Berlin for an afternoon (on Pentacost)

June 9, 2011 12:10 PM

I am suddenly going to Berlin, and I'm looking for excellent ways to spend an afternoon. What should I do from 1pm until bedtime?

I'm arriving at the airport (Tegel) at around 12:30pm next Monday (the 13th), and I have a conference to be at the next morning at 8:30, after which I'm heading back home. I'm staying at the conference hotel on Alexanderplatz, so I don't have to worry about finding the place in the morning.

I'm not really interested in museums this time around (I'll come back another time with my husband for real sightseeing), but I would love to hear if anybody had recommendations for awesome shopping and eating. Evening activities would be interesting, but I've never really considered myself a nightclub person--are there other interesting nighttime activities that would be good for me?

Are things all going to be closed for Pentacost?

posted by that girl to travel & transportation around Berlin, Germany (8 answers total)

go have lunch at Monsieur Vuong
Seriously. It's really close to Alexander Platz, in a lovely neighborhood full of ateliers, art galleries and quirky shops.
posted by buck:fuller at 12:41 PM on June 9, 2011

Not really what you're looking for, but Berlin was one of my favorite free walking tours. Our guide was fantastic and knowledgeable about the city, and I imagine you could ask any of them for eating or shopping suggestions afterwards.
posted by segfault at 12:43 PM on June 9, 2011

Living in Berlin for six months, I went on the free tour at least three times, always enjoyably. The tour itself probably lasts an hour and a half, though you can jump off at any time. The guides work for tips, which means they work.
posted by vecchio at 2:11 PM on June 9, 2011

I'm not sure if there are exceptions for Berlin, but Pentecost Monday is a holiday in Germany, so usually all shops are closed. (Museums, zoos, restaurants and things like that will be open though.)
posted by amf at 2:37 PM on June 9, 2011

You catch the final day of Karneval der Kulturen, with a lots of music at the stages of the Strassenfest, afternoon and evening!
posted by willem at 2:42 PM on June 9, 2011

Could always go for a walk on Unter den Linden, check out Brandenberg Tor, there's tons of places on the river to sit down, relax, eat/drink.
posted by Brian Puccio at 4:24 PM on June 9, 2011

On the awesome eating front, the Fassbender-Rausch Schokoladencafe offers delicious chocolate temptation on a plate. Or in a mug.

Also, they have impressive chocolate models of Berlin landmarks downstairs in their shop; and I see no indication on the website that either the shop or the cafe (or the restaurant, which I didn't try out) closes on public holidays.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 5:54 PM on June 9, 2011

The Vietnamese restaurant looks good--do they have tasty Pho there? I have been craving Pho for about a year now . . .

If everything really is closed I'll look into taking the tour, and the Karneval also looks interesting!
posted by that girl at 1:20 PM on June 10, 2011