But is Berlin is the best capital?

[fourhundredandten]

I have been blown away by the laid back artistic vibe, the efficiency and good value of the public transport (does anyone know - do if most travellers have tickets as have yet to see any inspections/control measures), the great food and the excellent coffee. There are lots of little affordable independent shops and the kind of cute or ethical or creative spaces that have long been priced out of our (country?) cities.

I was in a random city centre cafe and the man left to me left his bag and laptop and went to the toilet. I could see his wallet! He sauntered back eventually and I couldn’t remember when I would have been able to do that. I bought a good bottle of whisky from a supermarket and couldn’t find the tag - because there wasn’t one. My city centre is the Wild West compared to here and while I have seen some homelessness there have been very few and compared to the people by me they look either much better supported or far less advanced in addiction.

Bikes everywhere and cars super observant of the wheels and pedestrians. I would move here tomorrow if I could. AIBU to think this is the best city or this holiday vision?

@dynamiccactus I absolutely loved Rome ! It was packed but beautiful weather, great food, never seen anywhere like it ‘sights’ wise , ( although the acropolis in Athens is spectacular too) - I loved the funky area across the river- not sure I would take kids but as a mid 50s couple ( this was 8 years ago ) totally loved it , great vibe- we must go back - yes as I mentioned about living in Copenhagen - I do miss it , it’s not huge on sights , and is a real mix of modern architecture and old town , but the coast is great, it has white sand beaches and is a terrific lifestyle ‘at a price’

@Reginaesalve yes i was grumpy. Its not bad but I've had better trips.

I'm currently in the airport waiting to go home. Berlin not on my list to return. I will however go elsewhere in Germany.

It's an odd city. The section near museum island with the TV tower rising in the background is nice. Around Brandenburg Gate would be nicer if it hadn't been raining. The memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe would also have benefitted from not being viewed in the rain. Looking out over the city today as we headed out on the train it looked cool.

It can't be the weather. I was in Cologne in the cold and the rain and I loved it. Ditto Prague. I often do a European city break in October and you can't let the weather ruin it.

Today was lovely day and I was glad I saw the east side gallery. I'm sad I missed the victory column. I would have liked to do the U2 tour of the city.

Art-wise I didn't get to see any. Maybe what ruined my trip. Usually I can get my dc to go to one gallery. Ideally I'd have toured a few galleries with DH to get something for home but not great doing that with the dc.

The homeless problem no different to my home city. Same with graffiti.

I think its just not a great place in the winter with phone addicted tweens and teens. Trying to get them to appreciate the significance of the place was frustrating. I thought they'd be more interested in the WW2 history but nope!

Ugh unappreciative teens on holiday sounds dreary, been there and done that. Hopefully your flight won't be delayed and you enjoy being home when you get back. Out of all the places in Berlin, I like the airport the least, boring with nothing whatsoever to do.

It has a lot going for it and I highly recommend anyone who hasn't been to go there for a break. Great nightlife, superb public transport, some world class museums and I was pleasantly surprised how ethnically diverse the city centre is, but the centre is too big for me.

It's all subjective and this is from the lens of a visitor, but for me no capital city I've been to tops Rome. I also love being in Prague.

I've been to a few cities in the EU..not a lot. But damn I wish we never left

Not been to Berlin since 1989. Was there the week before the wall came down. Went through checkpoint Charlie to east Berlin. Would love to go back and see the difference.

@OnlyOnAFriday what a time to be there!

@ZenNudist ha the joys of grumpy tweens- I have those too. Mine will probably bond at some point over their dislike of their mother reading every notice board!

I do like European capitals but not been to Tokyo - it’s on my list for next year. Think I will love that too!

I think London struggles in comparison with many but I don’t like proper cold so win some lose some…

You omit Hamburg, my favourite German city. The centre is so walkable and it's the best Christmas market city I've been to and I've been to quite a few.

@fourhundredandten ooh I disagree about London - actually the more I see others the more I can see London is impressive if you keep out shit areas!!

We went a few times when the wall was up, on one occasion we'd forgotten youngest child's hat so had to buy one there and it was b- expensive. We were on one of the platforms looking across no man's land to the Russians and she threw her hat off the tower. OH told she would have to go and get it, into this dangerous area, the Russian soldiers were laughing their heads off waving at her to go and giving a thumbs up!
Years later we went when the wall was gone and as we walked by the Brandenburg gate into the 'East' I burst into tears.

I lived in Berlin for 5 years and while there was lots to love about it, living there is nothing like visiting. The bureaucracy, the unnecessary aggro, the grim history, the racism, it's all there beneath the quirky bars and boutiques. The massive gentrification is depressing. The schools are terrible! It's a great city but easy to romanticise from visits.

We moved back to London which to me is absolutely the best European capital to live in (vs just visiting)

I would rank London highly too - provided you can live in a better area- same when we lived in Copenhagen -

I don't know, we live in a fairly average part of Zone 3 London and I still prefer it to living in Mitte. Though Mitte was very nice! London is just more interesting to me and people are so much more chill.

@dreamingbohemian I can totally see that - I would pick London over Berlin myself

I love Berlin, but it’s a long time since I have been. I love most places tbh, favourites for cleanliness are usually Scandinavian.

I love a lot of Germany but I didn't like Berlin at all. We went to Cologne in the spring, which was glorious.

Singapore for somewhere you can truly leave your wallet to reserve the table.

In my opinion Berlin is one of my least favourite German cities, I prefer Munich and Nuremberg. Even Frankfurt.

I want to go just to go out for a drink
https://youtube.com/shorts/l_tvrjEyxug?si=FU6Upu1JxO7Q6Z3P

Bonn is very lovely too just up the road - Düsseldorf too for great shopping

Well I am home now (and waited longer for the shuttle bus at the airport than I did for any German train:) but just read through these posts again - turns out I will be back just after May as am accompanying a friend on a mini break so will give me a chance to do the things I ran out of time for. I definitely love being on holiday but definitely loved Berlin in particular. Nuremberg was mentioned above and I do like that too but nowhere near as much - it can have an honourable mention for the playmobile museum. I do want to go to Tokyo and