Berlin and Prague questions

[Deleted]

My BF's parents live in Berlin currently, and we're planning to visit them next summer. Neither of us have ever been there before. I think we'll have about a week in that general area, but we're a little flexible on that. I would really like to take the train to Prague since it looks like it's only about a 4 hour drive from Berlin and I have heard it's one of the best cities in Europe.

If you were visiting those two places, how would you split your time? What would you do? I'm thinking we'll spend more time in Berlin since his parents are there, although I'd like to invite them to join us to Prague if they are interested. We'll obviously need to spend some time with them while we're there, but I'm thinking they'll be amenable to doing touristy stuff with us and his family is not that close so we'll need to do SOMETHING during our visit. I'm sure they'll have things in mind but I want to kind of have some things in mind too when we start booking things so I'm sure we have enough time.

So, please tell me about your travels to those places! I'm just starting to research them so I'm really starting from scratch. We both like most normal tourist stuff- seeing major landmarks, historical sites, going to museums, eating, drinking, walking around. We're not big shoppers but pretty much anything else is game. 

Thanks!

[Deleted]

RockNVoll I would love restaurant recs (it's not urgent though! We will probably go in June) We'll be spending the second week of our trip in London so if there is anything you absolutely love I'd take that as well BF is from London and has a sister/friends there so I'm not as worried about that part, but he hasn't lived in London in 10+ years so there may be things he doesn't remember/doesn't know about too.

[alleinesein]

Museums, museums and more museums! Eat currywurst. Rent a trabant and take a city tour. Hit up the new Stone Brewery and grab a beer.

Prague is about 4.5 hours away by train.

You could also look into a side trip to Dresden on the way to Prague; it is one of the stops on the way. You could spend 1-2 nights and check out a few museums or a do a river cruise.

[osumelissa]

My boyfriend and I went to Prague, Dresden, and Berlin this past March. We spent four days in Prague, 2.5 days in Dresden, and five days in Berlin. I loved Berlin the most of the three cities we went to. I can also dig up our itinerary.

In Prague, we walked over the Charles Bridge numerous times I feel like, Prague Castle, the monestary near the castle (there is a brewery on the grounds that we enjoyed beers at), Mucha Museum, Veletržní Palace (we wanted to see Mucha's Slav Epic which is 20 paintings). Public transportation is also super super cheap.

In Berlin, things we did included Checkpoint Charlie, did a tour of the Reichstag (I highly recommend-you need to book in advance and bring your passport), went to Brandenburg Gate. I went to the Holocaust Museum and the German History Museum by myself one day while my boyfriend went to a couple of museums he wanted to go to. We also went to a soccer game at Olympic Stadium. I know we did more, but am totally blanking right now.

[agnes]

@buckybells here's my trip review from last year. pandce.proboards.com/thread/335196/europe-trip-pip-overload  A lot of my pictures don't show up, though. We wen't to Paris, Stuttgart, Prague. Stuttgart was my least favorite.

RockNVoll, I think I was in Prague the same time you were. I stayed at The ICON Hotel in Nove Mesto. I really liked it and the location. It was a short walk through Wenceslas Square from the train station. The front desk was telling us that it was far from the castle, but we decided to walk there. It wasn't THAT far. Like we were just wandering in the general direction and didn't realize we were at the castle at first. lol

I don't remember the name of any restaurants we ate at.  My favorite one was on Wenceslas Square where we sat on the patio and watched the Hare Krishnas dance by.  I had a chicken salad, at least I think it was chicken, with "Red Rocket" (aka radicchio) in it.  They gave us some kind of locally made liquor with the check.   

EAT AS MUCH TRDELNIK AS YOU CAN!  Srsly, I still think about the stuff.  It's like their version of a churro.  

I also went to the Bone Church and St. Barbara Cathedral on my birthday.  I freaking loved it.  But I didn't love getting pulled over by the Policie on our way back.  And an Irish lady sitting next to us trying to flip them off.  

In Prague you can be fined for not having your passport on you at all times.  

Paris and Prague were a lot a like.  We could just wander aimlessly and eat random things constantly.  I loved it. 

[tres3]

I have nothing to add to previous posters but we travel to the UK regularly to visit my in-laws. We usually break up our trip. Arrive. Spend a couple days with family then do a side trip by ourselves with just the kids for a few days and then back to see his family for a couple more days. It seems to work well for us.

If they are only going to be in Berlin for a couple years they may want to travel with you.

[Vespasia]

A friend and I spent a week in Prague and never got bored. We mainly wandered around and ate a lot. We did 2 day trips, one to Sedlec Ossuary and another so she could run a half marathon. 

If you like beer, do this in Prague. It was amazing! Definitely get the massage too.

www.pivnilaznebernard.cz/en

The Jewish cemetery is incredible. 

The other big highlight for us was going to the opera. Neither of us are really into it but dressing up and going to a beautiful theater was an awesome experience. Afterwards we ate greasy street food and drank beer in our fancy outfits. 

We stayed here: www.airbnb.com/rooms/2659310 It was dirt cheap and fabulous. It is in a nice residential area above the main city. There was easy access to the touristy sites by tram. There's a beer garden nearby with great views of the city and I think the beers were like $1. We also found an amazing Italian place in that neighborhood and there was a cute cafe around the corner where we had breakfast most mornings. 

The tram system is excellent and easy to navigate. We walked most of the time (she and I both live in cities and are used to walking a lot) but going up the big hill to get back to the apartment got old fast. 

[Wanderista]

In Berlin, I liked the neighborhood called Charlottenburg. I would spend more time there if I went back. It is very pretty with lots of cafes and leafy streets. Also, the best meal I had in Berlin was at a Greek place around there. (Meh, I do not love most German food, though I can appreciate it in moderation).

I also went out to Potsdam and toured Park Sanssouci which was a Hohenzollern palace. I then took a boat cruise where I saw the sites including the resort where the 1945 conference was held, all while chilling on the river. This was relaxing in the summer but the cruise I went on was all in German and had jazz music playing. By the way, Berlin is really into jazz and has a whole lot of jazz clubs. I felt like Berlin was nostalgic for the 1920s culturally at least when I was there. It was like something from a German Great Gatsby.

I went to the Stasi Museum in East Berlin which was one of the creepiest places I've ever been. The museum is in the actual former Stasi Headquarters and you can tour an actual prison cell that was used for political prisoners. It was very interesting though if you have an interest in history and politics. I recommend watching the film The Lives of Others and also Goodbye Lenin if you haven't already.

Haven't been to Prague yet so I can't say much about it.

[Deleted]

Sept 25, 2015 6:54:58 GMT -5 tres3 said:

I have nothing to add to previous posters but we travel to the UK regularly to visit my in-laws. We usually break up our trip. Arrive. Spend a couple days with family then do a side trip by ourselves with just the kids for a few days and then back to see his family for a couple more days. It seems to work well for us.

If they are only going to be in Berlin for a couple years they may want to travel with you.

That's not a bad idea. It looks like it will be cheaper to fly round trip from the US so we'll have to start and end in the same place anyway. Might break things up.

His parents are actually from the UK. I'm not sure how long they'll be living in Berlin but they will probably just move somewhere else in Europe if/when they move. So, that lets us off the hook for having to travel with them the whole time I'm thinking we'll invite them along to Prague from Berlin, and then fly to the UK on our own to see people/do stuff there. I've only spent 1 day in London before so tons to see there too!

ETA: I'm sure they are lovely people who we may WANT to travel with, lol. I have actually not met them yet! He likes them fine but isn't close with them, so I am thinking we'll likely be ready to move on on our own, but who knows.

[Deleted]

Sept 24, 2015 19:40:14 GMT -5 agnes said:

  

Paris and Prague were a lot a like.  We could just wander aimlessly and eat random things constantly.  I loved it. 

I'm really glad to hear this in particular! Paris is my favorite city in the world (so far). If Prague is anything like it, I'm sure I will fall in love with it too. 

[alleinesein]

Sign up for airberlin's mailing list. They run lots of specials to Europe and you might be able to score some cheap tickets. When I went to Germany I had a multi-city ticket and flew into Dresden and out of Nurnberg (combo of AA, airberlin and BA) and it was around $1500 R/T out of San Diego. If you fly out of Chicago you can probably find a bargain

[agnes]

Sept 25, 2015 17:09:26 GMT -5 @buckybells said:

Sept 24, 2015 19:40:14 GMT -5 agnes said:

  

Paris and Prague were a lot a like.  We could just wander aimlessly and eat random things constantly.  I loved it. 

I'm really glad to hear this in particular! Paris is my favorite city in the world (so far). If Prague is anything like it, I'm sure I will fall in love with it too. 

our Bone Church tour guide was telling us parts of streets/building were modeled after Paris. It has the feel of Paris with a Bohemian twist.

Eta: I thought our Kutna Hora tour guide was great. I think he said he has been doing the tours for over a decade.

[more adventurous]

I lurk a lot but used this board so much when planning our Europe trip last year, so I wanted to chime in.

Everyone else has already added a ton, but if you want more ideas/stuff to look at (I loved reading blogs while planning) I have finally gotten all of the Prague portion of our trip up on our blog. thejoystravels.blogspot.com We stayed here and loved it, especially since it was in such a convenient location in Old Town: www.airbnb.com/rooms/2225678 Long story short, we did a few of the cathedrals, some of the castle grounds (plan most of a day for this, IMO), Lennon Wall, Petrin Hill (really pretty), the Monastery/Library (honestly, very cool to see, but very limited in what you actually have access to), a beer museum and a few breweries, Charles Bridge, and the square. We had 3 full days and there were still several things that we wanted to do, but didn't get around to.

For specific recs we also went to Lokal and enjoyed it, but we were only there for a snack and beers. Another place that we really liked was U Tri Uzi (Three Roses, a brewpub...but with good food!) and Cafe Savoy for breakfast for the unique scenery. I also had Rainer Maria Rilke on our list but it was booked when we walked up (so make reservations), and Marina Grosseto, which is a boat house on the river, but we just never made it there. Overall, great city...good food, good people watching and cheap beer (3 of my favorite things)!

[osumelissa]

Sept 29, 2015 11:41:25 GMT -5 more adventurous said:

I lurk a lot but used this board so much when planning our Europe trip last year, so I wanted to chime in.

Everyone else has already added a ton, but if you want more ideas/stuff to look at (I loved reading blogs while planning) I have finally gotten all of the Prague portion of our trip up on our blog. thejoystravels.blogspot.com We stayed here and loved it, especially since it was in such a convenient location in Old Town: www.airbnb.com/rooms/2225678 Long story short, we did a few of the cathedrals, some of the castle grounds (plan most of a day for this, IMO), Lennon Wall, Petrin Hill (really pretty), the Monastery/Library (honestly, very cool to see, but very limited in what you actually have access to), a beer museum and a few breweries, Charles Bridge, and the square. We had 3 full days and there were still several things that we wanted to do, but didn't get around to.

For specific recs we also went to Lokal and enjoyed it, but we were only there for a snack and beers. Another place that we really liked was U Tri Uzi (Three Roses, a brewpub...but with good food!) and Cafe Savoy for breakfast for the unique scenery. I also had Rainer Maria Rilke on our list but it was booked when we walked up (so make reservations), and Marina Grosseto, which is a boat house on the river, but we just never made it there. Overall, great city...good food, good people watching and cheap beer (3 of my favorite things)!

Thanks to more adventurous when we were planning our trip, I took a few ideas from her blog Also we stayed at Edgar's other apartment in the same building: www.airbnb.com/rooms/2288037

Fantastic location, he was great to work with, and he actually had his friend pick us up from the airport. Plus his guide in the apartment was fantastic - we took some of his suggestions for food and drink and were not disappointed in the slightest.

In Berlin, we stayed in Kreuzberg here: www.airbnb.com/rooms/363454 The neighborhood is super cool.

[more adventurous]

osumelissa Yay, glad I was able to help! I agree that Edgar and his guide to Prague were both awesome.

[Deleted]

Thanks to all (and keep them coming!). We booked our flights last night!!! I'm so excited. We're not going until June, but I found round trip airfare from Chicago to Berlin for $1073 so I felt like I had to snap that up

I'm currently thinking we'll be in Berlin for the first 3 full days, on the 4th day we'll take the train to Prague, spend 2 nights there (conveniently, the day in between is my birthday!), train back to Berlin for another 2 nights, then go to London and the surrounding area for the rest of our trip. I hope 2 nights is enough in Prague, I'm hoping we'll get there around noon the first day so that should give us 1.5-2 full days there.

[neonpink]

I really loved Prague and Berlin. I was in Prague for Christmas and Berlin in between Christmas and New Years. I really loved Prague. Wandering around the streets, popping into cafe's drinking great(cheap)beer. Kozel was one of my favorites, and just enjoying the scenery. Once you see the castle and the astronomical clock you've seen the big things the city is known for. Try and go up the tower when the bell tower is chiming. It's neat to watch the crowds come up and hear it from that perspective. I loved the atmosphere of the city. We also stayed at a Hotel near Wenceslaus square. It's a pretty large shopping district and enjoyed opening our window and watching people walk by. Also prepare your belly for Prague and Berlin! I think I gained 5lbs. It's very filling. I really enjoyed the Czech food. It's really a lot of roast meat, sausage and bread dumplings but very good. (I came back to the States longing for a salad.) There is also a sweet Trdelnik. its a sweet dough cooked by being rolled on a bar over hot coals and covered in sugar. Yum. I'm a food hound and love seeking out different things.

Last thoughts I did take the train from Prague to Berlin. I bought the tickets online and it took about 4.5 hours. It was an easy ride. I would probably ask your BF's parents to buy the tickets locally. It was really a pain in the butt to buy online. I bought them directly through the German DB Bahn website and thought I had everything I needed. Turns out I didn't buy exactly that and had to pay the German ticket checker when they came by. It wasn't to big of a headache I just think it would be easier to do once you're in Berlin.
In Berlin I think we got a little bit of the short stick since it was between the holidays and everyone was off. We stayed in East Berlin. It's full of new buildings and reminded me a lot of D.C. architecturally. I would love to go back when the beer gardens are open and explore more. I just don't think I was there at the right time.

Sorry I'm all over the place I've been adding things as I think of them. Have a great time!

[agnes]

I had no problems using the DB Bahn website to buy our tickets from Stuttgart to Prague.

If your going in the beginning of June, you might want to bring rain gear. It rained most of the time we were there last year and the year before they had major flooding.

[sent]

Food in Prague reminds me I had this sauerkraut soup with little mushrooms in it, it was so good! I tried to recreate it at home and it wasn't the same. It was at Zvonice, a restaurant located in a bell tower and I remember my husband had the boar and raved about it too. We were there during the winter and the Christmas market was fun. Stayed at the Hilton in Old Town and it was easy to get around. We also ate at Lokal which someone already mentioned, but don't get there too late because it seemed like they had ran out of many things by the time we got there.

[MauMau]

I love Berlin. I spent 6 days there and I loved it so much I could easily do another 6 days. Mainly because I went in February last time, so I would like the "summer" experience.

Of all the museums I would pick the Pergamon. Mainly for the reconstructed Roman/Greek/Middle Eastern Architecture pieces.

I also visited the DDR museum which was neat if you had time but can be missed. I preferred the German Museum of Technology. It's huge full of modes of transport and industry things.

I did a Fat Tire Bike tour which I loved. Just an easy way to learn a lot and see a lot.

Berliner Dom was nice. I went to the New Synagogue and didn't get to see everything but I wish I did. Holocaust Memorial and Museum also worth the time.

I don't have food recs. I might of eaten a lot of Dunkin Dounuts because I was living abroad at the time. And it was a novelty to have "good donuts". And because it was winter after walking around 8 hours I was ready to fall asleep early and ate in my room a lot. Yes, boring. Haha