I've talked so much about our adventures outside of the city lately (like new favorite Naples), I haven't been giving Berlin it's due.
![]( "Seattle site map")
One of the reasons it's one of the greatest cities in the world is transportation. Much of our problems with life in Seattle revolved around the mundane issues of how to get around. The city is surrounded by water as it is sandwiched between the Puget Sound and Lake Washington (among other bodies of water). Everyone has to funnel through certain areas navigate the crisscrossing bridges. Gorgeous, but also capable of creating fury inducing traffic jams.
And it's not like there is great - or even decent - public transit to rely on. A light rail system is being implemented, and we do have the laughable monorail from the world's fair, but buses are the main mode of public transport. They come in about 20 minute windows (if you're lucky), and are often crowded with the unwashed, the mentally ill, and the clinically dangerous (just check out The Stranger's frequent articles). We laugh (cuz if we didn't we'd cry) about our fancy neighborhood of Queen Anne having a higher crime than our "ghetto" kiez in Wedding.
And going out in Seattle can be a nightmare. When we visited Seattle last Spring, we tried to get a cab with a group of friends in West Seattle at around 11pm and could not flag one down or call for help to save our life (and public transport was far from easily available). We were stranded! In Berlin, by contrast, we've seen more sunrises than the rest of our life put together. There is no need to leave a party because of boring issues like transport. You leave when the party is over...which can reach well past daylight hours.
That is why you choose where you want to live carefully. Seattle's "just over the bridge" can take an hour to get to, and friends in other neighbors may just not get visited as much if they live in an inconvenient area. Friends in Berlin can complain about us living in Wedding, but personally I see no room to have issue as we are literally 15 minutes from Alex(anderplatz).
In Berlin, we walk everywhere, gleefully take to the liberal amounts of public transit (U-Bahn, S-Bahn, Tram & Bus), ride our bikes over (mostly) flat terrain, and even occasionally pick up a lift by plane, train or automobile. We've got options. It's glorious!
If this is where you ended up looking for actual info about Transportation in Berlin, have no fear! Here is some actual info.
If you need more guidance on how to put one foot in font of the other, there are many walking tours of Berlin (SlowBerlin, Berlin Walks, Berlin Free Tour, Brewers Berlin Walking Tours, Sandemans NEW Europe), or even better, a self-walking tour of Berlin's Main Tourist Sites. (Friend riding available upon your social circle)
![Berlin piggyback]( "Ians come up from the U-Bahn")
![Berlin Transportation]( "Berlin BVG Map")
![Berlin park life]( "Berlin bike")
You can get guided bike tours on Berlin Bike among others. The Deutsche Bahn (DB) Call a Bike program (helpfully tested out by Digital Cosmonaut) offers public bicycles throughout the city. These can be unlocked by calling a number on the bicycle with a cellphone, after registering with the service. You can also rent a bike from most bike shops for between 8-12 euro a day. BBBike offers helpful maps & route planners in German & English.
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Orrrrr you can have some amazing friends with a car who will take you to the middle-of-nowhere Tierheim (animal adoption center) and by some of Berlin's tourist sites, like our drive-by of the longest remaining section of the Berlin Wall.
If you do care to take a taxi in Berlin, it's not unfeasible. There are over 7,000 taxis in Berlin and Taxi drivers are known to be fair and less expensive than in many other big European cities. They usually drive cream-colored Mercedes with "Taxi" signs on top. Taxis queue can be found outside larger S- and U-Bahn stops, and can also be hailed from the street at the same rate. Calling a taxi is an option as well; mention to the operator if you want to pay by credit card, as not all taxis have card-reading equipment. Taxi drivers are generally able to speak English.
Taximeters start at 3 euro, with the first 7 kilometers charging the rate of 1.58 euro per kilometer, and then 1.20 euro for every further kilometer. Add a tip of 5-10 percent.
Taxi Companies
City Funk Telephone #21 02 02
Funk Taxi Berlin #26 10 26
Spree Funk #44 33 22
Wuerfel-Funk #0800 222 22 55 (tollfree) or #0177-222 22 77 (for mobile phones)
Quality Taxi #0800 - 26 30000
I still just don't know why you would :)
A trip down to the Spreewald got us real close to the water in a canoe, which the Germs strangely called a Kanadier. Just an hour away, this was a really lovely way to get down with nature.
There is also tour boats in the city. I'm always a bit reluctant to go on tours, but this was an extremely pleasant (and inexpensive at about 7 euor per person) way of spending an afternoon with the visiting father-in-law. Boats can be picked up on the Spree around the Berliner Dom.
![]( "Boat Tour Berlin")
There were three airports, but then Templehof was turned into a spectacular park. There are currently 2 airports with the opening of a main airport embarrassingly delayed until sometime next year.
Tegel - The main international airport, this place is tiny. You can arrive at the door and be at your gate in 10 minutes tops. The only drawback is that Berlin's usually fabulous pubic transport fails you at this airport with the only option being buses which can be packed with travelers & luggage. It is located in the Northwest corner - which is great for us in Wedding.
Schönefeld - Located in the SouthEast, this is the primary discount/intercontinental airport. It is also surprisingly accessible for an airport in the capitol of Germany with decent links to S-bahn, train, bus, etc. Thought the distance from the S-Bahn platform is a long run (see above about arriving to airports late).
So there you go, how to get around one of the most fabulous cities in the world. For more tips on the city including more detailed info on Berlin Transport, the EasyExpat Guide to Berlin.
And it's not like there is great - or even decent - public transit to rely on. A light rail system is being implemented, and we do have the laughable monorail from the world's fair, but buses are the main mode of public transport. They come in about 20 minute windows (if you're lucky), and are often crowded with the unwashed, the mentally ill, and the clinically dangerous (just check out The Stranger's frequent articles). We laugh (cuz if we didn't we'd cry) about our fancy neighborhood of Queen Anne having a higher crime than our "ghetto" kiez in Wedding.
And going out in Seattle can be a nightmare. When we visited Seattle last Spring, we tried to get a cab with a group of friends in West Seattle at around 11pm and could not flag one down or call for help to save our life (and public transport was far from easily available). We were stranded! In Berlin, by contrast, we've seen more sunrises than the rest of our life put together. There is no need to leave a party because of boring issues like transport. You leave when the party is over...which can reach well past daylight hours.
That is why you choose where you want to live carefully. Seattle's "just over the bridge" can take an hour to get to, and friends in other neighbors may just not get visited as much if they live in an inconvenient area. Friends in Berlin can complain about us living in Wedding, but personally I see no room to have issue as we are literally 15 minutes from Alex(anderplatz).
In Berlin, we walk everywhere, gleefully take to the liberal amounts of public transit (U-Bahn, S-Bahn, Tram & Bus), ride our bikes over (mostly) flat terrain, and even occasionally pick up a lift by plane, train or automobile. We've got options. It's glorious!
If this is where you ended up looking for actual info about Transportation in Berlin, have no fear! Here is some actual info.
By Foot:
The city is surprisingly vast & there is no way to walk all the places you should go, but walking is one of the best ways to get to know any city. Every time family our friends visit from the USA we warn them that marathon walks and Ian's patented death march are sure to occur.If you need more guidance on how to put one foot in font of the other, there are many walking tours of Berlin (SlowBerlin, Berlin Walks, Berlin Free Tour, Brewers Berlin Walking Tours, Sandemans NEW Europe), or even better, a self-walking tour of Berlin's Main Tourist Sites. (Friend riding available upon your social circle)
By Public Transport:
We are in a hate/love relationship with the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe, BVG. It runs the extensive public transport system. That includes:- U-Bahn - subway/metro
- S-Bahn - Overground Train, this is the fastest way to traverse the city. The Ringbahn circles the majority of the city with lines interconnecting through the center and extending out
- Buses - Mostly in the west, help connect betwen U-Bahn/S-Bahn points. The slowest way to move about the city
- Tram (Straßenbahn) - Mostly in the east, one of the slower ways to travel, but can really have a party atmosphere like the M10 party tram
- Ferries
- Standard tickets (€ 2.40 for A and B) - There is no need for most people to get a ticket covering zone c unless you are heading out to something specific like Potsdam. One ticket is valid for any travel within two hours of validation, in a single direction. There is no limit to transfers.
- Kurzstrecke - (€1.40) For a single journey you can buy a cheap Kurzstrecke, but this is only valid for 3 stops on the U-Bahn or S-Bahn (six stops by bus or tram); no transfers are permitted.
- AB Tageskarte (day card): € 6.50, ABC Tageskarte (incl. Potsdam): € 7.00.
- 4 Fahrten Karte (4 single trips AB bought at once for a reduced price) € 8.40 - we purchase this most often
- AB 7-Tage-Karte (7-Day-Ticket): € 28.00, ABC 7-Tage-Karte (incl. Potsdam): € 34.60 - Again, no need to buy C. Buy an extension if you are heading out there.
- Berlin CityTourCard (48 hrs, tariff zone AB € 16.90 / 72 hrs, tariff zone AB € 22.90 / 5 days, tariff zone AB € 29.90) - ticket valid for all public transport services in Berlin, Potsdam and the surrounding area and a discount card for many tourist attractions. Make sure you need the discounts (if you want to go to many museums), otherwise buy a straight transport pass.
What's transport look like? Here is a seriously empty S-Bahn:
By Bike:
Seattle's hills and narrow streets never had us interested in biking. But when we arrived in Berlin, we saw bikers of every size, hipness, and age. Ineptly, amateurly, and enthusiastically we took to the streets and many bicycle paths (Radwege) in Life by Bike.
You can get guided bike tours on Berlin Bike among others. The Deutsche Bahn (DB) Call a Bike program (helpfully tested out by Digital Cosmonaut) offers public bicycles throughout the city. These can be unlocked by calling a number on the bicycle with a cellphone, after registering with the service. You can also rent a bike from most bike shops for between 8-12 euro a day. BBBike offers helpful maps & route planners in German & English.
By Train:
Like many Americans that come to Europe, the wonders of train travel have opened our eyes. However, Germany's train travel can be quite expensive if you don't book early. A Bahncard can help negate some of that high cost, but is only beneficial if you travel by rail somewhat frequently. We still love to take the train when we can. Deutsche Bahn offers a comprehensive site for not only German, but much of Europe (often better than the country's site). However, they don't always offer prices. For this, I prefer the mitfahrgelegenheit.de site. |
| Arriving in Europe 2007 |
By Car:
Though it's not necessary to have a car in Berlin and many people (not just cheapskates like us) get by just fine, it is a wonderful asset and can help you reach places on the outskirts of town or different cities much easier than public transport. Your best option for hitching a ride is the site mitfahrgelegenheit.de. It offers the ability to pick up rides from people going your way, or offer rides to other travelers for a fee. The site is also surprisingly useful for showing you other transportation options and prices. It is fairly inexpensive, although there can be issues with people running these routes as a business and last minute cancellations.Orrrrr you can have some amazing friends with a car who will take you to the middle-of-nowhere Tierheim (animal adoption center) and by some of Berlin's tourist sites, like our drive-by of the longest remaining section of the Berlin Wall.
By Taxi:
We don't travel by Taxi. Seriously. I am skeptical of anything that costs money and have rarely seen the value of convenience over cash in my pocket. You could call it budget travel, but it is really just being cheap. I am slowly elevating my iron fist on our finances (much to Ian's relief), but haven't submitted in this arena.If you do care to take a taxi in Berlin, it's not unfeasible. There are over 7,000 taxis in Berlin and Taxi drivers are known to be fair and less expensive than in many other big European cities. They usually drive cream-colored Mercedes with "Taxi" signs on top. Taxis queue can be found outside larger S- and U-Bahn stops, and can also be hailed from the street at the same rate. Calling a taxi is an option as well; mention to the operator if you want to pay by credit card, as not all taxis have card-reading equipment. Taxi drivers are generally able to speak English.
Taximeters start at 3 euro, with the first 7 kilometers charging the rate of 1.58 euro per kilometer, and then 1.20 euro for every further kilometer. Add a tip of 5-10 percent.
Taxi Companies
City Funk Telephone #21 02 02
Funk Taxi Berlin #26 10 26
Spree Funk #44 33 22
Wuerfel-Funk #0800 222 22 55 (tollfree) or #0177-222 22 77 (for mobile phones)
Quality Taxi #0800 - 26 30000
I still just don't know why you would :)
 |
| NYC cab |
By Boat:
Berlin is crisscrossed by waterways and spotted with lakes. The city actually has more bridges than Venice. That means there are some really lovely boat rides I know there are some actual transportation options by water (http://www.bvg.de/index.php/de/3722/name/Faehre.html), but I've only engaged with water for pleasure.A trip down to the Spreewald got us real close to the water in a canoe, which the Germs strangely called a Kanadier. Just an hour away, this was a really lovely way to get down with nature.
 |
| Canoing in Spreewald |
By Plane:
Don't do like we do and arrive at airports late! (But in Berlin's charmingly small airports you can).There were three airports, but then Templehof was turned into a spectacular park. There are currently 2 airports with the opening of a main airport embarrassingly delayed until sometime next year.
Tegel - The main international airport, this place is tiny. You can arrive at the door and be at your gate in 10 minutes tops. The only drawback is that Berlin's usually fabulous pubic transport fails you at this airport with the only option being buses which can be packed with travelers & luggage. It is located in the Northwest corner - which is great for us in Wedding.
Schönefeld - Located in the SouthEast, this is the primary discount/intercontinental airport. It is also surprisingly accessible for an airport in the capitol of Germany with decent links to S-bahn, train, bus, etc. Thought the distance from the S-Bahn platform is a long run (see above about arriving to airports late).
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So there you go, how to get around one of the most fabulous cities in the world. For more tips on the city including more detailed info on Berlin Transport, the EasyExpat Guide to Berlin.