Public Commute: Going Around Berlin

Among all the cities I've been in, I must say that Berlin has the best transportation system. I was able to ride in their S-Bahn, U-Bahn (subway), tram, bus, train and taxi, and they were all commuter friendly: being very clean, orderly and convenient.

Of course clean and orderly is expected, we're in Germany after all! But what I liked most about Berlin transportation is that you can get a ticket and have access to the S-Bahn, U-Bahn, tram, bus and ferries. We were able to move around the city in 5 days holding onto just 1 ticket! Easy peasy!

How much is the fare?

Fare depends on where you want to go (tariff zone) and the ticket's validity.

Berlin is divided into tariff zones- AB, BC and ABC. AB is basically the metro urban area, ABC includes Berlin's surrounding area and Potsdam. A single ticket for AB zone is 2.60, BC is 2.90, and ABC is 3.20.

We got the Berlin Welcome Card 5-day ticket and it cost us 32.50, which actually comes out cheaper considering we commute at least 5 times a day. The Berlin Welcome Card also comes with a city map and you can also get discounts from different several restaurants, museums and other establishments.


Where to buy tickets:

It's very easy to get the tickets. You can buy tickets as soon as you arrive, usually at the tourist shop at the airport. You can also look for the Berlin Welcome Card sign.

You can also buy the tickets at the stations.  Some stations have stores/stalls (for those who prefer to talk to a person), but most of them only have ticket vending machines. Problem with the machines though, is that some only have instructions in German.

There are also ticket vending machines on the tram, but they only accept coins and again some might not have English instructions.



How to use the ticket:

Once you've bought your ticket, you need to validate it in the validating machine before using it.

And here's why I love Germany even more: except for the bus where you need to show your ticket to the bus driver before getting in, nobody checks the tickets but people still pay for them. Of course they do random checks once in a while, (we had ours checked on the train from Oranienburg back to Berlin), still you have to commend them for following the rules. Honesty system at its best! Hope we can see this kind of discipline and honesty here.

Now that you know where to get the tickets, the only thing left to figure out is where to go! =)

East Side Gallery, Berlin

 When you hear Berlin, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Yep, the Berlin Wall.

The East Side Gallery is a long section of  the Berlin Wall, which closed the border to East Berlin, and is right along the River Spree. It's said to be possibly the largest open air gallery in the world.

 The gallery consists of about hundred paintings and murals by artists all over the world on the east side of the Berlin Wall, thus the name.

Walking along the gallery definitely gives you a sense of history. The paintings create a picture (pun intended) of what the general feeling was during that time. Since these paintings were done after the wall was torn down, the common theme seems to be that of freedom and hope.

The iconic 'fraternal kiss'

The River Spree

How to get there:

You can take the S-Bahn, U-Bahn or the tram, and get off at S+U Warschauer Str. Walk along Warschauer street towards Mühlenstraße, this is just a few minutes walk from stop. When you reach the corner, you'll already see the gallery. Cross the street and you're there!

Sunday in Berlin

It's a lazy Sunday afternoon so we decided that the best way to enjoy it is to eat, do a bit of shopping and hang out in Mauerpark, one of the most popular parks in Berlin.

Every Sunday in summer, lots of people (locals and tourists alike) head out to Mauerpark. There's the flea market where you can buy lots of stuff from clothes, to vinyl records, to souvenirs, and even bicycles. Of course, there's plenty of food and drinks being sold too.

Flea market crowd

Inside the park you'll find families out having a picnic, friends drinking and having a barbecue, while others are simply resting or taking a nap on the grass catching lots of sun. I spent a good hour lying on the grass and enjoyed the first day of summer in the city.

"The sun is out and so are we!"

But the best part of going to Mauerpark is seeing all these artists - singers, jugglers, dancers, magicians - perform for free! One can always show appreciation by dropping some spare change or buying their CDs. I even read that at the Bear Pit, there's free karaoke for anyone who's brave enough to show off their singing prowess. Sayang we didn't see that (maybe it was still early?) because that's one of the reasons I wanted to go to Mauerpark. Here's one of my fave singers that day:

Oh how I wish we could have more parks like this here in the Philippines!

How to get there:

Take the M10 tram and get off the Wolliner Str. stop, just a few steps from the park and flee market.