Steves - Rick Steves Berlin

BERLIN

BERLIN

Welcome to Rick Steves Europe

Travel is intensified livingmaximum thrills per minute and one of the last great sources of legal adventure. Travel is freedom. Its recess, and we need it.

I discovered a passion for European travel as a teen and have been sharing it ever sincethrough my tours, public television and radio shows, and travel guidebooks. Over the years, Ive taught thousands of travelers how to best enjoy Europes blockbuster sightsand experience Back Door discoveries that most tourists miss.

This book offers a balanced mix of Berlins serious, historical sights and lively people zones. And its selectiverather than listing dozens of neighborhoods to explore, I recommend only the best onesPrenzlauer Berg and Scheunenviertel. My self-guided museum tours and city walks give insight into Berlins vibrant history and todays living, breathing culture.

I advocate traveling simply and smartly. Take advantage of my money- and time-saving tips on sightseeing, transportation, and more. Try local, characteristic alternatives to expensive hotels and restaurants. In many ways, spending more money only builds a thicker wall between you and what you traveled so far to see.

We visit Berlin to experience itto become temporary locals. Thoughtful travel engages us with the world, as we learn to appreciate other cultures and new ways to measure quality of life.

Judging from the positive feedback I receive from readers, this book will help you enjoy a fun, affordable, and rewarding vacationwhether its your first trip or your tenth.

Gute Reise! Happy travels!

Berlin is a city of leafy boulevards, grand Neoclassical buildings, world-class art, glitzy shopping arcades, and funky graffitied neighborhoods with gourmet street food. Its big and bombasticthe showcase city of kings and kaisers, of the Fhrer and 21st-century commerce.

Huge names have left their mark here, from the 18th-century King Frederick the Great, who turned Prussia from a purely militaristic state to a cultural hotspot, to Otto von Bismarck, whose over-the-top egotism unified modern Germany, then drove itand all of Europeinto a devastating Great War.

Of course, Berlin is still largely defined by its tumultuous 20th century. The city was Europes counterculture capital during the cabaret years, but drastically changed course when Hitler came to power in 1933ultimately leaving Berlin (and much of Europe) in ruins. In the post-WWII years, Berlin became the front line of a new global conflict, the Cold War between Soviet-style communism and American-style capitalism. The East-West division was set in stone in 1961, when the East German government surrounded West Berlin with the Berlin Wall.

Since the fall of the Wall in 1989, Berlin has been a constant construction zone. Standing on ripped-up streets and under a canopy of cranes, visitors have witnessed the citys reunification and rebirth. Today Berlin is a world capital once againthe nuclear fuel rod of a great nation. Berliners joke that they dont need to travel anywhere because their citys always changing. A 10-year-old guidebook on Berlin covers a different place.

As one of Europes top destinations, Berlin welcomes more visitors annually than Rome. Theres no shortage of diversions. In the citys top-notch museums, you can walk through an enormous Babylonian gate amid rough-and-tumble ancient statuary, fondle a chunk of the concrete-and-rebar Berlin Wall, and peruse canvases by Drer and Rembrandt. A series of thought-provoking memorials directly confront some of Germanys most difficult past of the last century. And some of the best history exhibits anywherecovering everything from Prussian princes to Nazi atrocities to life under communismhave a knack for turning even those who claim to hate history into armchair experts.

Beyond its tangible sights and its enthralling history, Berlin is simply a pleasurable place to hang out. Its captivating, lively, fun-lovingand easy on the budget. The city vibrates with an anythings-possible buzz. Its a magnet for young expats from around the world who want to live in a dynamic and trendy city, but cant afford London rents. Entire neighborhoods have been overtaken by Americans, Brits, and Aussiesmany of whom get by just fine without ever bothering to learn German.

Spend a day here...or a week. Go for a pedal in a park, or a lazy cruise along the delightful Spree riverfront. Step across what was the Berlin Wall and through the iconic Brandenburg Gate. Nurse a stein of brew in a rollicking beer hall, slurp a bowl of ramen at a foodie hotspot, or do like the Berliners do, and dive into a cheap