{"id":35539,"date":"2014-11-14T07:35:06","date_gmt":"2014-11-14T07:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/blog\/?p=35539"},"modified":"2014-12-15T23:22:46","modified_gmt":"2014-12-15T23:22:46","slug":"a-berlin-stay-for-work-and-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/a-berlin-stay-for-work-and-play\/","title":{"rendered":"A Berlin stay for work and play!"},"content":{"rendered":"
Schedule:<\/b> arrive Wednesday evening with two days of hectic business appointments followed by a weekend of exciting exploration!After living and working at the lastminute.com.au London<\/a> office for the last six months, Berlin<\/a> is my first work trip (with a weekend of leisure thrown in there too, of course).<\/p>\n
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To get an authentic experience of any major city in a foreign country, I think it\u2019s crucial to travel on the public transport system. Berlin has a great metro system which covers most places either via their U-bahn (\u2018underground\u2019) or S-bahn (\u2018overground\u2019) and anywhere else is accessible via their bus network. It can be challenging to get around initially, but trust me, if you have a day packed with meetings and need to get somewhere \u2013 you\u2019ll learn fast! Let\u2019s skip the business appointments and jump forward to the exciting part of the trip \u2013 EXPLORING! Thank the stars I have a friend living in Berlin who can show me around.<\/p>\n

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Friday afternoon, I finish my last appointment right near KaDeWe, so it\u2019s time to shop and eat. I indulge in a curry wurst, a common Berlin snack \u2013 don\u2019t question it, just try it.<\/p>\n

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Next up: Kreuzberg. It\u2019s the funky, hipster part of Berlin. We start off with drinks and dinner at White Trash Fast Food<\/a> \u2013 yes I know it doesn\u2019t sound glamorous and the food isn\u2019t necessarily \u2018German\u2019, but you do enter the venue through an old bus and it\u2019s one of the cool places to be \u2018seen\u2019.<\/p>\n

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We follow up dinner with some more drinks (and possibly a boogie) at the nearby Club der Visionaere<\/a>, which has with great music, cheap drinks and a deck right over one of the canals off the Spree (Berlin\u2019s River). We’re getting up early to make the most of our day (*cough*), so we decide to call it a night\u2026ok, maybe after the next one. \ud83d\ude09
\nRolling out of bed and to my nearest caffeine fix is compulsory in the morning and my fave spot has to be Romeo und Romeo<\/a> in Sch\u00f6neberg \u2013 they know how to make a coffee!<\/p>\n

There are so many sights in Berlin, and I start my day at the TV Tower in Alexander Platz, the hub of the city. Unfortunately it’s quite a hazy day so there’s not much of a view, but it\u2019s a must do if you get a good day (tip: go early in the day to beat the crowds).<\/p>\n

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I stroll onto Museum Island where you\u2019ll find a bunch of\u2026museums and the Berlin Dome.<\/p>\n

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Next it\u2019s time to hire a bike \u2013 yes you heard it right, a bike (you know, the ones you pedal)! It\u2019s the best way to get around and I highly recommend it. We meet at the Brandenburg Gate, which is the most iconic of all Berlin attractions. Tip: there are multiple options for bike hire in Berlin and they\u2019re usually around \u20ac12-\u20ac15 for 24 hours.<\/p>\n

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It takes me a while to get the hang of riding on the wrong side of the road, but we eventually head off to meet up with the remnants of the Berlin Wall at the Berlin Wall Memorial.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s a bit of a La Dolce Vita moment as we cycle onto Karl-Marx-Allee with its beautiful greenery and amazing buildings \u2013 time for a coffee stop you say, yes!<\/p>\n

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Next up, we push on to East Side Gallery \u2013 the longest remaining length of the wall that\u2019s left standing and is full of amazing artwork. We make a quick pit stop for an early dinner with some bier at Scheers Schnitzel<\/a> and then back to Brandenburg Gate to drop off the bikes.
\nA bit of a relax followed by some dancing at another Berlin discotheque leaves me in poor form for my flight back to London, but it was worth every minute!
\nAuf Wiedersehen for now Berlin, in the words of a celebrity with a German accent, who\u2019s actually Austrian \u2013 I\u2019ll be back!<\/p>\n

Have you been to Berlin? Let\u2019s hear your #traveltips in the comments.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Flights to Berlin<\/a><\/div>\n
All Berlin Hotels
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