Stores, Malls or Markets in Berlin

A very nice wine store with brands from around the world, as the name of the shop would indicate ("Wine World").

Of course, visiting Germany it's only right that you should be looking at German wines, which in my opinion, are among the world's best white wines.

The fellow in the store can speak English, and was quite knowlegeable on wines.

What to pay: Depending on the vintage, country, etc., you can spend a little or a lot.

I bought a bottle of Saale-Unstrut 2002 Freyburger Schweigenberg Kabinett, a white, for about 10 €. In Canada, I'm sure the same bottle would probably sell at 2-3 times this price.

If you're self-catering here in Berlin one of the cheapest places to do your basic shopping is Lidl.

This is a German (and international) chain of supermarkets and most districts will have a branch.

There's a search box on the German website - where it says "Filiale ändern" - if you put in the 5-digit postcode of your lodgings it'll give you a list of nearby branches.

What to buy: All your basic shopping needs which in my case was: Beer, Coffee, Sausage, Cheese and Bread (all the essentials of life!).

What to pay: Prices are very cheap and if I remember correctly the beers (0.5 l bottles) were about 60 Eurocents each.

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Passing this little shop brought to mind the German word for "brassiere" - "bustenhalter" which is one of those wonderfully functionally self-evident words common to the German language.

The wares piled high in the shop window kind of epitomise the word. Certainly not a "Victoria's Secret" type of display but definitely utilitarian.

The shop also doubles as a fruit and veg merchant and so if you need a handy carrier for your melons...HA!

Shame about the unartistic graffiti though :(

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Just ran into the brand new BLITZ BOUTIQUE right next to the RAMONES MUSEUM. They have a huge selection of rare music shirts, new and vintage: BEASTIE BOYS, THE CLASH, DINOSAUR JR. - you name it. They pretty much have shirts from bands of all genres. I found my new favourite shirt there, an old JOY DIVISION tee from the early 80ies.

What to buy: vintage clothing, music, flea markets, thrift stores

What to pay: 15 - 50 euros

Allthough being the second largest shopping area in Berlin, Steglitz is hardly ever mentioned in the guide books or other tourist information. I have been there a couple of times and it has never been crowded and it is easy to see and hear that there is mainly the local people who shop here.

Schloßstraße is the place to visit. The main shoppingcenters are Forum Steglitz, one of the first shopping malls in Germany and Das Schloss a very new and modern mall. There is also a lot of other shops and malls along the street.

Fine selection of german wines, handmade, often organic grown Riesling cuvées. Really interesting, I don't know, why other wine-shops do not offer more german stuff. Good small choice of Champaign. Very nice and friendly shop-owners. You get every thing from low price to excellent qualities.

What to buy: I am a wine freak!

What to pay: from 5 to lots of Euros!

Close to Gendarmenmarkt there is this chocolate store, any chocoholic's dream. Inside you can admire the Brandenburger Gate in chocolate, only to look at, though,not for sale.

But of course there are lots and lots of different chocolates to buy, from a single, small piece of chocoloate to large boxes.This was a good place to get some gifts, for family and friends at home as well for myself.

They also tell you where the cocoa beans came from and sell chocolate from various countries, something that's called plantation chocolate.

Prices start at 30 cents, up to about 25 Euro.

Most of the Charity Shops that you find in the UK are small retail outlets that follow a similar pattern. During a wet afternoon I decided to give the Humana Shop at Alexanderplatz a try. The shop is huge in comparison to UK Charity shops and is more like a department store. The largest amount of goods on sale is women’s clothing. They are all carefully laid out for inspection on rails with plenty of room to move about. So if you want to kill some time and you like looking in charity shops give one of these shops a try, there is a dozen around Berlin. The shop is 1300 square metres in size with 25,000 items available for sale.

What to buy: Clothing for Women