Exciting, quick-paced and thrilling

Berlin needs weeks to digest. But for those with limited time, I can shortlist the following:

1. MuseumsInsel in Mitte contains Berlin's top attractions housed within five buildings, two of which are still undergoing restoration. The pick of the best is undoubtedly the Pergamon, which contains unique exhibitions related to classical antiquities and Islamic art. The highlights are the enormous Ishtar Gate of Babylon and the Market Gate of Miletus, two monumental reconstructions of unparalleled beauty.

2. Nikolaiviertel, a stone's throw from busy Alexanderplatz, is unbelievably Berlin, yet so different. Dominated by Nikolaikirche, this village-like pedestrianised area is lined with two-story old-style houses and small souvenir shops.

3. Shopping enthusiasts shouldn't miss the elegant quarters in Friedrichstrasse south of Unter den Linden. Visit Galeries Lafayette to see the huge, central glass double-cone that dominates the building's interior. Continue to Quartier 206, where an abundance of multicolored patterned marble awaits you amidst luxury boutiques and designer shops.

4. It's worth visiting the imposing Reichstag. The central glass dome is a state-of-the-art masterpiece created by architect Norman Foster. Climb to its top via an unusual spiral ramp and enjoy a wonderful view of Berlin's city center.

Quick Tips:

Berlin is so big, it's advisable to have a good orientation of the city before trying to look for attractions on your own. One way of doing this is to take a 2 hour coach tour around the city. Tours accompanied by an English or German commentary leave from numerous places along Kurfurstendamm south of Bahnhof Zoo in Charlottenburg. Prices start from 16 Euro.

Alternatively, you can take Bus 100 from the bus station in front of Bahnhof Zoo. This is a scheduled bus; so no commentary, but it passes through the city's roads that contain most of the attractions. Grab a seat on the top floor of the double-decker for the best views.

The bus goes around the Victory Column, continues along John-Foster-Dulles-Allee past the House of World Cultures and the Carillon and proceeds towards the Reichstag. It continues south along a stretch of Wilhelmstrasse until on your right, you see the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin's landmark. It then drives along the whole length of Unter den Linden, past Humboldt University and the Royal Library. It crosses beautiful Schlossbrucke and passes close to Berliner Dom before proceeding along Karl-Liebknecht-strasse towards Alexanderplatz dominated by the 315 meters TV tower.

Best Way To Get Around:

1.International flights use Berlin's Tegel airport, 8kms northwest of the center. Frequent Bus 109 runs between Tegel and Bahnhof Zoo, taking half an hour and passing en route through (i) Jakob-Kaiser-platz where there's a connection to the U-bahn (ii) Luisenplatz, which is close to Schloss Charlottenburg and (iii) Kurfurstendamm, which is Berlin's main commercial street. Pay the driver since no ticket machines are available at the airport terminal.

2. Short trip or long trip public transport tickets are both expensive. A day pass (Tageskarte) is however a good option. Obviously more advantageous is a 7-day pass (7 Tage karte) that costs 24 Euro for Zones A and B and 30 Euro for Zones A, B and C. If you intend travelling far out of the center, buy the 3-zone ticket, which entitles you to travel as far away as Potsdam and Oranienburg.

3. Berlin's transport system makes use of buses, U-bahns (10 lines) and S-Bahns (13 lines). Transport tickets, once validated, can be used on all forms of transport. There is also a tram system operating only around the east districts of Berlin. For information and tickets, contact the BVG office on Hardenbergplatz in front of Bahnhof Zoo.

Ideally located within walking distance of the KaDeWe department store, the Europa-Centre, Kurfurstendamm, and Bahnhof Zoo, Hotel President is right in the midst of things. From Bahnhof Zoo, you can take a train or bus to reach any other destination in Berlin and beyond. Less than 100 meters away from the hotel just around the corner, you'll find the U-bahn station Wittenbergplatz. For a shopping spree, which places in Berlin are better than the neighboring top-class KaDeWe and the numerous exclusive boutiques along Kurfurstendamm?

Hotel President, which belongs to the worldwide Best Western chain of hotels, provides four-star accommodation in 181 rooms and extraluxurious accommodation in 54 rooms of its Presidential Club. Each room within the four-star category is equipped with a bath or shower, hair dryer, electronic door locks, color TV with satellite connection, minibar, telephone with automatic wake-up call, and trouser press. The exclusive multifunctional rooms within the Presidential Club have computer and fax connection with Internet access, leather armchairs, individually adjustable air conditioners and a state-of-the-art bathroom featuring Indian marble and fine accessories. The usual Best Western yellow plastic toy duck awaits guests on the shelf under the vanity mirror.

"The best of service to make you feel right at home," is Hotel President's motto. This was rightly put into practice as soon as the porter and the overzealous receptionist, who both provided excellent personal service, greeted us. The focus on personal attention was not given only on arrival but carried on throughout our 7-day stay in the hotel. By dialing 126 for example, we were pampered with free generous pots of coffee, tea, hot chocolate or milk with honey in just a couple of minutes. Likewise, we could opt for à la carte breakfast in our room anytime between 7am and 11am.

Equipped with a free of charge top-class fitness center in the basement, Hotel President makes sure that guests receive the best service possible. Besides the usual exercise machines, the center boasts a modern sauna, steam bath and solarium. Extra facilities for Hotel President's guests are furthermore provided in the neighboring Hotel Imperial, which also belongs to the Best Western chain of hotels. Get there by free shuttle service, and you'll have the opportunity to swim in the heated outdoor pool and relax on a sundeck around an equipped pool bar.

The price visitors pay obviously includes a sumptuous breakfast buffet that leaves nothing to be desired, served in the Alexander’s restaurant. A rich variety of fresh fruit, oven-fresh bread, a huge assortment of cheese, hot dishes, vegetarian dishes and various sorts of cakes and sweets are available. The huge restaurant itself that offers international and regional specialties for lunch and dinner is a trim and tidy place with top-class service, smart-looking waiters and a relaxing atmosphere with classical background music. If you want however a friendlier and party-like atmosphere, there's nowhere better than to step inside the English-style President Bar and join the crowd of drinkers.

Located in the most central and elegant part of Berlin's Charlottenburg, Hotel-Pension Kurfurst is less than 20 meters from the nearest bus stop, making it ideal for those coming here by bus. Called Bleibtreustrasse because of its vicinity to the street with the same name, this stop is used by Bus 109, which travels from Tegel Airport northwest of the center to Bahnhof Zoo, and Bus 119, which travels from Tempelhof Airport south of the center to Grunewald. If you arrive by S-bahn, stop at station Savignyplatz, walk south on Bleibtreustrasse, cross busy Kurfurstendamnm and continue straight for less than 20 meters. Hotel-Pension Kurfurst is on your left.

Sober and unpretentious, Hotel-Pension Kurfurst is almost hidden in the midst of other restored or reconstructed old buildings in the south end of Bleibtreustrasse. Look for the number or hotel's name above the big wooden door; otherwise, you may not notice that you have arrived right in front of it. The hotel occupies the third and fourth floors of the block, and since the front door is kept closed, you have to ring the hall porter. Once inside the hallway, take the aged elevator to the third floor where you'll find the reception area. Don't be put off by the gloomy hallway or the agitating tiny elevator. Ask at the reception desk to see one of the rooms and you'll immediately feel otherwise.

The hotel boasts 36 rooms spread on two floors. The rooms are huge enough to accommodate a family, with high ceilings decorated with stucco work and renovated to the last detail. The bathrooms have been recently renewed and everything is spick-and-span. Body soap is in abundance and daily clean towels and a box of tissues are provided. The elegant classic furniture imparts an aura of tidiness and order. Each room is equipped with a minibar, safe, three-band radio with alarm clock, TV with satellite connection, direct-dial telephone, and Internet access. If you don't have your own laptop, you can avail yourself of the opportunity to use the hotel's Internet for free.

This small central hotel in Berlin is truly an oasis of calm and relaxation. Although it's just a stone's throw from busy Kurfurstendamm, Hotel-Pension Kurfurst is quiet and the atmosphere inside is one of cleanliness, order, and space. This sense of pleasant sobriety that pervades in all rooms contrasts sharply with the breakfast buffet, which is a dream of food abundance and plenty of everything. Oven-fresh bread studded with raisins and nuts, coffee cakes, buns, waffles, fresh fruit, cheeses, and pâtés were presented in endless profusion. You can even take your share of ice-cold champagne with your breakfast. It's impossible to taste all, though I tried to taste as much as I could.

The generosity of the competent staff and the priority given to the well-being of the guests make Hotel Kurfurst one of the best places of accommodation in Charlottenburg, and so very highly recommended.

Restaurant, pizzeria, pub, and takeaway -- Ali Baba is all four. Tucked amidst numerous restaurants midway between Savignyplatz and Kurfurstendamm, Ali Baba is a haven for anybody who's after generous dishes of fare at cheap prices. If you're walking along Kurfurstendamm, take the north side of Bleibtreustrasse and walk straight for about 10 minutes towards Kantstrasse. Ali Baba is on your right.

Identified by a small Italian banner hanging against the entrance, it can't be missed. Groups of tourists and locals sit outside on old wooden benches from 11am to late at night waiting for a slice of pizza, a dish of pasta or a glass of beer on draught. While other nearby restaurants take time to have their share of the tourist market, Ali Baba is always busy - sometimes too busy to give personal attention to the needs of the clients.

Then what makes Ali Baba so popular? Surely it's not the decor that is gloomy, drab, and untidy, more reminiscent of a workman's pub than an eatery in Berlin's Charlottenberg. Nor is it the atmosphere inside, which is one of grab-your-food-and-leave. Nor is it the menu printed in German only on cheap green sheets and almost unreadable. It's undoubtedly the Italian food, which is so tasty and delicious, you feel it's coming straight from a wood oven in Napoli.

Their couple of Italian soups are to die for. Try Ali Baba's mouth-watering minestrone or tomato soup with home-baked cheese tortellini, each costing only 2.8 Euro. Or choose one of the 20 pizza varieties displayed on the menu. For less than 7 Euro, you can order a huge 30cms pizza; for 5 Euro, take a smaller one, which is equally tasty and delicious. Their Pizza Verdura with champignons, onions, pepperoni and paprika was my favorite.

Their wide range of pasta makes the choice difficult. A huge dish of tagliatelle for example, surely more than you can eat, immersed in copious amounts of white sauce with ham and broccoli goes for just 5 Euro. Similarly priced is a huge dish of tasty vegetable lasagna topped with steaming parmigiano. Besides soups, pizza and pasta, there are also overabundant meat and fish dishes that unfortunately, I hadn't the chance to try.

Homemade bread, actually unsauced pizza dough is served before each meal to all clients and is free. Try it, but refrain from eating too much; the dishes you're expecting will surely be overabundant. Wash down your meal with a large Pils on draught costing 2.5 Euro. Finish off with a tasty homemade cassata, an Ali Baba specialty consisting of layers of sponge cake and ice-cream topped with a delicious almond-flavored sauce. Before settling your less-than-expected bill, enjoy a free tot of sweet Amaretto.

Excellent tasty Italian dishes, quick service and cheap prices are the reasons why Ali Baba is so busy. Refrain from coming on a Saturday night when queues waiting for a table may be long. Opens daily from 11am to 3am.

Berlin may be as expensive as London or Oslo. However, planning carefully beforehand may reduce expenses considerably, while allowing you to enjoy yourself and see numerous attractions without paying anything. I am listing a number of interesting places, historical sights, monuments, and parks that I have discovered while staying in Berlin for quite a long time. All are free--no entry fees, no tips--just use your 7-day transport pass to reach your required destination.

1. Visit the 230 hectare Treptower Park, whose central area is dominated by the 1949 Soviet Memorial, a huge historical monument built in East Berlin when Russia was under Stalin. The entrance to the monument is dominated by a huge granite statue of Mother Russia, followed by thick walls of reddish brown marble guarded by kneeling soldiers. The burial ground is said to contain the remains of 5,000 soldiers who died in the Battle of Berlin and is lined on either side with eight huge white marble sarcophagi, each sculpted with scenes from the war. Quotes from Stalin are depicted in German along one side and in Russian along the other. The best way to visit Treptower Park is to take the S-bahn from Bahnhof Zoo toward Schonefeld and stop at station Treptower Park. From the station, it's a 10-minute walk southeast along Puschkinallee, which leads you toward the entrance to the memorial.

2. Visit the huge Volkswagen showroom on Friedrichstrasse at the corner with Unter den Linden. Ignore if you wish the state-of-the-art Bugatti and the majestic Bentley Continental on the main floor and move down to the basement, where an exposition about the latest European involvement in space travel awaits you. A short film in English gives you a good orientation about the latest developments in space travel. From Bahnhof Zoo bus station, take Bus 100, which stops right in front of the showroom.

3. No trip to Berlin is complete unless you visit the Reichstag, which is a short distance north of the Brandenburg Gate. Arrive early, that is, before 9am; otherwise, you have to wait behind an endless queue of tourists. Entry is free, but once inside, you have to tour on your own. The highlight is the ultramodern glass dome by Sir Norman Foster that tops the Reichstag's main hall. Before climbing the ramp to the top, examine the exhibition of black-and-white photos that portray the history of the Reichstag since its birth in 1894 up to the reunification of Germany in 1990.

4. Enjoy a half-day tour in the district of Spandau. Entirely unlike Berlin's center, Spandau boasts a picturesque Old Town, which has been very well preserved and restored. Lined with small shops, Spandau's medieval streets and market square are ideal for a stroll. Walking north along Carl-Schurz-strasse brings you close to Nikolaikirche, a beautiful three-nave Gothic brick church that is however kept closed. If you continue straight ahead, you'll soon reach the main road Am Juliusturm. Walking east for five minutes along Am Juliusturm brings you right in front of the Zitadelle, a well-preserved brick fortress protected by a moat and bastions. Roaming in the central courtyard is free, but climbing the 36-meter-high Juliusturm requires a ticket. The best way to reach Spandau is to take the U-7 to Rathaus Spandau, which happens to be the west-end station of the line.

5. Berlin’s best department store is the KaDeWe, located along Tauentzienstrasse in front of Wittenbergplatz U-bahn station. It is not as exquisite as London's Harrods, but it is nonetheless always crowded with shopping enthusiasts who are ready to depart with their cash for a numbered bottle of Hungarian Tokay from the vintage year 2000 or a small piece of Meissen porcelain. You can roam as much as you like around its huge six floors. Climb up to the affordable restaurant and café on the seventh floor, take a coffee or a snack (obviously not free), and enjoy the lovely view from the glass-covered terrace.

6. Stroll along the whole stretch of Unter den Linden, starting from the Brandenburg Gate to Schlossbrucke. Admire the Baroque, neoclassical, or rococo architecture of the restored buildings that line both sides of the boulevard. You can't miss the huge State Library and the imposing building next to it, the Humboldt University, guarded by the recently restored bronze equestrian statue of Friedrich II. Just before reaching Schlossbrucke, the beautiful pink building on your left is the former Armoury, which now houses the Museum of German History. Schlossbrucke, lined on both sides with white marble statues standing on pedestals is elegant and beautiful. More impressive is the view of the imposing but heavily polluted Berliner Dom, a huge neoclassical structure topped by a copper dome and ringed by four small domed steeples. The building northwest of the cathedral is the Altes Museum. Note its wonderful porticoed facade covered with red slabs of marble and lined with a row of impressive columns.

7. Last but not least: All state-run museums are free on the first Sunday of the month. It's impossible to visit all, but three picks of the best are the Pergamon and the Old National Gallery, both on Museumsinsel, and Schloss Charlottenburg on Spandauer Damm, northwest of Bahnhof Zoo. Sunday times are from 10am to 5pm.

Charlottenburg's main shopping street, Kurfurstendamm is a 3.5kms long boulevard, 53 meters wide and lined on both sides with wide pavements ideal for walking. These elegant walkways, centrally furnished with numerous showcases where shops display and promote their wares are lined with boutiques, coffeehouses, department stores, luxury hotels and art galleries. Be here after sunset when artificial lighting emitted from the commercial establishments and shop windows enhances the atmosphere of elegance and style. The wide central strip that bisects the boulevard is dotted with trees but unluckily marred by stretches used as car parks. Traffic is heavy and its resulting pollution is high along the whole length of Kurfurstendamm but this does not stop the crowds of tourists from enjoying a drink or a snack while sitting at restaurant tables outside.

Kurfurstendamm's east end opens onto Breitscheidplatz, an irregular square dominated by the ruined Kaiser-Wilhelm Memorial Church. This lively area is more often than not taken over by souvenir stalls, buskers, musicians, and other street performers. Not to be missed is the Weltbrunnen, a reddish brown granite fountain that splashes lavish streams of water onto a flight of steps producing the effect of a small waterfall. The building in front of the fountain is the Europa-Centre shopping mall.

Back on Kurfurstendamm, 100 meters away from the Memorial Church, shopping enthusiasts will find the second-largest department store in Berlin. Called Wertheim, it comes a close second to the more popular KaDeWe. Though what's for sale is neither as beautifully presented nor as impressive as in the KaDeWe, Wertheim's prices are cheaper and the selection is good. The basement level is a haven of affordable food items: fresh fruit, a large assortment of cheese, meat and fish, a good selection of pasta, cakes and pastries and an excellent wine cellar. Wertheim's free gift-wrapping service deserves the best recommendation.

The whole stretch of Kurfurstendamm from the U-bahn station Kurfurstendamm to the next U-bahn station Uhlandstrasse is concentrated with specialty shops fill up both sides of the boulevard. Numerous luxury boutiques that display the latest trendy fashions in designer clothing for the well-off only (Claudia Skoda at number 50 and Jil Sander at number 185, for example) rub shoulders with the more affordable chain stores like the H&M. An art gallery, a restaurant or a luxury hotel interrupts here and there this never ending line of business establishments. The five-star Hotel Kempinski, which occupies a huge block along Kurfurstendamm corner with Fasanenstrasse for example, enhances the atmosphere with its top-class ground floor café, which expands outside with sun-shaded tables. Why this cafe is so popular I can't say, but it's never easy to find a table here though the coffee and the pastries are surely overpriced.

Better, cheaper and located on the other side of the boulevard where the atmosphere is as great is the ground floor restaurant-cafe of the Hollywood Media Hotel. Occupying a considerable stretch of the walkway, this restaurant has affordable prices and a good selection of snacks. On the same side of the Kempinski, about 50 meters further west from the U-bahn station Uhlandstrasse, two other affordable hotels, Hotel California and its neighbor Hotel Mondial, also boast first-class sun-shaded walkway cafes.

When you get tired of seeing that wide display of clothes, shoes, bags and whatnot, you can take a break and go for something more cultural and educational. In a large shopping complex called Ku'Damm Karree located between Uhlandstrasse and Knesebeckstrasse at Kurfurstendamm 207-208, you can find the largest and most authentic historical exhibition in Berlin. Boasting an audio-visual show complete with sound effects and a guided tour of an underground bunker, the "Story of Berlin" is a journey through time spanning 800 years of Berlin's history. The excellent exhibition features special lighting, slide shows, 3D video projections and historic recordings. Surely not to be missed are Rooms 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21 in the second basement level; the exhibits depict with great clarity how the political and cultural atmosphere in Berlin developed during the Third Reich and in the Divided City. Total time for exhibition and show is about 2 hours; a single price ticket is 9.30 Euro.

The shopping atmosphere inside the Ku'Damm Karree is dominated by the huge four-story Pro-Markt Electronic and Music store. You'll find the latest in computers, digital cameras, sound equipment, plasma screens and much more. Numerous items are usually discounted.

The street atmosphere further west along Kurfurstendamm becomes gradually less hectic and crowds fade away as more grand residential houses and office buildings replace shops. If you venture however along Kurfurstendamm further west than Schluterstrasse, admire the mélange of neoclassical and Art-Nouveau architecture adorning the facades around Olivaerplatz and Adenauerplatz.

If you still have time after you've gone around Berlin's main attractions, you might as well consider exploring the city more thoroughly. In three of my previous entries to this journal, I have tried to pinpoint my favorite attractions. In this entry, I'll try to add more, which although they do not rank as my favorites are nevertheless highly recommended by the Berlin Tourist Office.

1. The relatively new Europa-Centre on Breitscheidplatz in front of the Kaiser-Wilhelm Memorial Church is an ordinary three-story shopping mall with hundreds of shopping outlets selling souvenirs, sweets, pastries, clothing, and more. What's unusual here is the huge Flow of Time clock, an innovative masterpiece of modern engineering consisting of numerous glass bulbs or spheres that fill up with a fluorescent green liquid that flows and twists through glass tubes recording hours and minutes. Be here at noon when all bulbs, both the large hour bulbs and the smaller minute bulbs, are filled up with the green liquid that instantaneously empties into a large glass sphere stored in the basement level, starting the filling process over again. If you have time to spare, there's no better way to relax over a cup of coffee than to sit at a garden table in the nearby multilevel Cafeteria Tiffany's amidst lush indoor plants and palm trees or beside the artificial pond. The delightful atmosphere here is better than the cappuccino, the pastries, or the sandwiches.

2. The area around Alexanderplatz in Mitte dominated by the seen-from-everywhere 365-meter TV Tower is a mixture of huge empty spaces, skyscrapers, massive buildings, and a very busy train station used by U-bahns, S-bahns, and regional trains. The huge ugly Kaufhof department store fills up a large part of the square. Nearby, the contrasting 700-year-old Gothic redbrick Marienkirche is presently under restoration, but you can still see its medieval artistic interior. The park across from Marienkirche is centrally adorned with the interesting bronze Neptunbrunnen, a huge fountain with a larger-than-life statue of Neptune and four symbolic female figures. The beautiful redbrick neo-Gothic building southeast of the fountain is the restored Red Town Hall. Not to be missed is its beautiful friezed facade, which depicts the history of Berlin since its foundation. If you still have time after going around the area, you can go up the TV Tower and have a coffee in the rotating sky-high café.

3. Originally built in the beginning of the 18th century as a summer residence by Elector Friedrich III for his wife Sophie Charlotte and obviously named after her, Schloss Charlottenburg is a large three-winged building with a central dome whose top is decorated with a gilded statue of the goddess Fortuna. The central section of the palace, which contains the former living quarters, can be visited on a guided tour only. Not to be missed are the restored Oval Hall, the Porcelain Chamber, and the Great Oak Gallery. More elegant rooms await visitors in the Knobelsdorff Wing, which houses the former ceremonial quarters of the Kings of Prussia. The pick of the best is undoubtedly the Golden Gallery, a gilded rococo-style hall embellished with numerous magnificent mirrors. The huge grounds at the back of the palace, dotted here and there with small ornate buildings are also worth visiting. You can roam anywhere for free along the garden paths. Not to be missed are the tree-shaded French-style gardens decorated with numerous white marble statues and gilded vases and the rococo-style Belvedere, which contains an excellent collection of fine porcelain.

4. A walk along the paths and stream borders of Tiergarten Park rewards visitors with monuments, numerous museums, and a couple of modern-style buildings. It's best to start from traffic-free Pariser Platz, dominated by the Brandenburg Gate that separates Unter den Linden from Strasse des 17 Juni. You would probably have already admired more than once the four-horse chariot that tops the gate. But before proceeding toward Tiergarten, have a look at the wonderful architecture of the reconstructed grand Hotel Adlon Kempinski, which occupies a large stretch of ground along the southeast side of the square. Walk through the gate and continue straight along the broad Strasse des 17 Juni. South of here, Entlastungsstrasse leads to the Musical Instruments Museum and the nearby Berliner Philarmonie, a concert hall whose unusual interior is world famous for its excellent acoustics. North of Strasse des 17 Juni, Moltkestrasse leads to John-Foster-Dulles-Allee, where the highlight is the Haus der Kulturen, a controversial structure with an unusual roofline design. The nearby brown granite structure is the 68-bell Carillon, which gives daily chiming performances at noon and 6pm. Back on Strasse des 17 Juni, you'll soon reach the Grosser Stern roundabout decorated with the Victory Column, on top of which stands the gilded statue of Victory. A spiral staircase leads to the top where the view over Tiergarten is excellent.

5. The French Cathedral (Franzosischer Dom) on Gendamenmarkt in Mitte is one of Berlin's great churches. Its wonderful exterior is presently being restored, you can still visit its interior, though. The building on the opposite side of the square is the German Cathedral (Deutscher Dom). Used nowadays as a German History Museum with exhibits from 1800 to the present day, it was meticulously restored before it opened to the public in 1996. Its porticoed facade and huge dome supported on Corinthian-style columns are both impressive. The colonnaded building standing between the two cathedrals occupying a long stretch of the square is the Concert Hall (Konzerthaus), today used by the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. A wonderful statue of the poet Friedrich Schiller occupies a central place in front of the building's majestic staircase.

The number of attractions, sights, concert halls, entertainment venues, great restaurants, excellent pubs, and cultural centers by far outweigh the handful of tourist traps, derelict areas, and ugly unstylish new Berlin high-rise architecture. However, it's wise to consider the latter as well, so that visitors with limited time will be able to plan beforehand what's best to choose for their sightseeing. After going around the city many times visiting places I found listed in guidebooks and tourist brochures, I am now in a position to short list a number of places that I would never consider revisiting when I am in Berlin again.

1. The Palace of the Republic, a huge derelict concrete block that resembles an abandoned block of apartments is spoiling the otherwise wonderful Schlossplatz area in Mitte. It appears more unstylish and contrasting, uglier and more out of proportion when viewed from Lustgarten, where the majestic Berlin Cathedral dominates the picture. Feast your eyes on the colossal cathedral, its wonderful dome and its elaborately decorated portal, and avoid if possible, looking at the Palace of the Republic. Refrain from walking along the south end of Rathausstrasse, from where the ugly monstrosity appears even uglier.

2. Many souvenir shops and restaurants that line the pedestrianised streets in Nikolaiviertel, Poststrasse, and Klosterstrasse in particular, charge astronomical prices for their services. Likewise, the shops along the west end of Unter den Linden tend to become pricier as they get closer to the Brandenburg Gate. It's good to see their excellent display of books, videos, ceramics, and glassware, but before departing with your cash, compare their prices with other souvenir shops along the east end of Kurfurstendamm in Charlottenburg or visit the souvenir section in Berlin's department stores. The best bargains for souvenirs however can be found within Spandau's pedestrianised Altstadt, whose medieval streets contain a haven of shops, some charging discounted prices for their wares. Check the souvenir shops along Breitestrasse and Carl-Schurz-strasse.

3. Although advertised by the Berlin Tourist Office as a green pulse in the city center, Kleistpark south of Nollendorfplatz in Schoneberg is a small derelict forested area that is both untidy and neglected. Potsdamerstrasse, which borders the park's east side, is a run-down street where drug addicts are not uncommon and some shops have a bad reputation. The only redeeming factor here is the Konigskolonnada, a series of sandstone colonnades that mark the entrance to the park. South of the park near the U-bahn station Kleistpark, there are numerous cheap restaurants serving good value Berlin specialities. Try restaurants along the north end of Hauptstrasse and along Langenscheidtstrasse and Willmanndammstrasse, but don't expect anything sophisticated or luxurious.

4. As can be witnessed from numerous old photos, prewar Potsdamer Platz was a busy commercial area with a thriving entertainment scene, where elegance, style, and atmosphere were enhanced by the numerous restaurants and cafes that surrounded the square. Potsdamer Platz today, said to be designed by the world's greatest architects, is lined with blocks of high-rise conglomerates--unstylish, characterless, out of place, and out of proportion. Entirely covered with mirrored glass, the giant monster that houses the European headquarters of the Sony Corporation is an eyesore. The redeeming factor is the Potsdamer Platz Arkaden, a graceful shopping mall with numerous shops and a couple of attractions.

5. There’s nothing interesting in the much-advertised Checkpoint Charlie. A small guardhouse decorated with fresh flowers, located in the middle of Friedrichstrasse--a bit north of the U-bahn station Kochstrasse--stands in memory of those who died in their attempt to escape into the west. At the corner where Friedrichstrasse bisects Zimmerstrasse, the famous sign, "You are leaving the American sector," written in English, Russian, French, and German is still displayed. Some 10 meters further south on Friedrichstrasse, the world-famous museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie has numerous interesting photos, posters, and cuttings commemorating the fascinating history of the Wall. However, the museum is so poorly set up and so badly organized that it's impossible to get a good insight into Berlin's recent history by just seeing the exhibits. It's not worth the hefty price you pay for the entrance ticket.

7. Modern sculptures are meant to decorate the central areas of busy motorways. Have a look at the huge interlocking steel casting on Tauentzienstrasse in front of the Europa-Centre. Or at the giant arc of steel standing where Kurfurstendamm intersects with Bleibtreustrasse. Or at the huge black curve in the An der Urania Park, visible from Tauentzienstrasse. I tried to look for the significance of these three sculptures but found none. All I can say is that they are modern, meaningless structures put there to fill up rather than to embellish. Stick to the good old things, dear Berliners. Your city will appear better if you put up monuments to commemorate your great heroes rather than such huge structures. Big is not always beautiful.

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