Andrea Schulte-Peevers - Berlin

Andrea will forever cherish the memory of the unencumbered view of the TV Tower from the temporary Berlin apartment she rented while working on this book. She has logged countless miles travelling in nearly 60 countries and carries her dog-eared passport like a badge of honour. Born and raised in Germany, Andrea now divides her time between Berlin and Los Angeles, where she graduated from UCLA. Her fascination with the citys mystique goes back to her first visit in the summer of 1989, a few months shy of the Walls collapse. During many return visits she has watched Berlin shed its Cold Warera brooding and blossom into an exciting, cosmopolitan and confident metropolis. Andrea has authored or contributed to about 40 Lonely Planet titles, including all five previous editions of this guide, the Germany guide and the first edition of Berlin Encounter. She again coordinated this book and wrote and updated everything but Shopping, The Arts and Excursions.

Anthony was born in the port city of Fremantle, Western Australia, and pulled anchor in his teens to travel Europe and the US, mostly hitchhiking in those days. Aberystwyth in Wales and Ealing in London were his wintering grounds at that time. He later studied comparative literature in Perth and Russian language in Melbourne. In the 1990s, fresh from a spell in post-Soviet, pre-anything Moscow, he moved to Germany, which was when he first began exploring the corners of the crumbling Wild East. Today he works as a German-based freelance writer and journalist and divides his time between Gttingen (Lower Saxony) and Kreuzberg in Berlin. Anthony updated the Excursions chapter of this edition.

Sally first visited Berlin in the 1990s and promptly added it to her list of favourite places. Subsequent visits only made her more determined to spend as much time there as possible, traipsing between great shops and brilliant galleries, fortified by huge breakfasts and rejuvenated by pit stops in parks. She is based in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she helps out in a nearby gallery and bookbinding atelier, and makes plans to continue her Masters in Cultural Materials Conservation (if travelling didnt keep getting in the way). Sally updated the Shopping and The Arts chapters and contributed to the Background chapter and Berlin Art Attack.

No matter whether youre a backpacker, a three-button suit, a cocky jetsetter, a trendy urban nomad or travelling with the tots, youll find all your needs and expectations met in Berlin. Room and travel reservations are a good idea between June and early September and around major holidays and trade fairs year-round, but otherwise you can keep your advance planning to a minimum (but do have a look at the ). Whatever you do, dont overbook yourself. Berlin is definitely a city that rewards spontaneity.

Berlin has a continental climate, which generally translates into scorching summers and freezing winters, although in recent years global warming has turned such time-tested rules on their heads. In other words: the weather is unpredictable. So whenever you visit, check the forecast and pack accordingly. Rain or shine, May, June, September and October are generally the months to see the city at its best and sop up local colour by the bucketful. Thats when festivals, street fairs and cultural events of all stripes are in full swing and temps are pleasant enough for chilling in outdoor cafs and beer gardens or for skipping around Berlins many parks, forests and other natural assets.

Summers essentially bring a major population exchange: Berliners leave town for hotter climes, while tourists, especially from southern Europe, flock to Berlin to escape the heat. This is the time of outdoor anything: concerts, plays, opera, parties, beach bars, cinema and so on.

In winter, days are short (the December sun, if there is any, sets around 3.30pm) and the entire city is often gloomy and cold, so life moves pretty much indoors. This is the time to slow down and make an in-depth study of museums and galleries, attend concerts and plays or warm up for a couple of hours over hot latte in a cosy caf. The best winter month by far is December, when the city is bathed in a decorative sea of lights and the air is redolent of mulled wine and gingerbread scents wafting from the citys many Christmas markets. Hotel rates are pretty much constant year-round.

Berlin is very much a party town with a busy year-round calendar of concerts, street parties, sports events, trade shows and festivals cele-brating everything from film to fetish, music to fashion, porn to travel. Major events such as .

6290 0850; www.berlin-fashionweek.de

Premium, Ideal, Spirit of Fashion and Bread & Butter fashion fairs present progressivestreetwear, clubwear and avant-garde designs to buyers and the public.

303 80; www.gruenewoche.de; ICC Messe

The week-long International Green Week, which is a consumer fair for food, agriculture and gardening, is a great excuse for gorging on exotic morsels from around the world.

283 973; www.lange-nacht-der-museen.de

Culture meets entertainment on the last Saturday of January when up to 100 museums keep their doors open until at least midnight. Shuttle buses ferry people between venues. Its a truly sociable affair and fun for the entire family.