So WIP continues its journey into the deeply mystifying secrets of travel. You can check out London and Paris travel guides as well, and tomorrow we shall leave Europe behind (at least for one day). But let's not get ahead of ourselves! We have a European capital to guide you through. (I visited Berlin in my teens and freaked out not only because the locals understood my lousy German, but also because of how great the place was.)

How to stay sane in Berlin, Germany

1. Transport
Get a bus card. I don't know if the place has a metro or not - frankly because the information would be quite pointless. Going around in Berlin in a bus gives you the opportunity to look around and marvel. The distances are short enough anyway.

2. Hotel
I had a hotel off Kurfürstendamm and near the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche (the only way one can pronounce either of these words correctly is to be German), and I warmly recommend the area. The room was affordable and on a quiet street despite its location. No bus ride was required in the morning to get in the middle of the buzz in the morning.

3. What to see
If my memory serves me right, there was a zoo (not Tiergarten, apparently a different thing), a gigantic ball placed in a stick high above the ground, a gate with blue horses on top, the shopping street and the church mentioned above, some sort of a long line on the ground, and a famous mall (Kaufhaus des Westens, or KaDeWe). See everything. Do it.

4. Where to eat
Instead of what to eat, I'm telling you where to eat: there is an infinite number of absolutely adorable cafes and restaurants on the Kurfürstendamm, with tables out in the front where you can sit, eat, look at the buzz, and listen to the street musicians. Try Bratwurst and Bier. Stay away from the potato salad (I found tiny black hairs in mine).

5. A handy tip
Being able to say "ach so" in a conversation every four to five minutes one-ups your credibility. Learn to say it like a true German before you land, and then use it all the time. Pickpockets won't consider you pray, and locals will treat you like an equal. Remember, the c is silent.

Darn if writing this didn't make yours truly miss Berlin! Tomorrow we'll sail over the Atlantic to a city of dreams. (You'll never guess what it is.)

RK