Berlin on a budget
Recreating a $1,000-a-day itinerary for only $100 in German city proves doable
In November 1989, Potsdamer Platz was known as the “death strip” — a wasteland between the two parts of the Berlin Wall. But after the wall fell, Potsdamer became a major site of celebration and reunification. Today, old graffiti-tagged slabs stand as harmless relics, and the long scar of the wall’s foundation runs through the bustling intersection.
It is also near the posh Ritz-Carlton, Berlin, where I found myself during a recent visit, on a mission to discover how to conquer Berlin — already a relatively cheap European city — on a tight budget. To get a sense of the city’s highend options, I walked from the Potsdamer U-Bahn station through the plaza and into the lobby of the hotel, where I was greeted by Thomas Munko, its chief concierge.
Munko happens to be born and raised in Berlin — an advantage as a concierge, certainly. But to achieve success in the hospitality industry, Munko emphasizes other, less tangible skills.
“It’s more important to have the right service attitude and, it sounds very old school, but: manners,” he said. Munko then related a story when a guest nearly forgot a wedding anniversary and needed a handwritten poem delivered, last minute, to his wife in Los Angeles. A courier from Berlin would have taken 48 hours, Munko explained, so he arranged to have a member of his staff fly it to the United States and deliver it by hand.
With that same make-it-happen attitude, Munko agreed to assist me with my own project: designing a day itinerary for a fictitious wealthy client in Berlin with a budget of $1,000 (U.S.), about 830 euros. I would then endeavour to tweak that itinerary so it fits my slightly more modest budget of $100. Berlin proved more than up to the challenge and made my job easy; while the city certainly features a fair number of luxury options, it hasn’t lost its populist edge.
Breakfast, high end
To begin the day, Munko suggested Kafer, the restaurant on the roof of the Reichstag, the German Parliament building. Panoramic city views await, as does the large glass Reichstag dome, designed by Norman Foster. For about 30 eur os, diners can tuck into aW oh lfuhlfruhstuck, a vast breakfast spread that includes coffee or tea, freshly squeezed juice, various breads, eggs, house-made marmalade and a number of different meats such as Truthahnsalami (turkey salami) and luftgetrockneter Schinken (air-dried ham).
Breakfast, frugal
I opted to start my day at the spacious, bright Hermann’s on Torstrasse, just a stone’s throw from the Rosenthaler Platz U-Bahn station. Hermann’s describes its offerings as “comfort food with a twist” and also experiments with ingredients and sourcing. The space was gorgeous, but I also appreciated the fact that they specifically set aside no-technology tables for diners like me who were not camped out with their laptops.
A filling bowl of black rice porridge with coconut crème set me back 4.90 euros, and a tangy, satisfying rhubarb hazelnut tart cost 4.50 euros.
Morning activity, high end
Munko would then put his wealthy client in the hands of tour operators Al- brecht & Kühsel for a personal walking tour of historically significant sites in central Berlin.
One of Berlin’s great strengths is its walkability — and what’s not easily walked to can usually be accessed by train. Sites during the tour might include the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial and the German Bundestag and Chancellery. Total cost, without gratuity, is 250 euros.
Morning activity, frugal
I tackled my activity and transportation for my entire trip in one fell swoop, purchasing a Berlin Welcome Card Museum Island upon arrival for 45 euros.
This afforded me 72 continuous hours of free public transportation (within travel zones A and B — you can pay extra to travel to zone C, which encompasses the outskirts of the city), as well as free entry to the five museums on Museumsinsel, or Museum Island. The card pays for itself if you visit three of the five museums, and allows you to skip the ticket lines, which can get long.
BERLIN continued on T4
The island, which sits in the Spree River in the centre of the city, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was where the Prussian royal family kept prized art and archeological pieces. The Pergamon Museum may have been my favourite; it featured the stunning reconstructed blue Ishtar Gate of Nebuchadnezzar II, unearthed in Babylon between 1899 and 1917. Admission without the card is 12 euros. I spent time in the Neues and Altes museums, the latter of which was constructed in 1830, and is Berlin’s oldest museum. The Altes is heavy on Greek antiquities. The Neues has, among other highlights, a gorgeous limestone and plaster bust of Nefertiti from 1340 B.C., taken during a 1912 German expedition. Lunch, high end For lunch, Munko suggested heading toward one of Berlin’s busiest shopping streets, Friedrichstrasse, for an Italian feast at Bocca di Bacco. Our faux client’s meal might include a starter of sesame-crusted tuna with a fennel and orange salad and an entrée of giant grilled prawns with a Catalan vegetable salad; the cost, with some good wine from their extensive list: 75 euros. Lunch, frugal I instead hopped on the train and headed to the west side of the city, home to Preussenpark, a big public green space that is also home to some of the best Thai food vendors in the city.
From Friday through Sunday most of the year (but not during the winter), you can expect to find a great selection of noodles, spring rolls, grilled meats and salads — all informally prepared on the park grounds.
For 5 euros, I picked up a huge plate of freshly made papaya salad with tomato, peanut and shredded green papaya, carefully prepared by a nice woman named Nu. I made the mistake of asking her to make it spicy — my mouth paid the price. It was delicious nonetheless, and being able to wander around the park with other hungry visitors made the experience all the more enjoyable.
Alternative option: I’d be remiss not to mention the doner kebab, the popular Turkish street food of roasted stacked meat, usually eaten with different vegetables and sauces in sandwich or wrap form. Mustafa’s Gemuse Kebap is the most famous in Berlin (as are the long wait times) but I quite enjoyed Doner Dach, a small shop in Friedrichshain. A chicken gemüse döner was 3.50 euros. Afternoon activity, high end The artistically inclined will enjoy the next stop on our highend tour: A private viewing at one of Germany’s most interesting galleries. The Boros Collection, which features contemporary artwork, is housed in a former Second World War air raid shelter. Built on Hitler’s orders in 1943, the massive building was designed to shelter thousands of people and has a ceiling nearly 10 feet thick. A private tour costs 200 euros. Afternoon activity, frugal The flea market in Mauerpark is a perfect place to spend a Sunday afternoon. Packed with food vendors, merchandise, street performers and graffiti artists, it’s got just about anything you could imagine — and how much, or little, money you spend is entirely up to you. The atmosphere is fun and festive for pedestrians: A band called the Suns of Shine, dressed in matching bright yellow and purple leopard-print pants, were playing some upbeat pop songs for passersby. Nearby, an- other group called Blouzouki played bluesy numbers with just a banjo and a tuba.
Within the shopping area lay seemingly endless amounts of vintage clothing, posters of mythical creatures, patches and buttons, old furniture and crates of old records. I ended up spending 10 euros on a windbreaker I found at one of the clothing stalls. The food isn’t bad, either. I enjoyed some Korean cuisine (a savory jijimi pancake with kimchi cost 4.50 euros) from one of the vendors, Kuem-Ja. Dinner, high end For our wealthy guest, Munko recommended dinner at Slate Berlin, a sleek restaurant in the Mitte district where the chef, Lukas Bachl, plays with seasonal ingredients to craft his take on contemporary European cuisine. The eight-course tasting menu, which might include trout with cucumber and horseradish, or pigeon with tarragon, mushroom and potato, would set back our fictional traveller 109 euros. Dinner, frugal My dinner wasn’t nearly so involved or pricey, but I’m willing to bet it was just as flavourful. I went to Nusantara restaurant on Turmstrasse, near Fritz Schloss Park. There, a friend and I enjoyed a vast Indonesian feast. My nasi uduk was a huge plate of chicken, tofu, tempeh and acar (pickles), with a mound of rice cooked in coconut milk piled into a cone in the centre.