GUIDE TO BERLIN For special guests of the CLIMATE OPPORTUNITY 2019 conference Willkommen! This is a small guide to help you enjoy what this city has to offer. It is organised in three sections: GOOD TO KNOW, HOW TO GET AROUND and last but not least: WHAT TO DO. You can also find some helpful maps in it. We hope that you will enjoy it. And if you need any other information during your stay, please do not hesitate to ask the organizing team or send us an email ([email protected]). We will be glad to help you! GOOD TO KNOW In this section you will find some practical advice for visiting Berlin. WEATHER: The German fall is usually rather rainy or at least cloudy and often windy. For the week of the conference, temperatures are estimated to vary roughly between 10-17° Celsius (50-62 Fahrenheit) during the day and 6-12° Celsius (43-54 Fahrenheit) at night. Thus, it is recommendable to bring clothing which protects you from wind and rain. DRINKING WATER in Berlin is good quality: you can drink directly from the tap without problems. OPENING TIMES: On commercial streets almost all the shops are open from Monday to Saturday from 10am to 10pm and some days even later. If it is late and you need some basic thing, you will always find a Spätkauf (“late shopping”) open: they are all around the city and many of them open 24 hours. TIPS: It is common practice to leave a tip between 10-15 % in bars and restaurants when the service has been satisfactory. CREDIT CARD: Although EC cards and credit cards (American Express, Visa, Diners Club, Eurocard, Mastercard) are accepted in most restaurants and other places, there are some places that accept cash only, so it is a good idea to ask beforehand. INTERNET ACCESS is easy to find in Berlin. There are plenty of options: cafes with Wifi, internet-cafes and internet access points around the city. Visitors in Berlin can get a free connection for 30 minutes per day from the City network. There is no need to register: you only need to accept the conditions of use. There are 44 available access points, called "KD WLAN Hotspot+" or "30 Min Free WIFI". PHONE: If you need a prepaid card for your mobile phone, you can buy one in many supermarkets, the late night shops (“Spätkauf”) and at specialized shops of the mobile companies (T-Mobile, O2, Vodafone, Base, Mobilcom). We would recommend you to go to one of the specialized shops because their staff usually has a good command of English and they can advise you as to which is the cheapest option. You can find them at all major train stations and shopping malls. The Berlin metro is fast, safe, easy to use and goes nearly everywhere. Tickets for the local public transport are valid for Underground (U-Bahn) and overground (S-Bahn) trains, as well as buses and trams. You can buy tickets from machines on the train platforms. Remember that you need to validate your ticket (using a machine on the platform) before you get on the train! Here are the different ticket options: SINGLE TICKET (Einzelfahrschein): You can use the buses, trams and urban rail and underground trains of all transport companies within the Berlin fare zones, including regional rail transport and ferries. It is valid for 2 hours. To travel from Motel 1 as well as the Futurium and within the city, an AB ticket will suffice, which will cost you 2,80€. Beware that for trips outside the city limits, you will need an ABC or BC ticket, which are slightly more expensive. You can consult one of the maps of the metro network for the zones. 4 SINGLE TICKETS (4-Fahrten-Karte Einzelfahrschein): Within the fare zone Berlin AB you can save money by using the 4-Trip Ticket paying only 9,00€ (2,25€ for one trip). DAY PASS (Tageskarte): You can travel as often as you want on the day printed on the ticket or from validation of the ticket until 3am the following day. AB: 7,00€. If you want to visit Berlin we would advise you to buy a Day Pass ticket for the AB zone, which is 7,00€. BEWARE: Tickets bought at a ticket machine at stations or on platforms need to be validated (red little boxes on the platforms)! Tickets bought inside of busses and trams are already validated. There are no ticket machines in S-Bahn, Underground and Regional rail transport. During the week, Metro (U), train (S) and tram (M) only run until approximately 1:00 AM. Afterwards you can use the night bus system. During the weekend, public transport runs all night long. M L D E B C A F P J O N X Y L H U V I Q W G K R T S WHAT TO DO Why not enjoy what Berlin has to offer while you are here? Choose the category which fits your mood and discover one of the 5 places we have selected just for you! Culture: 1. GENDARMENMARKT: A beautiful public square with a German and a French Cathedral, and the Konzerthaus (Berlin´s concert hall) A. From here it’s a 15 minute walk to the famous tourist attraction BRANDENBURGER TOR. This is the last remaining gate of the 18 which used to surround the city. It used to separate West and East Berlin but today it symbolizes their unification B. (Mitte). 2. HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL: The impressive 2711 concrete slabs or "stelae" which constitute the memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust during WWII are an important and emotional place to reflect on European history. It is a 5 minute walk from Brandenburger Tor (Mitte). C 3. MUSEUM ISLAND is a complex of five internationally significant museums, all part of the Berlin State Museums, which occupy this island in the Spree River in Mitte, the central district. The place is beautiful and the Neues Museum is an architectural masterpiece (Mitte). D 4. THE GERMAN HISTORICAL MUSEUM (DHM for short): A museum, devoted to German history, which defines itself as a place of enlightenment and understanding of the shared history of Germans and Europeans. It is often seen as one of the most important museums in Berlin and is one of the most frequented. It´s near Museum Island. Open daily 10 am to 6 pm, 8€, Unter den Linden 2 (Mitte). E 5. MARTIN-GROPIUS-BAU: A grand building which hosts very good modern and contemporary art exhibitions, 10 am to 8 pm every day but Tuesdays, Niederkirchnerstraße 7 (Kreuzberg). F There´s also the Eastside Gallery that we mention later in the “Gardens and Parks” category: a vestige of divided Berlin and a great piece of art! The Reichstag or German Parliament (with its nice surrounding park) is also a “must see”, but on our second conference day you will have the chance to see it from the inside with some German deputies… it’s already on the agenda! Food: 1. MAX & MORITZ: 100% German. Beef, sausages, red cabbage, potatoes… the food is all very good and the decor is nicely old- fashioned. Oranienstraße 162 (Kreuzberg) G 2. 12 APOSTEL: A restaurant with traditional ambience and great Italian food that comes in large portions. Georgenstraße 2 (Mitte) H 3. SCHWARZES CAFÉ: You want to have a breakfast at 7 p.m.? No problem, here it is served 24 hours, 7 days a week. This is also the case for all other kinds of food in this restaurant-café from the 1970s. Try to have a seat in the garden or the second floor. Kantstraße 148 (Charlottenburg) I 4. LUCKY LEEK: Modern restaurant with vegetarian and vegan (fusion) food. Here you can find delicious, healthy and creative meals. Kollwitzstraße 54 (Prenzlauer Berg) J 5. MARKTHALLE NEUN: You are not yet sure what you would like to eat? In this place you can find all types of German and international snacks and food at the food stands in the market hall. Eisenbahnstraße 42-43 (Kreuzberg) K 6. STÄNDIGE VERTRETUNG: This place offers rustic food from Central Germany and has been host to many political representatives of Germany. Photographs on the walls document the interesting history of this restaurant. Schiffbauerdamm 8 (Mitte) L Ok, there are 6 choices instead of 5 … but food is important, right? Bars: 1. B-FLAT: One of the most famous jazz clubs in Berlin. The place is charming and the audience is diverse. Open from Sunday to Monday after 8 pm, Friday and Saturday after 9 pm. Rosenthaler Straße 13 (Mitte) M 2. CLÄRCHENS BALLHAUS: A popular dancing locality ever since Berlin´s roaring 20s and mentioned in Alfred Döblin’s famous novel “Berlin Alexanderplatz”. This charming place also offers good drinks and food. Auguststraße 24 (Mitte) N 3. DIE WEINEREI Some call it naive, others say it's the embodiment of Berlin's liberal charm: For an initial €2, customer rent a glass and are invited to drink as much wine as they like. After you've had your fill, you leave as much money as you like in the tips jar. The trusting atmosphere and the quaint charm of the surroundings have the effect of restoring people's moral sense. Open Mon-Fri 1pm-8pm, Sat 11am- 8pm. Veteranenstrasse 14 (Mitte) O 4. PRATER A relaxed beer garden in a nice neighborhood, which also offers shelter when the weather is not so good. This place is frequented by locals and offers local beer, good Schnitzel and German meatballs in gravy.