Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Silvester Germany's largest open-air New Year's Eve party takes place
along the Str. des 17 Juni, between the Brandenburg Gate and the
Siegessäule, to the sound of fireworks and pop music. Street stalls sell
sparkling wine.
the end of the previous word. Other terms include
Weg (path), Ufer (river bank), Platz (square) and Allee
(avenue). Berlin apartment blocks are often built
around courtyards with several entrances and stair-
cases: the Vorderhaus, abbreviated as VH in addresses,
is as the name suggests, the front building; the
Gartenhaus (GH; garden house) and the Hinterhof
(HH; back house) are at the rear of the building. EG
means the ground floor, 1 OG means the first floor,
and so on. Dachwohnung means the “flat under the
roof” - in other words, the attic.
Culture and
etiquette
Berliners are traditionally quite a gruff lot
who don't suffer fools gladly, though much
of this attitude is laced with a sardonic wit
known as Berliner Schnauze - literally
“Berlin snout”. Learn to take all this in your
stride: it's nothing personal, just an
everyday way of dealing with urban living.
Another defining attribute for Berliners is their
Prussian sense of orderliness and respect for rules
and authority. Jaywalkers will more frequently be
reprimanded by bystanders - “what if a child saw
you?” - than by the police.
Thankfully, despite all this, Berlin is a famously
tolerant place. This tolerance comes in part from
the city's appeal to unconventional Germans who
relocate from elsewhere in the country and partly
from its large immigrant population. Staggering
around in the small hours, drinking in the street, or
being openly gay will neither raise an eyebrow nor
turn a head. This open-mindedness also extends to
a tolerance for smoking that is far higher than
elsewhere in Western Europe - with many bars
frequently ignoring bans.
Climate
Temperatures in Berlin can vary between July highs
of around 30ºC and January lows of about -18ºC.
Though temperatures tend to average about 5ºC
between November and March, they rise quickly to a
20ºC average between May and August, but these
summer months are also the wettest - when around
half the city's annual precipitation of 570mm falls.
Costs
By the standards of most European capitals, prices
in Berlin are reasonable and well short of the
excesses of Paris and London, even though the
quality of what's on offer can easily compete.
Nevertheless, for anyone heading out to Berlin's
famous nightspots or shopping at its designer
stores, visiting the city can become expensive.
Assuming you intend to eat and drink in moder-
ately priced places and use public transport
sparingly, the minimum you could comfortably get
by on - after accommodation costs, which start at
about €60 for a basic double room in the centre in
high season - is around €25 (around £22/US$33) a
day. For this you would get a basic breakfast (€4), a
sandwich (€3), an evening meal (€10), two beers
(€5) and one underground ticket (€3), though this
budget would limit you to visiting free museums
and making your own entertainment. A more
realistic figure, if you want to see as much of the
city as possible (and party at night), would be about
twice that amount.
Travel essentials
Addresses
In Berlin the street name is always written before the
number and all addresses are su xed by a five-figure
postcode. Street numbers don't always run odd-
even on opposite sides of the street - often they go
up one side and down the other. Strasse (street) is
commonly abbreviated to Str., and often joined on to
AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURES AND RAINFALL
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
BERLIN
Max/min (°C)
9/-12
11/-12
17/-7
22/-2
28/2
30/6
32/9
31/8
28/4
21/-1
13/-4
10/-9
Max/min (°F)
48/10
52/10
63/19
72/28
82/36
86/43
90/48
88/46
82/39
70/30
55/25
50/16
Rainfall (mm)
43
38
38
43
56
71
53
66
46
36
51
56
 
 
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