GERMANY - Best of Europe 2014 - page 652

▲ Berlin Wall Memorial A “docu-center” with videos and displays, several outdoor
exhibits, and lone surviving stretch of an intact Wall section. Hours: Visitor Center
April-OctTue-Sun9:30-19:00,Nov-Marchuntil18:00,closedMon;outdoorareasac-
cessible 24 hours daily. See here .
▲ PotsdamerPlatz The“TimesSquare”ofoldBerlin,longapostwarwasteland,now
rebuilt with huge glass skyscrapers, an underground train station, and—covered with
a huge canopy—the Sony Center mall. Hours: Always open. See here .
▲ Deutsche Kinemathek Film and TV Museum An entertaining look at German
film and TV, from Metropolis to Dietrich to Nazi propaganda to the present day.
Hours: Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, Thu until 20:00, closed Mon. See here .
▲ KaiserWilhelmMemorialChurch Evocative destroyedchurchintheheartofthe
former West Berlin, with a modern annex. Hours: Church—daily 9:00-19:00; Me-
morialHallinthebombedtower—Mon-Sat10:00-18:00,shorterhoursSun.See here .
▲ Käthe Kollwitz Museum The black-and-white art of the Berlin artist who con-
veyed the suffering of her city's stormiest century. Hours: Daily 11:00-18:00. See
here .
Sandeman's New Europe Berlin “Free” Tours
You'll see this company advertising supposedly “free” introductory tours, plus paid itiner-
aries similar to those offered by competitors. But Sandeman's tours aren't really free—just
misleading. Guides for the “free” tours pay the company a cut of €3 per person, so they
hustle for tips. They expect to be “tipped in paper” (i.e., €5 minimum tip per person). This
businessmodelleadstohighguideturnover,meaningthattheguidesare,overall,lessexper-
ienced (though some are quite entertaining). They offer the standard Berlin itineraries, but
target a younger crowd. Basic introductory city walks leave daily at 9:00, 11:00, 13:00, and
16:00 from outside the Starbucks on Pariser Platz, near the Brandenburg Gate. Paid tours
include a wildly popular €12 pub crawl (nightly; for more info, see here ) and an excellent
Alternative Berlin tour, which explores Berlin's gritty counterculture, squats, and urban life
(€12, daily at 14:00; tel. [phone], www.newberlintours.com ) .
Berlin Underground Association (Berliner Unterwelten Verein)
Much of Berlin's history lies beneath the surface, and this group has an exclusive agreement
with the city to explore and research what is hidden underground. Their one-of-a-kind Dark
Worlds tour of a WWII air-raid bunker features a chilling explanation of the air war over
Berlin (Wed-Mon at 11:00, also Mon at 13:00; Dec-Feb no tours on Wed). The From Flak