Things to in Berlin when you're there

I'm going the last weekend of the film festival. Has anyone been for that? Any tips on how to get the most out of it? I am not with film people or press and will not have any kind of special access, so I'm just going to public screenings.

Tickets for Killer Inside Me and Howl so far.

loving the ideas in this thread.

goin to berlin for a few days. Was thinking about staying here for a day or two because it looks bonkers. But I don't know how far Wilmersdorf is from the action. I know its more of a residential are, but would this be like staying in the middle of nowhere or are subways and bike rides easy enough to get you to fun/touristy bullshit with swiftness and ease?

I didn't spend time in that neighborhood, but it doesn't look like the middle of nowhere at all. Subways are extraordinarily easy and biking wouldn't be bad at all if you're healthy. You could probably bike to a lot of the museums and tourist in 10-15 minutes from there and maybe 20-30 minutes to the eastern neighborhoods. I could be off - I'm not a serious biker. But bike lanes on main routes offset from the road so it feels very easy and safe to bike there.

It's not miles out but it's kind of removed from where a lot of the fun stuff is - there are probably better places to be and I liked the east side of Berlin a lot more than the west, which felt a bit dull in comparison.

I'd recommend staying in the bit of Prenzlauerberg that is nearest to Mitte - it'll be awesome in the summer with all the big street cafes and bars, and you can walk to most of the touristy bits with ease.

Yeah, we're doing Prenzlauerberg for the bulk of the trip but then there's an extra two days where we need to stay somewhere else!

So basically, where should we stay for those extra two days?

France

i hear there's a place in france where the naked ladies dance, is that true

Also, I remember playing a place in Amsterdam in 2007 and remember seeing your tag in the dressing room, iirc. Don't know why I never mentioned that.

ha! the most kvlt tag I did is in munich and doesn't reference me but grinnell hardcore ("harder than some")

Yeah actually I regretted most not staying in a more attractive/happening neighborhood, so maybe you should do so. Why not just stay the extra couple of days in P-berg? It's fairly central and you can get everywhere from there.

stay somewhere by the canal in kreuzberg

The thing with Berlin is, it's a heavily decentralized city, where you should stay depends on what sort of things you want to do. The actual "central" area, around Alexanderplats and Unter den Linden, has some touristy things but otherwise there's not much to do there. Among the cooler, more multicultural areas with clubs, pubs, record stores, flea markets, etc, are Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain, and Prenzlauer Berg. So if you want that sort of action, Wilmersdorf is a bit far for there, and the U7 subway that stops near the hotel doesn't get you straight to the those areas either, you have to change subways at least once. But of course if you have time to ride the trains it's not that big of a hassle, you should get to most places worth a visit in 20-60 minutes.

When are you going to Berlin, Whiney? I'm traveling in Germany next month, most likely I'll be in Berlin from 15th to 18th of August.

In Berlin in just under two weeks! Fingers crossed they'll let us colonial types into Panoramabar/Watergate/etc for the Smalltown Supersound/Kompakt nights.

If you're going to Berghain/Panoramabar, be prepared to walk for a bit. It's technically in Friedrichshain, but it's in the middle of an old industrial area that's not near any public transport or anything. When we went there a few years ago, at some point we thought we're lost, as there was just this empty industrial lot with no lights or anything, but then we saw cars driving into the same direction we were heading, so we knew something was there.

Also, at the door they did a body search for everyone, which is quite rare in Germany, I think. Dunno if they'd had some problems with guns or knives or something... AFAIK Berlin is generally pretty safe for a city of that size.

Or maybe they do a body search in the bigger clubs, I dunno. That's the only time I've been to a club of that size in Berlin.

Claire Danes: Actress Discusses Berlin Techno Music Scene on 'Ellen'
Danes discusses her experience in a large multi-room club called Berghain, saying "it is amazing, it is the best place on earth."

wish i met claire daines in berghain, preferably while off my trolley on e and having a recuperating ice cream with ron trent playing and her also having an ice cream. entirely non-sexual wish.