Added: 01/12/2006 |
Travel to Berlin for a hip-hopper or a regular weekend spenderBerlin has always been a fantastic city to soak up cutting-edge theatre, innovative dance and stunningly good music from jazz to opera to folk. The arts scene has had a reputation for being vibrant and incredibly important to Berliners as well as to those who travel to Berlin for new culture experience.
The classical music scene is world-renowned and the presence of foreign conductors and artists such as Sir Simon Rattle and Daniel Barenboim in its most high-profile institutions has given the Berlin arts scene even more international acclaim. Some rich music lovers travel to Berlin specially to see performances of the world-renowned artists. Berlin has always been home to talented playwriters and plays performed in various theatres are guaranteed to be inventive and entertaining.
The jazz scene in the city is large and ranges from the JazzFest to small gigs or jamming sessions, all of which normally stick to the more traditional sides of things. This is also a city which attracts top names in pop and rock so all the big tours such as U2, Kylie and Supertramp will always stop here.
During their travel to Berlin visitors from outside of Europe will find it quaint that the city has no long-haul links, so passengers from North America and Australasia still have to change planes in Copenhagen, Frankfurt or London. Europeans, however, are now very well served with a multitude of different airlines flying into three city airports, an ever-faster rail service and good coach links.
You can be assured that your travel to Berlin will be comfortable since public transport within Berlin is superb, as much in the city centre as in the distant suburbs. Trams with two coaches and double-decker buses cope well even with rush-hour traffic. The over- and underground train services remain of course immune to traffic elsewhere. The network is increasing all the time, leaving little need for taxis or private cars, both of which exist in abundance.
Berlin offers all the different types of shopping you could ask for, from swanky, chic stores like KaDeWe to second-hand holes where you pay by the weight of your clothes. You will also find young designer jewelers, antiquated A highly elegant department store without being too exclusive. The airy, glass design of the building from the architect Jean Nouvel makes shopping here a quite pleasant experience. The food hall is well worth a visit.
The club scene is much bigger than just the out- dated stereotype of Germans and techno. There are amazing venues attracting top performers, be it LTJ Bukem at Club Casino or Bob Dylan at the Columbia Halle; whatever you're into, you're sure to find it in Berlin. Bars usually open at 2200 and then close when the last guest leaves. Take this as a rule during your Berlin trip unless otherwise specified.
Berlin is also host to Geheimtip parties. These 'secret tip' parties are a part of the Berlin East-side nightlife. You have to be in the know, which normally means residency or the right people, but if you are lucky you might discover the venues for favorites, such as the Mittwochclub, every Wednesday. Sometimes the venue is only known moments before party time. Regular features of geheim- tips are climbing down trap doors into the depths of Berlin, dancing to electric funk and salsa DJs, fussball tables, long drinks, absinthe and emerging back onto the streets as the sun is well past risen.
This amazing city will embrace anyone be it a serious arts lover, young hip-hopper or just a regular weekend spender.
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