Finding a reasonable place to sleep in the heart of Berlin can be a challenge. Luckily, my friends Georg and Martina are developing vacation apartments in a former spice warehouse and apartment building in Kreuzberg, an exciting and multi-cultural district of Berlin which once butted right up against the former Berlin Wall. I was fortunate enough to sleep in this property for four nights recently. Here’s what I discovered about Kreuzberg.
A former spice warehouse, now being converted to vacation apartments
While gritty and not particularly attractive compared to say, Kurfurstendamm, Kreuzberg is the place for a bargain in Berlin. On the four nights I slept here, I never spent more than 10 Euro for a complete dinner with beverage. One night, I even had an excellent freshly-made pizza for a ridiculous 2.10 Euro! Try that around Potsdamer Platz. There are all kinds of interesting restaurants and cafes, many of them with original decoration back to the early 1900s, Berlin’s heyday.
Kreuzberg is also very convenient to easy access of Berlin’s excellent public transportation system, which includes buses running every five minutes, trams and a subway system. I bought a “Berlin Welcome Card” on the first morning (22.90 Euro) and once validated at the nearby U-bahn station (overhead train) I had 72 hours to hop on and off all of the various options for getting around the city at will. It made my visit much more fun than if I had tried driving and finding a place to park. And, the ease of using this one ticket also saved me from constantly having to dig out change to buy a ticket for this or that destination. The ticket came with a handy booklet, in German and English, with excellent maps of the transportation system plus all of the highlights of Berlin’s vibrant capital. One day I just sat on the upper deck of the bus and watched the city roll by from my warm and comfy seat. I rode the bus to the end of the line, where I waited a few minutes until I could catch a bus rolling back the other way. It was tourism at its best and most spontaneous. I just got off on the way back at places which interested me. This was much more flexible (and cheaper) than those “Berlin Sightseeing” hop on, hop off buses.
For more information about sleeping at the FiveLofts in Kreuzberg, contact me directly at info@europeanfocus.com