Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
at
W
berlin.de. One popular chain is Schnell &
Sauber (
W
schnell-u-sauber.de).
who wants to stay in Germany for longer than three
months - including EU citizens - must first
register
their
residence (
Anmeldung
) at a
Bürgeramt
(Citizens'
O
ce). The form for this requires a signature from
your landlord.
Left luggage
There are
24-hour lockers
at both Tegel and Schöne-
feld airports as well as at the Hauptbahnhof, Alexan-
derplatz, Ostbahnhof, Friedrichstrasse, Potsdamer
Platz, Gesundbrunnen, Zoologischer Garten,
Südkreuz and Spandau train stations and the ZOB bus
station. The Hauptbahnhof also has a left-luggage
o
ce. Charges for lockers range around €2-6/day,
but note too that most
hotels and hostels
will hold
guest baggage for the day free of charge.
Lost property
The
Police lost and found
department (
Fundbüro
) is
at Platz der Luftbrücke 6, Tempelhof (Mon, Tues & Fri
9am-2pm, Thurs 1-6pm;
T
030 75 60 31 01; U-Platz
der Luftbrücke). For items lost on
public transport
,
contact the BVG Fundbüro, Potsdamer Str. 182,
Schöneberg (Mon-Thurs 9am-6pm, Fri 9am-2pm;
T
030 194 49; U-Kleistpark).
Tegel
airport's lost
property department can be contacted on
T
030 41
01 23 15; Schönefeld airport's is on
T
030 34 39 75 33.
Living in Berlin
Berlin, a politicized, happening city with a dynamic
arts scene and tolerant attitudes, is a magnet for
young people from Germany and all over Europe,
and has a large English-speaking community.
Numerous
job agencies
offer both temporary
and permanent work - usually secretarial - but
you'll obviously be expected to have a good
command of German. Useful internet sources
include
W
stepstone.de,
W
mamas.de,
W
jobs.de,
W
jobnet.de and
W
monster.de.
Work permits
(
Arbeitserlaubnis
) aren't required
for EU nationals working in Germany, though
everyone else will need one - and, theoretically,
should not even look for a job without one.
Applying for a long-term permit is to enter a world
of complicated and tedious bureaucracy, and it's
essential to seek advice from someone with experi-
ence in the whole process, especially when
completing o
cial forms. The best o
cial place for
advice is the
Auswärtiges Amt
(German Federal
Foreign O
ce;
W
auswaertiges-amt.de), whose
website has the latest information - in English.
For non-EU nationals - North Americans, Austral-
asians and everybody else - finding work legally is
extremely di
cult, unless you've secured the job
before arriving in Germany. The best advice is to
approach the German embassy or consulate in your
own country (see p.29). Citizens of Australia, New
Zealand and Canada aged between 18 and 30 can
apply for a working holiday visa, enabling legal
work in Germany for 90 days in a twelve-month
period: contact German embassies for details.
For long-term
accommodation
, while newspapers
advertise apartments and rooms, it's much quicker
and less traumatic to sign on at one of the several
Mitwohnzentralen
, accommodation agencies that
specialize in long-term sublets in apartments. Anyone
Mail
Post o
ces of
Deutsche Post
(
W
deutschepost.de)
and their unmissable bright yellow postboxes pep up
the streetscape. One of Central Berlin's most conveni-
ently situated
post o
ces
(
Postämt
), with the longest
hours, is at Bahnhof Friedrichstrasse (under the arches
at Georgenstr. 12; Mon-Fri 6am-10pm, Sat & Sun
8am-10pm). Other o
ces (generally Mon-Fri
9am-6pm, Sat 9am-1pm), often have separate parcel
o
ces (marked
Pakete
), a block or so away; and you
can also buy stamps from the small yellow machines
next to some postboxes and at some newsagents.
When posting a letter, make sure you distinguish
between the slots marked for various postal codes.
Boxes marked with a red circle indicate collections
late in the day and on Sunday. Mail to the UK
usually takes three days; to North America one
week; and to Australasia two weeks. A postcard or
letter under 50g costs €0.75 to send worldwide.
Maps
Having a
map
is essential for getting around Berlin;
the city is full of little side streets and its long-
running boulevards tend to change names every
couple of blocks. One comprehensive map is the
convenient and ingeniously folded
Falk Plan
, which
includes a map of the U- and S-Bahn system and an
index of every street in Berlin and Potsdam. It's
available at most bookstores and newsagents. For a
complete account of the public transport system
you should pick the
BVG & S-Bahn Berlin Atlas
, which
has complete listings and timetables for the U- and
S-Bahn systems and bus, tram and ferry routes. It's
available at the larger U-Bahn and S-Bahn stations. If
