So yesterday we heard about Judi in Berlin, conversing with the locals and scooting around on the public transport, notably the S-Bahn and U-Bahn. The concluding part sees her delving into museums and giving tips on how to give tips. Enjoy…

Berlin is the museum city of Germany, with over a hundred museums to visit. I bought a 19 Euro museum pass from the tourist information centre at Brandenburg Gate. This allows you free entry into all state museums for two days. My favourite museums were the The Kennedy Museum (a private museum) which is a spacious and airy museum located very near the Brandenburg Gate. It houses original documents, letters, clothing and articles belonging to JFK and Jackie Bouvier, including the Hermes crocodile brief case that JFK had with him on the day of his assassination in Dallas. There is also footage from family home movies and the history of the Kennedy and the Fitzgerald families’ emigration from Ireland to the US.

Checkpoint Charlie Museum was also another favourite of mine, quite moving with lots of information in the form of old film footage, documents, and original objects, such as cars and suitcases that were used for smuggling people from East to West Berlin. The DDR Museum was also very good and provides you with an insight into everyday life in East Germany. The museum is filled with numerous objects such as school children’s exercise books from the 1970s, diaries, old restaurant and hotel menus, clothing, food, toiletries, and surveillance equipment, some of which has been donated by people who lived through the period. Most of these objects can be touched and felt. Be aware that not all museum staff in Berlin museums speak English and there are many museums with exhibit descriptions written in German only.

As far as restaurants go, the service in every restaurant that I visited was first class regardless of whether it was a modest eatery or a top end establishment. I found the quality of food very good. You will find that a service charge is never added to the bill. It is customary to pay 10% which should be given directly to the waitress or waiter and not left on the table.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed my trip the only fly in the ointment was the Romanian beggars (mainly children and young girls) who hang around the tourist areas, Brandenburg Gate especially. Although pretty harmless, they can be a bit of nuisance but apart from that I thoroughly recommend a trip to Berlin.

Berlin has been recommended! A big danke to Judi for getting involved with us and passing on her knowledge and experience of the metropolis that is Berlin.

If you’ve got some information to pass on about where you’ve been, particularly if it was with STA Travel, then get in touch and we’ll see if we can get you involved – email Camilla@statravelbuzz.co.uk or tweet us @statravelbuzz.