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June 10-13, 2016
June 10-13, 2016
A weekend of fun in Berlin, Germany!
Hotel
Park Inn by Radisson Berlin City-West Hotel
The hotel lies in a peaceful neighbourhood close to the popular Kurfürstendamm, one of the city’s main thoroughfares.
A stylish 3+ star hotel, it offers us a perfect blend of convenience and comfort at an extremely affordable rate.
Explore the nearby Kurfürstendamm to discover a lively mix of restaurants, bars and shops.
All hotel rooms and suites include air conditioning, flat-screen televisions and abundant natural daylight.
The lobby bar provides cocktails and a selection of soups, salads and sandwiches.
Convenient underground car parking is available. The hotel provides Wireless High-speed Internet.
Address
Emser Strasse 6, 10719 Berlin, Germany
Telephone
++49 30 5858200
Hotel Website
http://www.parkinn.com/hotel-berlincitywest
Hotel Review
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Room rates include breakfast and VAT.
Dinner buffet on June 10 and 11 will be served at 7:30 PM and cost 25,00 € per person per day.
Friday will be German buffet, Saturday Asian buffet.
Activities
Activities
Friday Evening
German Buffet Dinner at Hotel at 7:30 PM
Saturday Morning
Boat Ride on the Spree
Depart the hotel after breakfast for a one-hour ride on Berlin’s Spree River. We’ll board near the Humboldt University and Staatsoper, then cruise past Museum Island, the Reichstag, Berlin Central Station and the new government sector before returning back to the starting point. Cost is €10/adult; children are €5/infant-age 5 or €6/ages 6-14. Be sure you’ve purchased a Welcome Card or other transport pass prior. Boat trips are a tradition at EuroReunions!
Meet in hotel lobby 9:45 AM.
Saturday Afternoon
Walking Tour of Berlin
Walking Tour of Berlin: Those who wish can continue after the boat ride and experience as much as the afternoon allows: Berliner Dom, lunch at Rathaus (city hall), Alexanderplatz,(center of former East Berlin), Berlin Wall Memorial (less commericial than Haus am Checkpoint Charlie) and Treptow Park (Soviet War Memorial and massive burial site). We’ll be back late afternoon; feel free to peel off the tour at any point. Tour will be led by Chris Van Meter (class of ’81) who lived in Frankfurt 1982-89 and traveled regularly to Berlin before and after reunification.
Bring your Welcome Card/transport pass and lunch money, and funds for any attraction admission.
Saturday Evening
Asian Buffet Dinner at Hotel at 7:30 PM
Reunion Discussion on Facebook
Let us know your plans, e.g. how long you are planning to stay, other plans you may have. We hope to get groups together for the traditional after-reunion fun. There is a huge expo nearby just before the reunion. It will be hard to get inexpensive rooms before the event, and easier afterwards. We suggest you time your vacation and extensions after our reunion weekend.
Sunday
Potsdam Tour:
For those staying longer and interested, depart the hotel at 10:00 for a tour of Potsdam. Easily accessible by S-Bahn (commuter rail), we’ll be met by Frank Schell, Potsdam resident, who’ll share some of the area’s highlights. We’ll check out the Baroque and Dutch quarters, and witness the efforts to rebuild the city after the immense bombing of the Altstadt (old city), followed by some dismal Soviet era construction. The tour will end with an introduction to Sansscouci Palace and the extensive grounds for you to explore as you wish the balance of the day.
Cost of the tour is €5/person. Bring your Welcome Card/transport pass (valid for zones ABC) and comfortable shoes for lots of walking.
Berlin Public Transportation
The Park Inn Berlin City West is most accessible by U-Bahn(subway) lines 2/3 at Hohenzollernplatz or 2/3/7 at Fehrbellinerplatz. Also bus 249 at Güntzelstr./Uhlandstr.
Berlin Welcome Card is highly recommended for all reunion attendees. Includes all unlimited use of all public transport options, map, tourist info and many discounts.
Prices vary by length and zones accessed. Base pass is zones AB (includes TXL/Tegel Airport). If any chance you’ll visit Potsdam order with zones ABC – only €2 more! Options up to 7 days.
48 hours = €21.50 (zones ABC)
72 hours = €29.50 (zones ABC)
May purchase for up to 6 days validity
Up to 3 children (thru age 14) allowed on one adult pass
Berlin Welcome Card Museum Island: same as above plus includes visits to all five museums on Museum Island. Obtainable only as 72 hour pass = €44.00 (zones ABC)
Be sure to order the Welcome Card with PDF redemption voucher
Redeem upon arrival at TXL/Tegel Airport, the main rail station and other key spots in Berlin. It can also be bought at same key spots, but pre-purchasing gets you going faster!
http://shop.visitberlin.de/en/tickets/online-voucher.html
Welcome Cards are a good value!
NOTE: Standard unlimited day tickets (Tageskarte) are available at all stations: €7/day for zones AB and €7/day for zones ABC. These only valid until 3:00 am the following morning – NOT 24 hours! And a single-use ticket starts at €2.70, one direction only.
Tourist Activities
Individual Attractions
Berlin is an incredible city. Most notorious as Germany’s nucleus during WWII, and a war-torn and divided city for 50 years, Berlin has long made an indelible mark on world history. It’s museums, castles, parks and gardens reflect centuries of influence on the world. Are your own or with others, considering checking these out while in Berlin.NOTE: Your Welcome Card secures you a discount at several of the items listed. Items are listed in increasing distance from the hotel.
Charlottenburg Palace https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlottenburg_Palace Located near the hotel, the palace was built at the end of the 17th century and was greatly expanded during the 18th century. It includes much exotic internal decoration in baroque and rococo styles and includes extensive gardens.
Olympic Stadium http://www.berlin-welcomecard.de/en/partner/olympiastadion-berlin-visitor-center
Built for the 1936 Summer Olympics with a capacity of 110,000 specators, the stadium was renovated for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The Olympic Bell Tower and other areas of the massive complex can be visited. Daily tours available. Note: Your WelcomeCard provides a discount to this attraction.
KaDeWe – Kauhof des Westens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaufhaus_des_Westens
The largest department store on the continent, attracting up to 50,000 visitors daily. Don’t miss the 6th floor food hall that rivals Harrod’s of London. Great Rote Grötze – just sayin’!
Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiser_Wilhelm_Memorial_Church
Known locally as the hollow tooth, the memorial includes the remainder of the original 1890s church with two new structures, known as the compact and the lipstick. It was the focal point of West Berlin when the city was divided.
Germany’s oldest zoo and its collection of round 16.000 animals including about 1.500 various species is the most important animal collection in the world.
Tiergarten https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiergarten_(park)
Berlin’s most popular inner-city park, and of the largest in Germany. Nearly destroyed during the war while used for potato crops, only 700 of over 200,000 trees remained, as most were felled for firewood. The Victory Column, Soviet War Memorial and much statuary are found within the park, with many famous structures perched on its periphery, including the Reichstag, Kongresshalle/Pregnant Oyster, and embassies of the Nordic nations.
Soviet War Memorial (Tiergarten) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_War_Memorial_(Tiergarten) Standing in the Tiergarten and former British sector of Berlin, its construction was supported by all the Allied powers. Throughout the Cold War, Soviet honor guards from the Soviet sector (East Berlin) were sent to stand watch at the memorial. 2,000 Soviet soliders are buried at the memorial.
Reichstag http://www.berlin.de/en/attractions-and-sights/3560965-3104052-reichstag.en.html
Serving as home to Germany’s government until the famous fire of 1933 and again since 1999 as home to the Bundestag parliament. It’s most popular feature is the glass dome, designed by Norman Foster, with splendid views of both the city and the sessions below. NOTE: visitation now requires advance registration.
http://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/visits/kuppel/kupp/245686
Brandenburger Tor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_Gate
One of Germany’s best-known landmarks, an 18th-century structure of neoclassical design. It is built on the site of a former city gate that marked the start of the road from Berlin to the town of Brandenburg. The Quadriga statue atop was once carted away by Napoleon during his conquests.
Holocaust Memorial https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_to_the_Murdered_Jews_of_Europe
Over 2,000 gray slabs on a varying topography in an setting represent the loss Jewish lives during the Third Reich. Visitors seem to disappear behind what can be perceived as boxcars or crypts.
Potsdamer Platz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potsdamer_Platz
Once the busiest intersection in Europe, then no-man’s land for half a century, the area is once again bustling with offices, hotels, a casino and shopping. Lots of history and lots of controversy surrounded its redevelopment.
Checkpoint Charlie Museum berlin-welcomecard.de/en/partner/wall-museum-museum-haus-am-checkpoint-charlie
First opened in 1962, the museum has since documented the turmoil of the wall’s creation in 1961, successful escapes and the history of global non-violent struggles for peace and liberation in Central and Eastern Europe. A small portion of the wall is nearby on Niederkirchnerstrasse/Wilhelmstrasse.
Berliner Dom http://www.berlin-welcomecard.de/en/partner/berlin-cathedral
King Frederick Wilhelm IV thought Berlin discovered the Lutheran version of St. Peters Cathedral. This is the result, dedicated in 1905. Check out the Hohenzollern crypt below. City views from above. Use your Welcome Card for a discount off the €7 admission.
Alexanderplatz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Palace,_Berlin
The epicenter of Berlin and U-Bahn and S-Bahn system, and former showcase of East Berlin modernism. Check out the TV tower, world clock, and fountains. Use your WelcomeCard for a discount off TV tower admission.
Rotes Rathaus (Red City Hall) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotes_Rathaus
Named for its red brick facade, it was built it a North Italian Renaissance style, and rebuilt in the 1950s, after being heavily bombed in the war. It served as as city hall for all four occupying sectors until 1948.
DDR Museum http://www.berlin-welcomecard.de/en/partner/ddr-museum
Near the Berliner Dom, shows life in the former Communist state in all of its facets and offers history you can touch with its interactive displays. Use your WelcomeCard for a discount off museum admission.
Museum Island/Pergamon Museum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pergamon_Museum
A UNESCO site and home to five outstanding museums. The most famous is the Pergamon Museum, home to the Pergamon Altar, Gates of Ishtar and other Mideast antiquities. Note: If buying the upgraded WelcomeCard Museum, the pass includes admisstion to all five museums: Ancient National Gallery, Ancient Museum, Bodemuseum, New Museum and Pergamon Museum
Hackischer Höfe/Markt www.berlin.de/en/shopping/1761522-2947095-hackescher-markt-shopping-area.en.html
Fun shopping area found in a labyrinth of eight connecting courtyards, plus cafés, bars and restaurants.
Berlin Wall Memorial http://www.berliner-mauer-gedenkstaette.de/en/index.html
A more somber setting of recalling the horrible division of Berlin. Here in Bernauerstrasse the wall divided the Reunification Church from its parishioners. As the wall went up, residents sought slide down ropes or jump to freedom, and the first fatalities from the wall’s reconstruction occurred here. In 1985 the church was blown up by East German authorities; a symbolic chapel now stands on the same spot. Memorial grounds preserve not just the wall, but also no-man’s land with illumination, vehicle tracks and tunnels. A new exhibit at the memorial details the “ghost stations” of West Berlin’s U-Bahn network underneath East Berlin, and other facets of subterranean Berlin during the era of division. NOTE: Like many museums, closed Mondays.
Stasi Museum http://www.stasimuseum.de/en/enindex.htm
Preserved home of the Minister for State Security from 1961 until the end of the GDR, led by Erich Mielke the entire time. Exhibits about the state security force and its effect on the country’s population include technical equipment, surveillance tools and interrogation methods. It was reported that 1 in 3 citizens was a Stasi informant. Note: Open daily.
Soviet War Memorial (Treptower Park) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_War_Memorial_(Treptower_Park)
The largest of three memorials hastily constructed after WWII to honor the 80,000 fallen Soviet soldiers in the Battle of Berlin. Impressive sculpture and sarcophagi representing the 16 Soviet Republics. It’s said that stone and granite from the Third Reich Chacellory was used in the construction of this massive memorial.
German-Russian Museum (Karlshorst) http://www.museum-karlshorst.de/ The Germans surrendered to the Russians at the end of WWII in this building. The museum focuses on German-Russian relations through it all.
Potsdam is a significant part of the Berlin metro, home to Prussian palaces of the Hohenzollerns, the famous Glienicke Bridge of Spies, Babelsberg Film Studios and serene getaways from the big city nearby. Note: the WelcomeCard or Transport passes with zones ABC will get you to and around Potsdam.
Baroque and Dutch Quarters http://www.potsdam-tourism.com/detail/id/10218/theme/a-z.html
Small shops, cafes and bars are found throughout these districts of the city. The Dutch quarters were created to attract quality craftsman from Holland.
Sanssouci http://www.berlin-welcomecard.de/en/partner/sanssouci
Frederick the Great built this roccoco palace and named for his goal of being out of the public eye, without a care. The “confirmed bachelor” is buried outside the palace - with his dogs. See also the extensive gardens, terraced vineyard, windmill, Orangery, Chinese House and Roman Baths. Note: Use your WelcomeCard for a discount off Sansscouci+ pass to the palaces and and grounds.
Neues Schloss https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Palace_(Potsdam)
At the opposite end of the gardens from Sanssouci, the tour of this baroque palace offers great insight into the Hohenzollerns (originally from south of Stuttgart). As it escaped bombing, it stands much as it was in 1918. Its furnishings, held in the Netherlands during Wilhelm II’s exile, was returned in the 1970s. Open Mondays. Note: Use your WelcomeCard for a discount off Sansscouci+ pass to the palaces and and grounds.
Cecilienhof https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecilienhof
The last palace built by the Hollenzollerns actually resembles an English Tudor estate. Its greatest notoreity was hosting the 1945 conference attended by Stain, Churchill and Truman in determining the joint administration of a defeated Germany after WWII. The palace itself is currently under restoration; tours continue.
Note: Use your WelcomeCard for a discount off Sansscouci+ pass to the palaces and and grounds.
Glienicke Bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Sch%C3%B6ningen
Also known as the Bridge of Spies, where many prisoner exchanges occurred during the Cold War. It was one of the first crossings reopened after the fall of the Berlin Wall. A museum is adjacent in Villa Schöningen. Note: Use your WelcomeCard for a 50% discount off admission to the villa.
Belvedere auf dem Pfingstberg http://www.berlin-welcomecard.de/en/partner/belvedere-pfingstberg
This 19th-century renaissance palace offers views of the city favored by Friedrich Wilhelm IV. Open daily.
Note: Use your WelcomeCard for a discount off admission to the palace and grounds.
Die Fabrik http://www.fabrikpotsdam.de/index.php?p=vorstellung&lang=EN
A popular arts venue carved out of a former factory. Sunday July 12 will feature Tango Cafe at 6pm.
Note: Use your WelcomeCard for a discount off admission.
Other Infos
There is a double-decker hop-on/off tourist bus available. Want to see one of the nicest, biggest castles in Europe? Only a short ride to Potsdam to Sanssouci Castle.
You will not need a rental car. Public transportation is available (bus and metro). There is limited automobile parking at the hotel, with other possibilites nearby.
Mag beer muna tayo!
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