Zoo & Aquarium
by Netraveller
...are "must see"...
Also take some time to take a tour bus lane for sightseeing Berlin....
choose the one that takes you to 14-15 spots all over town and you can get off the bus take some photos and then take the next one with the same ticket...
The Fastest City Tour Ever - with Tour de France
by Kakapo2
One of my adventures in Berlin I will always remember is the visit of the Tour de France in 1987, to honour the city’s 750th anniversary.
I was there as a reporter and made my first experience in an accompanying car, racing through the city like mad. I covered many Tours in later years but only once it was that crazy. That was when I travelled with Team Telekom’s former sports director Walter Godefroot, right within the peloton, picking up crashed riders, handing out drinks and food for others, racing with one wheel on the road and the other one on the grass verge. Nobody was buckled up, so they could get out of the car fast in the case of emergency LOL You need good nerves at the start but you get used to it during the stage…
Then back in Berlin I was the co-pilot of a photographer of Spiegel magazine, and in the “Car of the Year” we paced around the city’s monuments and attractions – and you can take this literally. When we once drove 90 km/h the policemen of the Garde Républicaine forced us to accelerate, claiming we were too slow right in front of the peloton. Allez, allez! You should know that my driver’s goal was to be the last car in front of the riders, and in Grunewald he succeeded to get our car between seven escapees and the peloton by a brief escape behind some bushes, and overtaking them before Wannsee, stop again in Schöneberg and drive over the finish line right behind the peloton, ahead of the team cars… ;-) And, of course, he also enjoyed to overtake other cars and motorbikes on the left and on the right, and all this heavily promoted by the police LOL
The prologue took place on Kurfürstendamm. The second stage was a team time trial. Then, after a day off, the Tour continued in the south of Germany, rolling from Stuttgart to Karlsruhe, and then into France. Irishman Stephen Roche won the Tour. I think this first stage of the tour was the fastest city tour I have ever made, past all important monuments of West-Berlin. Most lively I remember circling around Siegessäule (Victory Column) at a speed that nearly made me dizzy in the car LOL (Somehow like being thrown around in a hairpin curve on a bobsleigh track...)
Packing List
by oja
See also the following Berlin pages for great descriptions and really original tips:
Berlin by Sabsi
Berlin by Miromi
Berlin by Greentara
Of course, there are many other nice and very useful pages, but these are my favourites!
Doing the happy dance Germany is in the semifinals
by Maria250
Quoting from http://cnn.com/worldcup
Friday, June 30, 2006
BERLIN, Germany -- German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann saved two penalties in the shootout as the host nation reached the World Cup semifinals at the expense of Argentina after a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes in Berlin.
Roberto Ayala, who had put Argentina ahead in the 49th minute, failed with the second kick in the shootout.
With the Germans on target with their first four, it was all over when Lehmann kept out Esteban Cambiasso's effort, giving Germany a 4-2 triumph on spot-kicks.
There were ugly scenes after the shootout with players jostling each other on the pitch.
In the semifinals Germany will face Italy, who embarrassed them 4-1 in a friendly earlier this year.
The Italians beat Ukraine 3-0 in Hamburg...
Paying tribute to Lehmann, Klinsmann added: "We have a very strong belief in Jens Lehmann when it comes to penalties.. Lehmann said: "To win the quarterfinal is fantastic for us. We had super shots (in the penalty shootout). And it's just expected that a German goalkeeper makes the saves."
..Commenting on the quarterfinal defeat he said: "It was a very exciting match. Argentina also played like favorites and gave of their best although they lost.
"The penalties were a consequence of a very even match. It's a shame for Argentina, who played very well today and in the whole championship."
Germany were left with no option but to return to the direct style that is their hallmark under coach Juergen Klinsmann. Ballack shot straight at a defender when the ball broke to him in the 64th minute in what was the best chance for the Germans before the injury to Abbondanzieri.
David Odonkor had come on after an hour and his pace caused Juan Pablo Sorin problems on the Argentina left, especially as the defender had to be cautious, having picked up a booking.
Germany kept pressing and were rewarded when Borowski's excellent header set up Klose to score his fifth goal of the tournament and send an absorbing game into extra time
Spit, sawdust and a liberal dash of tinnitus
by morgenhund about Bastard
We went here with our touring team after a few beers and got free guest passes. The place is similar to B-72 or Chelsea in Vienna - in that it is a spit and sawdust place - i.e. has a very lived in and worn effect. The music is exceptionally loud - or at least the Scandanavian band playing when we went was. The club is very small and cavern-like with retro nuclear bunker style décor. Entrance is EUR 8 or EUR 6 after 12:30 although we blagged free tickets through friends. The crowd seemed more or less morose but that might have been down to the worse-than-average band playing. Drinks were cheap - bottled beers mainly. Nirvana - come as you are!