Berlin into seven colour according to boroughs and
localities.
Mitte
Situated in the center of Berlin, it is where most
of the sights and monuments such as the Muse-um
Island and Brandenburger Tor are located.
Prenzlauer Berg
Now a part of the borough Pankow, it is north of Mitte and
home to a more bohemian part of Berlin. Many vintage
stores and the famous Mauer Park flea market are located
within.
Friedrichshain
North of the river Spree in the east part of Berlin, it is now
considered to be one of Berlin most fashionable district and
also where East Side Gallery is located.
Neuköln / Treptow
Neukölln is located in the southeast bordering Kreuz-berg
with the highest percentage of immigrants in Berlin.
To the east Treptow is known for its beautiful park of the
same name which houses the Soviet War Memorial.
Kreuzberg / Tempelhofer
Kreuzberg is known as the hip district of Berlin, housing
many famous clubs and bars its many Turkish inhabitants.
Tempelhof house the former airport and is located in the
south central part of Berlin.
Tiergarten / Schönberg
Tiergarten borders Mitte to the west and consist mostly of
the park and a vast majority of embassies as well as the
Zoo. Schoneberg consist of beautiful streets and facades,
this district houses the famous KaDeWe.
Charlottenburg
Known mostly by the Charlottenberg Palace, this district is
at the north center of Berlin west of Tiergarten.
Others
For districts not mentioned above.
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5. SURVIVAL GUIDE
Berlin is an incredibly interesting, unique and vibrant city, particularly for young people. This
brief survival guide aims to provide some ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ to assist you on your trip!
Language
Firstly, don’t arrive with the as-sumption
that everyone in Ber-lin
will speak English. Many will,
of course, but you will make far
more meaningful connections
with others and have a much
better time of getting what you
want if you can pick up some
essential phrases before
you come!
Budget
One of the city’s attractions for the various
interesting types who have made Berlin their
base is how one can live fairly inexpensive-ly
but miss out on none of the things which
give the German capital its distinctive char-acter.
Charged attractions and entertain-ments
aside, €10-15 per day is enough to
cover a day’s eating and drinking on the
move. If you want to splash out a bit more,
a decent meal out in the centre of town is
unlikely to cost you more than €20. When it
comes to tourist attractions, the larger and
well-known sights will inevitably charge
steeper entry fees, but it should be borne in
mind that Berlin is a city with
many facets and interesting
places that are worth a vis-it,
not only the commercial
and touristy ones.
Eating Out
Berliners like their food, and they like it rich!
Large-scale immigration since the 1960s
has developed the vast range of multi-cultural
food and drink on offer here. In
particular, you will notice restaurants and
takeaways offering Berlin’s adopted fa-vourites
currywurst and doner kebabs on
most streets, particularly in Kreuzberg, the
district colloquially known as ‘Little Istan-bul’.
Here, you can pick up some delicious
street food for as little as €2. You should
also take note of the various food mar-kets
taking place across the city daily,
where patrons can sample
the culinary delights of
a multitude of nations
across all continents.
Going Out
The nightlife of Berlin has earned its
reputation justly. The city’s many
bars and clubs are innumerable,
and each district will hold some-thing
for everyone. Just remem-ber
that Berlin is an incredibly
casual city, so don’t expect to gain entry to
most places dressed to the nines. Likewise,
do not be disheartened if you are told ‘not
tonight’ by the door staff after queuing for
some time at some of the larger clubs, arbi-trary
though it may seem. The hype around
certain places can be exactly that, and you
will find other places you like just as much.
Staying Safe
Berlin is a safe city but, as with all major cities, it pays to be
savvy as a tourist. Some of the larger tourist zones or major city
transport hubs, such as Alexanderplatz, have a problem with
pickpockets. Likewise, do not let yourself be engaged by the
many bogus charity representatives combing the streets as
all reputable causes will allow you to donate at your leisure
online. Whilst going out in excessively large or rowdy groups
will not be particularly favourable to whatever you want to
do in Berlin, try to avoid venturing far without trusted com-pany,
especially at night. Plan journeys carefully in advance,
and be sure to have noted down the telephone numbers of
the emergency services, just in case. EU citizens should also
take their European Health Insurance Card. by Scott Clair
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6. Accommodation 6
Heart of Gold Hostel
In the wise words of Nicki Minaj ‘Starships are
meant to fly’ – they’re not supposed to be the
inspiration for hostels. According to both the
website and the brochure for Heart of Gold,
however, this is a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the
Galaxy spaceship themed establishment, de-spite
that fact not being expressly stated any-where
inside. A few wall paintings of a loosely
space-related nature aside, it’s just a clean
and easy place for students – not the kind
of place where the film Hostel is set – with a
central location near Friedrichstraße. Heart of
Gold is also rife with other peculiarities, which
include the ear-ringing heavy metal music
played over breakfast (by no means ideal
after a few drinks the night before) and the
fact that there is not one sign to show where
the place is – indeed there’s barely even a
street number. Despite this, there are positive
quirks to the hostel – such as the eclectic
range of sunglasses for rental and the occa-sional
movie night. However, the salient fea-ture
of Heart of Gold is its reasonable prices
and no-nonsense bar packed with friendly
travellers every night of the week. Beware
of the prices on the brochure however, as
they have not been updated since 2008 and
have increased significantly since then…or
perhaps Heart of Gold just operate in a dif-ferent
period of space and time. Either way,
beware.
Jack Parkes
The Circus Hostel
Located in the city-center hotspot of Mitte,
this one-of-a-kind student hostel offers trav-elers
from near and far a comfortable and
affordable accommodation while visiting
Berlin. Depending on your budget, several
different accommodation options are avail-able.
Rooms of 8 to 10 people available for
€23 per night, rooms with 4-5 people are €27
per night, and if you feel like having more pri-vacy,
you can rent a single room for €50 per
night. Room fees also include free wi-fi, show-ers
and linen services. Additionally, the Circus
also offers a safe for your passport and stor-age
lockers where you can drop your bags
for the day while you’re out exploring the city
for no additional charge. Make sure to visit
the hostel’s Katz & Maus café for a delicious
and affordable breakfast. Enjoy an all-you-can-
eat breakfast buffet complete with tea
or coffee for a budget-friendly €5 while you
pour over a map and plan out your route for
the day. In addition to being located across
the street from the Rosenthaler Platz U-Bahn
station, the Circus is within walking distance
of a plethora of quaint cafés, clubs, and res-taurants.
If you’d rather see the city on two
wheels, rent a bike from the front desk for €12
per day.
Caitlyn Bishop
Johannisstraße 11, 10117 Berlin
Station: S7 Friedrichstraße, M1 Or-anienburger
Straße
+49 30 29003300
Reception open 24/7.
http://www.heartofgold-hostel.
de/
Weinbergsweg 1a, 10119 Berlin-
Mitte
Station: U8 Rosenthaler Platz
www.circus-berlin.de
030 20003939

7. Public Transport
Berlin’s public transportation system is just as
amazing as it is comprehensive, with 9 dif-ferent
lines and 170 different stations making
up the U-Bahn system (underground) and
15 lines and 166 stations in the S-Bahn (over-ground)
system. Many of the stations, such as
the Deutsche Oper (U2), Paulsenstraße (U7)
and Richard-Wagner Platz (U7) have been
colorfully decorated to match the playful and
artistic spirit of Berlin and are worth keeping
an eye out for during your travels! Wherev-er
you go, you’ll never be too far away from
any U- or S-Bahn station, and directions to ei-ther
one are clearly marked throughout the
city with a giant, green S or a glowing, blue U.
In Eastern Berlin, trams are more commonly
used as public transport. Nine different tram
lines run throughout this side of the city and
frequently stop at major S- and U-bahn sta-tions.
Timetables for all trams are available at
their individual stops. Buses run throughout the
vicinity of the city, and timetables are availa-ble
at all stops. An orange H designates tram
and bus stops. Tip: Both buses and trams run all
night, but their schedules will become increas-ingly
staggered the later it gets. Don’t forget to
keep an eye on the time when you’re out late!
Tickets
Depending on how long you plan on staying in Berlin, there are many different types of
tickets you can purchase:
One-way ticket:
Valid for one person and a two
hour jorney. One-way tikets must
also be purchased for returns
Zones AB: €2.60
Zones BC: €2.90
Zones ABC: €3.20
Short Distance ticket:
Counts for 3 stops within the
S- and U-Bahn and 6 stops in
buses
Any Zone: €1.50
One-Day ticket:
Valid for one person during the
whole day for as many differ-ent
trips until 3am the next day.
Ticket only valid in Zones A&B.
Zones AB: €6.70
Seven-Day ticket:
Valid for one person for 7 con-secutive
days. Ticket expires
at midnight on the 7th day.
Tickets only valid in Zones A&B.
Group Day ticket for up to five
people:
This ticket allows for up to 5 peo-ple
to travel on all forms of public
transportation until 3am the fol-lowing
day. Tickets only valid in
Zones A&B.
Zones AB: €28.80
Monthly Pass:
This ticket allows for unlimited
public transportation for one
month after the ticket’s pur-chase.
So go crazy!
Zones AB: €16.20
Zones AB: €78.00
Zones ABC: €94.00
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8. Dos and Don’t When Using Public Transportation
in Berlin
Buy a transportation ticket as
soon as you reach Berlin! Tick-ets
can be purchased in any
S- or U-Bahn station with cash
or credit cards.
Bring your transportation tick-et
with you wherever you
go! If you are caught with-out
your ticket, even if you
forgot it at home, you will
automatically be fined €40.
Download the BVG app for
smartphones. Not only are
there comprehensive maps
of all Bahns, trams and buses
throughout the city, but there
also timetables with up-to-date
train times to help you plan
your trips.
Free up seats for the elderly,
pregnant women, families and
those with injuries or disabilities.
They need the seats more than
you do!
Be polite and patient with fellow
passengers and the occasion-al
late train. There are always
lots of ways to get to where you
need to be!
Say “enstchuldigung” (Ein-shool-
dee-gung) in case you
accidently bump into some-one
or if you’re trying to get
on or off a train.
Eat or drink on the
trams or trains. Be
considerate and
wait until you reach
your destination.
Treat public transporta-tion
Worry about getting
lost; all of Berlin’s public
transportation is very well
connected and there is
always a way to get to
where you need to be!
as your own personal
pre-party spot. This is ob-noxious
and disrespectful
touristy behavior that’s
annoying for everyone.
Do
Don’t
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10. Brandenburger Tor /
Brandenburg Gate
Regardless of whether or not you enjoy spend-ing
your time in overhyped areas which are al-ways
surrounded by large crowds of families,
walking tours and pick-pocketers, Branden-burg
Gate is something which should be vis-ited
during your stay in Berlin. The gate itself
is not very big which can come as a surprise,
but it is still a great historical sight of Berlin.
Constructed in 1688, the gate was built to
represent peace and religious tolerance. Fol-lowing
Prussia’s occupation of Paris and their
victory against France, the structure that was
once the symbolism of peace became Prus-sia’s
triumphal arch and the woman who rides
the chariot on top of the arch was given an
Iron Cross and the Prussian Eagle. During the
Cold War the gate become one of eight Ber-lin
Wall Crossings, however during demonstra-tions
on the west side the crossing was closed.
Visiting the gate costs nothing and one
can also find various walking guided tours
beginning around the square, which cost
little to nothing and provides a great-ly
detailed insight into the history of the
gate and the areas which surrounds it.
Sarah Kueter
Gedenkstätte Berliner
Mauer / Berlin Wall Me-morial
Marking one of the most important and icon-ic
parts of Berlin’s recent history is The Ber-lin
Wall Memorial, located along Bernauer
Straße. The Wall was built in 1961 as a way
of separating the Soviet controlled East from
the West and fell in 1989. Walking down the
street provides an amazing visual experience.
A line of poles stretches for 1.4km along the
former border, leading the way down the
street. Start at the visitor centre next to Nord-bahnhof
– here you will find hourly showings
in English of two 15 minute informative films
about the history of the wall. Then on to the
monument. It is immense, consisting of two
massive steel walls which preserve a 70m
section of the death strip. Peering through
sections in the wall you can see a desolate
Pariser Platz,10117 Mitte
Station: U55 Brandenburger
Free entry
Bernauer Straße 119,13355 Pren-zlaur
Berg
Station: U8 Nordbanhnhof
Open: Tues - Sun: 09.30-19.00
+49 (0)30 467 98 66 66
www.berliner-mauer-gedenkstae-tte.
de
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