Anyone been to BERLIN?

[Ulysees]

I'm hoping to go in December and wondered who'd been? Sounds like a good place to be near at Christmastime?

I lived there for several years! It can get bloody cold in winter, of course, but is lovely around Christmas - big Christmas market/funfair,v loads and loads of shops, culture and events. CAT me if you like for lots more details or any help finding somewhere to stay etc.

Ooo didn't expect a reply today I can imagine it does get very cold but as I'm from North East England and it's very cold here in december,I'm hoping we'll cope ok?

I will CAT you if you don't mind as I'm one of those people who likes to know the ins and outs of a place before I go so that I get as much out of my visit. I'm going with a female friend (escaping kids!) and she's very excited as it'll be her only break.

I lived there for a while, and it can be very, very cold in the winter so bring plenty of warm clothes. The wind chill is worse than the actual air temperature so make sure you have a hat and a scarf that you can wrap over your face. Do you know what part you're staying in? There are some good Christmas markets scattered around.

Oh dear I didn't think it'd be that bad We don't know where to stay yet? I had originally wanted to go to Cologne but then we thought of Berlin. My dh suggested the Oktoberfest in Munich instead for a break but I don't think we'd enjoy that as much?

Cologne is warmer as it's in a bit of a dip and doesn't get the bad winds, Berlin is much more interesting though. I've only been to Cologne once for a weekend (and not near Christmas time) but I didn't think it was very interesting, and my friend who had moved there from Berlin hated it. The temperature in Berlin is likely to be just below freezing during the day, with a wind chill factor about 5 degrees below that, but there are usually a couple of weeks every winter when the temperature drops below -10C and the wind chill brings it down to -20C. You might be unlucky. Taxis are cheap though, and the stalls in Christmas market will shelter you from the wind a bit so you probably wouldn't have to spend that much time in the wind.

We went to stay there soon ater the wall came down so it was still very obvious which was East and West BUT it was a deffo brill city to visit and very very interesting

We were there last weekend, but it was with ds(3.5).

If you are looking for good accommodation try the Intercontinental, sounds expensive but they have good weekend deals on their website and the breakfast is the best buffet I have ever seen.