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Berlin

Booking holiday apartments or houses in Berlin must surely, if you've got several days to spare, be the best way to get to grip with the city. Of all the must-see cities in Europe, Berlin keeps bouncing up to the top of the list. Though it can't bounce too far, as architects have to observe strict height restrictions. This is to prevent sparkling high rise hotels and offices putting icons such as the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag into the shade.

Talk about 'the city that never sleeps': Berlin knocks spots off New York. It's been at the sharp end of Europe for much of the last hundred years, and if some of the historic best needs seeking out among all the shiny glass and steel that's all part of the fun.

This year brings an extra element to visiting Berlin. It's the 20th anniversary of the breaching of the Berlin Wall, and a great time to get a fix on why Berlin has fascinated much of the world for decades.

The German National Tourist Board has put together for 2009 a list of must-sees associated with the dramatic ending of the Cold War.

These will surely appeal to anybody with a sense of history, and include a tour of the fascinating 'Forbidden City', in Potsdam - a town of great charm and beauty in its own right to the south west of Berlin proper. For decades shrouded in mystery and speculation, that leafy no-go settlement is a former KGB enclave, where Vladimir Putin stayed while based in the 'German Democratic Republic'. It's close to the Cecilienhof Hotel, where the victorious powers held the Potsdam Conference just a few weeks after the end of the Second World War to divide up much of the the mainland of Europe. Shortly after that the Iron Curtain came down and precipitated the Cold War. If walls could speak! It's a fascinating pseudo-baronial mansion, inspired by the sort of English country house so much admired by 'Kaiser Bill', who was Queen Victoria's first grandchild.

The Cold War wind never blew colder than on Potsdam's Glienicke Bridge. It's not just something dreamt up by John le Carré: this really IS where Cold War spies were exchanged. You can stroll across it now, but it's still up there among symbols of the 45-year long division with the Wall itself. Dark glasses, a turned-up collar and a copy of Marx's 'Das Kapital' under your arm are not obligatory, but may get you an approving nod from passers-by in the know.

We know Berlin and especially 'east Berlin' quite well, but there's one outing we have yet to make. That is to the former compound called Wandlitz, where the East German leaders lived. Not in great splendour, it has to be said, but in a style more reminiscent of Ideal Home magazine from the 1960s than sybaritic luxury. They had their own Western-style shops, but not much of a social life. It seems the Politburo were so suspicious of each other that a glass of schnapps and a slice of plum cake in each others' kitchens was a rarity.

There's now even a rare chance to experience a bit of 'real' East German living. See our notes about the Ostel, below.

One East German icon has become surprisingly elusive. This is the 'Trabbi', which is short for the home-grown car called the Trabant. You can take a ride in one that has, however, been adapted to modern emissions standards - a bit of a contradiction in terms.

Among Trabbi jokes is an old favourite. 'How do you double a Trabbi's value? By filling the tank with petrol.' We prefer the one about the quality of the bodywork, and especially the insulation: 'They used to put a live cat in the boot. If it was still there after a week, the car was ready for the road.'

Don't be too taken aback if you discover a middle-aged couple in a corner of one of the little pubs you can still find in Prenzlauer Berg, a now-stylish inner suburb of east Berlin who express nostalgia for 'the old days'. They might tell you 'We had a lot to complain about. But there were good things too. Lots of people think the West threw the baby out with the bath water'.

There were certainly elements of black humour. People over 50 remember the time when certain East German postage stamps bore the head of the humorless martinet Walter Ulbricht. ('Why did our stamps stick so well? It's because we spat on them before we licked them.')

Holiday Houses and Apartments in Berlin

Among holiday houses and apartments in Berlin to consider are the following: several, but not all, are in east Berlin.

One of our favourite sources of information about self catering in Berlin is:
www.travel-library.com/apartments/europe/germany/berlin/

	Apartment 27 From 50 EUR per day - Up to 4 people A bright, spacious apartment in the heart of Kreuzberg, with a balcony and spectacular views of Berlin.
	A generously and comfortably furnished three room apartment in the heart of Charlottenburg From 69 EUR per day - Up to 5 people There are two bedrooms, each with a double-bed, a living room, an office with a desk, a bathroom, a kitchen and more.
	Lucky 7 Studio Apartment From 79 EUR per day - Up to 2 people A studio apartment in bold high-design, tranquil but central - near trendy Prenzlauer Berg. Competitively piced. Includes heating, computer with internet, modern designer layout. Three nights minimum.
	Volkspark 23 From 70 EUR per day - Up to 3 people (ie 2 adults, one child) An elegant park studio apartment in Prenzlauer Berg, near the Volskpark in Friedrichshain. A spacious modern pad with a balcony, a large kitchen, full bath, heating and cable TV.
	'Central Luxury' Berlin From 75 EUR /Day - Up to 6 people Right in the middle of Berlin's bustling centre, between the iconic Gedaechtnis (UMLAUT) Church and major shopping districts, surrounded by cafes.
	Checkpoint Charlie Apartment From 105 EUR per day - Up to 6 people A spacious Berlin apartment with interesting period features, on the old Berlin wall divide at Checkpoint Charlie. Fully equipped. There's a balcony, laundry facilities, a computer with internet access. Three nights minimum.
	Oranienburger Strasse From 60 EUR per day - Up to 8 people Recently refurbished, a superb value apartment in one of the city's most desirable locations: at the junction of Friedrichstrasse and Oranienburgerstrasse.
	Apartment Berlin Mitte, Heinrich Heine Platz From 60 EUR per day - Up to 6 people A two-room apartment in Berlin-Mitte, right in the centre of Berlin, near Kreuzberg. Just five minutes from Oranienstrasse) and Friedrichshain.
	City Apartment Checkpoint Charlie From 59 EUR per day - Up to 4 people A fully-equipped apartment in the historic heart, in the Mitte district between Potsdamer Platz and Checkpoint Charlie. Only a short walk from Friedrichstrasse, it's well connected to public transport.
	Luxus Appartment in Berlin am KaDeWe From 80 EUR per day - Up to 7 people A 3-room Apartment in Berlin City West near the department store Kaufhaus des Westens better known as 'KaDeWe' and Ku'damm. All rooms are reconstructed in 2008. A fine place to enjoy the city of Berlin in a luxury property.
	Apartment 20 From 80 EUR per Day - Up to 3 people A modern apartment, luxury kitchen and bathroom on the 2nd floor, located in the possibly the best central location of west Berlin, called Schoeneberg, only a few steps from Ka De.We, close to Zoo station.
	Apartment 11 From 80 EUR per day - Up to 3 people 36sqm, modern apartment, kitchen and bathroom. 2nd floor with an elevator. located in Schoeneberg, only a few steps from Ka De We, Kurfuerstendamm.
	Apartment 21 From 80 EUR /Day - Up to 3 people 43 sqm, new modern apartment, luxury kitchen and bathroom. located in the best central west Berlin (Schoeneberg quarter),few steps from Ka De We and Kurfuerstendamm. Minimum 7 days.
	Pfaltzburgerstr From 80 EUR per day - Up to 3 people A new two-room modern apartment, on the 6th floor and with an elevator; luxury kitchen and bathroom, balcony. Location: a small quiet street in Wilmersdorf/Schoeneberg. Minimum booking - 7 days.

Hotels too...

Though we mainly deal with holiday houses and apartments (for more than, say, three days in Berlin you're probably better off with self catering accommodation) we do like a good hotel. In Potsdam, aside from the glorious Cecilienhof we've had coffee and cakes but not stayed in the modern Dorint Hotel. We like that especially because it's just an easy stroll from the old town and the Sans-Souci Palace, the main residence of Frederick the Great that manages to be both imposing and intimate at the same time.

Spoil yourself...

At the upper level in Berlin itself we are fond of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, on Marlene Dietrich Platz. When the city was divided by the Berlin Wall what's now all shiny glass and steel was at the heart of an eerie no-man's-land. Though the hotel is indeed 'grand', it has some surprisingly competitive prices, as long as you avoid major festivals and conferences.

A late night bar with - last time we were there - a fine jazz pianist. The breakfast is famously excellent. On one previous visit we were disappointed to find that at the hot buffet there was none of our favourite Bratkartoffeln (fried potatoes) available. Unprompted, they offered to cook us some from scratch: it was worth the wait. That sort of thing is a sure sign of a well motivated team.

Even in a city that is as well spaced out and uncramped as Berlin it's a pleasure on a hot or rainy day to saunter into this haven of calm and quiet.

There's also a Dorint Hotel close to Berlin's two airports: Shoenefeld and Tegel. We haven't seen these but a colleague who uses the latter, Adlershof, reports 'It's much more than an airport hotel. We've got to know the old suburb of Köpenick, with its historic Old Town, the castle and the many original Berlin pubs and restaurants. That's well worth a visit in its own right. A bonus is that you rely on a breath of fresh air of the water at Mugelsee.

If you want something of the old East German experience, consider the Ostel. Newly built, though in a style not unlike what some East Berliners were used to, it's probably as close to being authentic as you'll get (even, as some jaded travellers to 'the old east' have pointed out, down to 'paper thin walls'). The no-frills hotel tries to reproduces the atmosphere of 'The Old Regime'. This includes stern photos of Politburo members at reception and in some cases over the bed.