Celebrating in Berlin

February 5, 2024 7:15 AM

My parents (early 70s) are celebrating their 50th (!) wedding anniversary mid February and are taking us (myself, my brother and SIL (40s) and their daughters, 13 and 15) to Berlin for the week. Woohoo! We're Dutch and going by train. My parents and I have been to the city previously, brother and fam have not. Give me all your recommendations please!

I've seen this previously, and got some great tips from it, but would like to focus on Berlin. The girls are into (vintage) fashion and instagram, but also open for more serious subjects. We all love museums, the weirder the better. I'm looking for a mix between the classics you need to see on a first visit, and things for return visitors. I visited previously in summer, and loved the parks and open spaces, but I feel Berlin in February will be a different experience.

Complication: we're all quite fit and good walkers, but we'd like to go a bit easy on the elders, with opportunities to rest the feet occasionally. Also, we're staying in Charlottenburg (somewhat west of the center), so any tips in that area are esp welcome!

Extra bonus points for the perfect restaurant recommendation we can treat the parent to as a celebration for their special day. We have some gluten free complication, but otherwise open for most. Would prefer it to be a bit more fancy.

Thanks in advance!

posted by mirthe to Travel & Transportation around Berlin, Germany (7 answers total)

Best answer: The DDR museum is a must. It's SO interesting, weird, interactive, and fairly small.
posted by Countess Sandwich at 10:56 AM on February 5 [1 favorite]

I enjoyed the open-top bus tours. They’re pricey, but a good way to start out, get a lie of the land without having to wear yourselves out, and spot which districts you might like to spend more time in. They’re kind of designed for you to keep leaping on and off at various attractions, but I pretty much just sat and did the whole loop, listening to the audio narration, and dropping pins in the map on my phone when I saw streets or shops or districts that looked interesting.

2nding the DDR museum.
posted by penguin pie at 12:04 PM on February 5

We did this for my dad's something birthday many years ago. It's a great place to go as a family, because there are so many different things to see. Charlottenburg is a good place to stay, too.
For the special dinner, we went to the Paris Bar, a Berlin classic.
A couple of us went to the Zoo with the kids while others visited WW2 stuff, and the big department store KaDeWe is fun for all.
My plans for when I go to Berlin in June will be to see the Neue Nationalgalerie and the Neues Museum. The dome on the Reichstag is pretty impressive too. That would be all of my sightseeing choices if I weren't at work, guiding students.
The Brecht-Weigel museum is something special, and their restaurant is amazing.
If you can get a ticket, the Staatsoper is world class.
posted by mumimor at 12:14 PM on February 5

Lots of good suggestions of stuff to do here. The Pergamon Museum on museum island is closed unfortunately FYI -the Ishtar Gate is astounding. Berlin is very walkable.

My main food recommendation is to get some Döner Kebab. Anywhere I ate this delicious sandwich was amazing.
posted by bluesky43 at 5:34 PM on February 5

Have cash! Small businesses, e.g. the food vendors at the S-Bahn station, will only want cash.
posted by dum spiro spero at 12:17 AM on February 6

Here is a nice list of unusual museums in Berlin.

From that list I personally have been to the "Computerspielemuseum", "Deutsches Spionagemuseum", "Musikinstrumenten-Museum", "Museum der Unerhörten Dinge" and "Kinomuseum Berlin".

They were all very modern and interesting, I had a good time in all of them.
posted by SweetLiesOfBokonon at 2:15 AM on February 6

Response by poster: Thanks everyone for the recommendations! Just got back, we had a great time. The DDR museum was indeed a blast, very appropriate for the teens. Also, would like to recommend Rausch Chocolate House to future travelers (if they like chocolate). Best chocolate milk ever!
posted by mirthe at 6:52 AM on February 23 [1 favorite]