Another layover question! Overnight, Berlin edition.
November 30, 2015 8:03 AM   Subscribe

I'll be arriving in Berlin in the evening (earliest I'll be out of the airport is 9pm), with an early early morning flight the next day. Do I just get a hotel close to the airport and sleep? Or do I try to see a sliver of Berlin for the first (and maybe only) time ever that evening, somehow? Difficulty factor: grumpy old person who needs sleep.

Any recommendations or advice on hotels or the airport or customs or even overnight layovers in general would be welcome as well. I've never done a layover like this before. (For privacy reasons, if you want more extensive details from me, please MeMail.)
posted by these are my travel socks to Travel & Transportation around Berlin, Germany (13 answers total)
 
What day are you landing? Tuesday offers a different answer than Friday for example. That said, planes are for sleeping in, cities are for bumming around in and eating good food!
posted by Iteki at 8:06 AM on November 30, 2015


Best answer: As a fellow grumpy old person who needs sleep, I'd sleep. I'd recommend using hotels.com or another site that's going to have reviews in English so you can look for hotels that are reviewed as easy to get to from the airport. Maybe one of them will have a decent restaurant/bar as well.

Unless you just adore nightclubs and being a grumpy old person in nightclubs, there's little to do between 9a-5a that you couldn't do anywhere.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:11 AM on November 30, 2015 [3 favorites]


Response by poster: Arriving on a Thursday night.
posted by these are my travel socks at 8:11 AM on November 30, 2015


Which airport is it, Tegel or Schönefeld? If it's Tegel, its possible that you could take a 20-30 minute bus into the center of West Berlin. If it's Schönefeld, then it's much further.
posted by cotterpin at 8:15 AM on November 30, 2015


Response by poster: Tegel.
posted by these are my travel socks at 8:33 AM on November 30, 2015


I'd opt for the hotel. I'm a grumpy old person.

There's a Best Western that seems do-able.

While Berlin is very exciting and interesting, I'd probably be tired of wandering around after about 3 hours and then I'd be miserable trying not to fall asleep at an all-night diner.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:43 AM on November 30, 2015


Best answer: The Forum hotel in downtown is great! Business class, great views from the windows, huge breakfast buffet. Drivers will know exactly where it is. It is a skyscraper type hotel. The hotel can tell you if it is feasible travel time.
posted by Oyéah at 8:46 AM on November 30, 2015 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: While Berlin is very exciting and interesting, I'd probably be tired of wandering around after about 3 hours and then I'd be miserable trying not to fall asleep at an all-night diner.

So it's definitely not an "either/or" thing--I'm entirely too old, grumpy, and sleep dependent to try wandering Berlin all night (or even crashing at the airport, which I don't think is even possible overnight at TXL). Here are the options I'm trying to sift through:

1) Hotel as close to airport as possible:
1a. Check in to hotel, go to bed, get good night's sleep before painfully early check in.
1b. Check in to hotel, try to go to see a slice of Berlin--probably post 9:30pm--before returning to hotel.

2) Hotel in actual Berlin:
2a. Check in to hotel, go to bed, but after having literally seen Berlin at least. Risk having to leave this hotel much earlier to get to airport before most people will be awake, with no German language skills or familiarity with cab situation.
2b. Check in to hotel, do what I can to see Berlin post 10pm, with same morning challenge of 2a.

I'd be team 1a all the way, except for the fact that I've never been in Germany before (it's not my destination at either end) and I may never get a chance to return.
posted by these are my travel socks at 9:45 AM on November 30, 2015


Where are you coming from? What time will your body think it is and how long will you have been awake for? If it will still be 'daytime' for you then I'd go for wandering around - you're not going to sleep well anyway.
posted by kadia_a at 9:56 AM on November 30, 2015 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: I'll be coming from the same time zone.
posted by these are my travel socks at 10:02 AM on November 30, 2015


If it's winter, it's going to be cold! I love Berlin but personally, I'd just get the hotel close to the airport and go to sleep for the night.
posted by veids at 11:06 AM on November 30, 2015 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Customs at TXL is a breeze, and you'll be out of the airport in no time even if you have checked bags. Just flew through there a few weeks ago, and I went from my airplane seat to the taxi queue in about 20 minutes.

Assuming you're going later this year, I'd vote for taking a taxi into Berlin and checking out the Christmas market at Alexanderplatz, which will put you in close proximity to some of the major points of interest. Spend as much time as you like wandering, then take a taxi back to your hotel of choice near the airport, as sleeping in TXL would be a tremendously uncomfortable experience.
posted by evoque at 11:34 AM on November 30, 2015 [3 favorites]


Best answer: I really like Berlin. However:

I feel that Berlin is a city that you need to be in for at least a few days to warm up to it. The weather's probably not great this time of year. And you seem stressed about getting back to the airport. So I think you should sleep.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 11:35 AM on November 30, 2015 [2 favorites]


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