Anonymous wrote:Came back last week. 3 days in Berlin, 2 in Amsterdam.
Enjoyed Berlin much more...perfect blend of history, diverse and great cuisine, excellent public transit, pretty English-speaking for Germany, more affordable than Amsterdam by quite a bit
Can't get over the hate Berlin gets and its overshadowing by Amsterdam, even Munich. Given its the largest city in EU, I certainly consider it underrated as a tourist destination.
Found Amsterdam overrun with rowdy Brits, stag parties, overcrowded streets, lack of public transit, EXTREMELY expensive(more than London, Paris, Copenhagen esp for accomodation)
Don't get the Amsterdam appeal...Berlin was a place you actually saw locals living in, while the former was just a tourist trap with no locals around and consumerism. Is the weed and tulips that much of a draw? Besides, Berlin has way more history and museums
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We lived there 3 months. It was great but not the beauty that is most of Europe.
My son is doing college study abroad there sad the fall and I’m excited to go back…and see where we lived 20 years ago.
Like the other pp, Munich is my favorite. I loved it so much more than Berlin.
Anonymous wrote:Different people want different things. Not everyone WANTS to see people just being normal, going to work each day.
Some people think partying and buying stuff is fun, and would never use mass transit anyway. To each their own. Glad you found a city you like.
Anonymous wrote:Different people want different things. Not everyone WANTS to see people just being normal, going to work each day.
Some people think partying and buying stuff is fun, and would never use mass transit anyway. To each their own. Glad you found a city you like.
Anonymous wrote:I absolutely love Berlin. But I know a lot of people who don't, precisely because it isn't touristy. It's a real city, it's gritty in spots, it's not stereotypically "German."
But I adore it, there's not other places like Berlin.
Anonymous wrote:We lived there 3 months. It was great but not the beauty that is most of Europe.
My son is doing college study abroad there sad the fall and I’m excited to go back…and see where we lived 20 years ago.
Anonymous wrote:Different people want different things. Not everyone WANTS to see people just being normal, going to work each day.
Some people think partying and buying stuff is fun, and would never use mass transit anyway. To each their own. Glad you found a city you like.
You have to know where to look. Also, it's Brandenburg.Anonymous wrote:I've been there enough times and it's not my favorite city in Germany. Munich would be. Much easier for tourists, prettier, more compact, closer to Alps and prettier scenery.
Berlin does have great museums and a very unique history. It's also a large, sprawling city and the history means it has multiple city "centers" rather everything concentrated in one larger downtown region. It can take a while to cross the city on public transit.
The irony in complaining about Amsterdam's red light or tacky tourism is that Berlin has all of it, and on a much more extreme level. You just need to know where to look. Some of their clubs are famous in certain circles. Nothing in Amsterdam comes close.
I also don't find the food in Berlin any better than any other German city. And Berlin is rather isolated, there's very little to see as day trips outside Potsdam. Brandenberg is flat as a pancake and rather dreary.