galeriel friedrichstrasse Travel Tales: Berlin Berlin is afascinating city and a monument of living history. It is home to over 3 millionpeople and is the vibrant and beautiful capital of Germany. There was plenty tosee – from graffiti covered remnants of the Berlin Wall, which came down in1989, to the newly renovated Reichstag.

Visiting Berlin forthe first time, as I was, you’re struck by the architecture and the history.The Reichstag is testament to this. Sitting proudly on the landscape at Platzder Republik 1, (00 49 30 2270), the imposing structure has been transformed byour own eminent architect, Lord Norman Foster. Intended to symbolise a new,democratic Germany, its stroke of genius is to let light into a building famousfor its negative associations. The beautiful dome, or cupola, is well worth avisit. A ramp winds its way up to the top (there is a lift however), where youcan enjoy fabulous views over the city, whilst exclaiming over the beauty ofthis open-aired structure. The dome is open daily from 8am – 10pm and admissionis free. http://www.bundestag.de/. The nearest Subway is Unter den Linden. Ihave restricted mobility and I found that public transport had excellentfacilities for disabled travellers. Over 50 underground and over 100 trainstations are equipped with elevators or ramps, to provide easy access to theplatforms.

Indeed, some transportcompanies offer free or reduced rate transport to disabled passengers and theirescorts.berlin%202 Travel Tales: Berlin

The Wall and the EastSide Gallery on Mühlenstrasse, is the biggest slice of the notorious BerlinWall. This is a section of the Wall that has been painted by artistsinterpreting the events on November 9, 1989, when the Wall came down. Theresult is an open-air gallery containing a host of colourful and imaginativeimages, some satirical and some shocking. In my view, the East Side Gallery isa must for first-time visitors to the city. The barren wasteland whichsurrounds the Wall is oddly fitting and gives you a good idea of how the Wallwould have appeared several decades ago. Admission is free. www.eastsidegallery.com. Thenearest Subway would be Ostbahnhof.

Checkpoint Charlie canbe found at Friedrichstrasse, 43-44, (00 49 30 2537 250) and is open daily.This is a truly remarkable museum, as it is easy to forget the extraordinaryrisks taken by those who wanted to escape communist East Germany.False-bottomed cars, detailed photographs of escape tunnels, and improvisedballoons and aircraft form part of the story of the divided city. CheckpointCharlie was one of the main gateways for crossing between the two halves ofBerlin during the Cold War. Checkpoint Charlie is located at a smallintersection with no stop sign or traffic light so as you’re concentrating ontaking a great photo don’t forget that you are on a city street with plenty oftraffic coming through. Located at the intersection of Friedrichstrasse &Zimmerstrasse, the nearest Subway would be Kochstrasse. www.dailysoft.com/berlinwall/history/checkpoint-charlie.htm.schauspielhaus nachts Travel Tales: Berlin

The city centre ofBerlin is a delight to explore and there are plenty of taxis and taxi stands.The train and bus systems are, as you would expect, superbly efficient, the newbuses have been fitted with a ramps that can be lowered, to permit convenientaccess for wheelchairs. The trams consist of modern trains with a low floor,which also have ramps that can be lowered. An excellent idea that should beintroduced in all countries, is that you can press a special stop button inorder to get on or off the tram, and the conductor will lower a ramp for you.

There are even bicyclerickshaw services in the shopping areas, offering a convenient andenvironmentally friendly way of getting around. But beware, as the experiencecan be bone rattling!

Best for…

EATING

I went to the warm andexceedingly friendly Anheim Restaurant on Friedrichstrasse 134, visavieFriedrichstadtpalast, 10117 Berlin. Tel: +49 30 280 44 700. www.restaurant-anheim.de.

I had Fillet of porkwith slices of vegetables in port wine sauce for 22 € (approx £19) and as youcan see, washed down with a juicy red! Every evening there is a pianist on thegrand piano in the Atrium playing jazz and classic standards that really addedto the ambience.

Opening times: Mon- Sun: 11:30 – 12 midnight. Disabled access.

However, for thattaste of home, the Tea Lounge at The Ritz Carlton on Potsdamer Platz 3 (00 4930 3377 77) serves traditional English tea, complete with scones and Devon cream!Throughout the summer the tea is served in the spacious hotel garden. Or, trythe Dressler Restaurant at Kurfürstendamm, 207-208 (00 49 30 8833 530). This isone of three popular cafés on the ‘sunny side’ of Berlin. Here the pavementsare wide enough to allow tables, so you can sip a Campari and orange and watchthe world go by.sony center innen Travel Tales: Berlin

SLEEPING

I stayed at the MeliaBerlin; it has 20 rooms with wheelchair access, barrier-free access to allareas of the rooms. Door peephole height adjusted for wheelchair users andbarrier-free access to the bathroom and shower. Melia Berlin, Friedrichstraße,103, 10117, Berlin. Tel: +49 (30) 20607900, Email: melia.berlin@solmelia.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Bookingsby telephone (from The UK): 0808 101 4566

DON’T LEAVE WITHOUT…

Tasting

… a sausage, orWürste. There are over 150 different types of German sausage, although Berlin’smost popular sausage is the cürrywurst. This is a pork sausage served with aspecial curry-tomato sauce and is available from most sausage stalls. Peoplesay that cürrywurst is best served with beer, and since Germany also producestop-quality beer, that makes for a delicious combination. Celebrities, such asMadonna and George W. Bush, are known to enjoy them.

Seeing

Potsdam, It is justoutside the city but is definitely a ‘must-see’. Home of the PrussianHohenzollern dynasties, it is a separate city barely half-an-hour out ofcentral Berlin. The big attraction is Sanssouci, Frederick the Great’smagnificent landscaped park surrounding his palace, but there is a lot more tosee, such as the immigrant-built Dutch quarter Cecilienhof, where Stalin,Churchill and Truman conferred over post-war Europe and a 19th-century Russiancolony of timbered houses at the foot of a pearl-like Orthodox chapel.

Potsdam can be easilyreached by train (RE1) or S-Bahn (S7) and is located in zone C, a daily ticketwas DM8.50 for a return and is also valid on all the local trams and buses.

Fact file:

Flights: Direct flights from London, Birmingham andManchester operate several times a day. Tegel Airport in the western part ofBerlin, but the budget airlines usually flies to Schönefeld, to the southeastof the city. Fares vary little throughout the year.Both airports are fully equipped for wheelchair users. Also, the new system ofpublic telephones throughout Berlin is a new lowered design to suit theelderly, children and wheelchair users.

Climate: Berlin’s climate is typical for continentalEurope, and very variable. Go between May and October to experience the cityduring its most reliable weather period.

Currency: Euro (EUR)

Language: The visitor will face no language problems inBerlin as most people speak English (of course, your attempts at a littleGerman will be most appreciated).

• Hello – Hallo
• Goodbye – Auf Wiedersehen
• Please – Bitte
• Thank you – Danke

Time zone: GMT + 1 hour

Web: Website for people with disabilitiestravelling in Berlin: www.visitberlin.de/english/zielgruppen/e_zg_behinderte.php.

Also, an excellenttour company that I’ve used in many cities called Viator: viator.com/search/Potsdam.