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Berlin really comes into her own in summer, autumn’s changing leaves are gorgey, spring sees the first lush greens, winter can be grey, wet and nippy with scant 8 hr days, but the action’s 24 hrs all year round English is widely spoken, but any German is appreciated Tegel int’l airport to city by cab: approx 20 mins / €20 The U-bahn is the subway and the S-bahn are trains. Both are safe, clean and efficient. Buy tickets at the platform and validate them at the yellow machines, or risk incurring the wrath of dour inspectors; Zones A+B get you everywhere, except Schönefeld airport (Zone C) Taxis are a yawny beige and are easily found along the main drags. If not, simply call for one (see Very Useful) On footpaths, keep a peeper out for cyclists and stay out of their way or you could get a verbal bashing Street numbers run consecutively down one side of the street, do a u-turn at the end and continue up the other side, so #3 on a street might be opposite #145 Baps und Wurst alert: in summer, park and beach sunbathers aren’t afraid to bare all; shy Sally be warned Generally, shops open 10am-8pm, but hipper places won’t get going till post-noon, and don’t even try to shop on a Sunday, trot to spas and museums instead Many shops are tucked inside courtyards, so dive in The smoking ban is official, but implementation variable Tax, but no service charges are included on the bill at restaurants, so it’s always nice to add 10% Smaller shops and restaurants are often cash only Int’l code for Germany is +49. Drop Berlin’s area code 30 when calling from landlines in town, as listed in this guide, but on your mobile, dial 030 first Police dial 110, ambulance dial 112

The following German phrases are dull, but helpful...

Guten tag / Tschüss : Good day / So long Danke schön : Ta, so very much Entschuldigung : Oops, sorry / Excuse me

Ja, Jetzt geht’s los!