Berlin... a great discovery!

I won't go on too long so as not to bore you. Flight Bergamo - Berlin Ryanair 115 Euro each, booking at the Kima hotel practically on Kurfursten Strasse, the most popular shopping street, a hotel convenient both for the underground and for all the buses that lead to the various centres of the city. Cost 69 Euro per room per night with breakfast included. Arriving at Schonefeld airport, if you're staying 2-3 days it's worth going straight to the information point to get the "Berlin card" which costs 16.50 euros for 48 hours or 22 for 72 hours and entitles you to use all the city's public transport in zones A-B of the city and to many discounts in museums, cafes, restaurants and various attractions. If you also want to include zone C of the city the cost becomes 18.50 for 48 hours or 25 for 72 hours.

Coming out of the airport you can immediately take bus 171 on your left, which goes to the first metro stop of Rudow from which you can go to the area of the city where you'll choose to book your hotel, or you can take the overground metro which goes from the airport directly into the centre and at Alexander Platz change for the area you want. The area where we were is at Kurfursten Damm (the most exclusive shopping street), from here you can take buses no.

109-110-X10 which take you in front of the Zoo garten, from which you can take buses 100 and 200 which stop in all the most touristy areas of the city, you could say that if you stay on board it's like taking the Sightseeing Bus without however having to pay the 15-18 euros for the tourist tour! The buses are very punctual, they stop every 10 minutes and cover the whole city, they're a very valid alternative to the metro also because you can see the city and live like a Berliner. In 3 days we saw so many things, also accompanied by sunny weather although colder than in Italy.

Absolutely not to be missed: GEDACHTNISKIRCHE (a beautiful church bombed during World War II next to which the new, very modern church has been built, at night it's wonderful), GROBER STERN (the obelisk with the golden angel), BERLINER DOM (the basilica nearby on the Spree) HAUS DER CULTUREN (the House of Culture in a very modern style), SCHLOSS BELLEVUE (the palace of the president of the republic), REICHSTAG/BUNDESTAG (the parliament), THE BRANDENBURG GATE, BODE MUSEUM (on the Spree), THE SYNAGOGUE (500 m. from the Bode Museum), ALEXANDR PLATZ (with the TV tower and the clock), POTZDAMER PLATZ (the square of modern buildings), OBERBAUM BRUKE (the ancient bridge over the Spree and 1.3 km.

of the WALL still visible), CHECKPOINT CHARLIE, CHARLOTTENBURG CASTLE, GENDARMEN MARKT (a beautiful eighteenth-century square), ALTE NATIONAL GALLERY (the main museum), HACKESCHE HOEFE (the early 1900s Art Nouveau galleries, restored, Alexander Platz area), ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN, RATHAUS (the town hall), KREUZBERG (a 66-metre hill with a monument from which you can see the whole of Berlin). As for food, we ate the first evening in a beautiful (JOE'S) German restaurant (12 euros each), the second in a nice Vietnamese restaurant (Hackesche Hofe area, 15 euros each), the third in a Chinese restaurant (Gedachtniskirche area, 20 euros each) and we always ate very well and plentifully. There are restaurants for all tastes and all budgets, and there's no lack of entertainment either for anyone wanting an "all-out" holiday! For photos and further information contact by email. greetings to all