Drop $25,000 in Berlin

Spend three days in Berlin

VITAL INFORMATION Population 3,405,000
Languages spoken German
Currency 0.73 EUR = 1 USD
Average temperature Summer: 72F; winter: 35F
High season May to September; December to January

All prices are in U.S. dollars.

While Germany
may not be known for its sense of humor, it doesn’t mean that its
uber-trendy capital, Berlin, isn’t worth a visit. In fact, Berlin is
fast becoming one of the sexiest, most dynamic cities in Europe,
complete with grand historic buildings, glorious museums, art
galleries, theaters, and tons of celebrity-packed restaurants, bars and
velvet-roped nightclubs. What’s more is that wherever your curious
footsteps take you, it’s basically guaranteed that you’ll spy one
iconic James Bond location or another -- and what can be cooler than that? Well, maybe the gorgeous frauleins that you’ll encounter at the pubs and clubs that have no closing hour could be cooler.


Yes, it seems a lot is hidden beneath Berlin’s cold, somewhat austere
exterior, and tourists are finally coming to realize that it’s actually
a cosmopolitan capital with much heart and soul to offer (and, of
course, lots of good, old-fashioned German beer). Prost!
Day 1: Sights for sore eyes


Arrive at the Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin; it’s Berlin’s most
expensive hotel and one of the most historic. As you step out of the
limo -- provided as part of your room rates -- and look up at the aging
hotel face, you may think that you’ve seen it somewhere before. Well,
that’s because you probably have -- it’s where Michael Jackson
dangled his baby boy from one of the hotel’s balconies. Fortunately,
Wacko Jacko is unlikely to be here during your visit and you’ll settle
into the Presidential Suite -- costing $13,094 per night -- safe with
the knowledge that no one will be able to break into your high-security
abode.

Before you embark on your exploration of the city,
purchase an $89 Day Pass and make your way down, in the special lift,
to the Adlon Spa. Unwind in the pool, sauna and steam bath, before
indulging in a couple of rejuvenating treatments to ease away that jet
lag. Once you feel like a million bucks, make your way back to your
room in your fluffy dressing gown and slippers (don’t worry, you’re not
likely to see anyone you know).

When you’re dressed and ready
to welcome Berlin with open arms, take a stroll over to the legendary
Brandenburg Gate (adjacent to the hotel), which was where the main
celebrations took place following the collapse of the Berlin Wall on
August 23, 1989. Also make sure that you take in Checkpoint Charlie, a
crossing point between East and West Berlin, and Potsdam, the capital
city of the federal state of Brandenberg, Germany, located southwest of
Berlin on the Havel River. While in Potsdam, don’t overlook the largest
World Heritage Site in Germany at Sanssouci or the oldest large-scale
film studio on the planet known as Filmstudio Babelsberg.

All
that culture will have whetted your appetite, so make a beeline in your
limo for Ana e Bruno in the Schloss Charlottenburg district for a
sumptuous Mediterranean lunch. Headed by super-chef Bruno Pelligrini,
it’s the best and most expensive Italian restaurant in Berlin. Splash
out $47 on the Langoustines & monkfish with cauliflower purée and
mange tout emulsion, and wash it down with a chilled $296-bottle of
Ornellaia ’99 rose. It’s not traditional German cuisine, but it’s damn tasty.


Spend your first afternoon in Berlin with a chauffeured cruise to some
more of the city’s wondrous sights, including the Baroque Palace that’s
not too far from the restaurant. After you’ve wandered around its
immaculately kept English gardens, make your way over to the Egyptian
Museum and Papyrus Collection, which is home to the famous
3,000-year-old bust of Nefertiti. Entrance fees to these places won’t
be too damaging to your credit cards, but not seeing them would be like
going to Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower -- and that’s just wrong.

After a hectic first day, the last thing you’ll feel like doing is
leaving the hotel again. Instead, opt for dinner at the exclusive
in-house Gourmet Restaurant Lorenz Aldon, which serves spectacular
French haute cuisine. Headed by Executive Chef Fabrice Lasnon, expect
to fork out around $330 for a wonderful five-course meal, which
includes a corresponding wine selected with the help of the in-house
sommelier.


With your belly full, make your way to the Lobby Lounge & Bar for a
delicious Grey Goose Martini (around $21) and a soothing cigar, while
taking in the pleasant sounds of the lounges very own piano man. Just
don’t ask him to “play it again, Sam” (wrong country, and no doubt the
piano player won’t share your sense of humor).

Price tag: $13,877 Day 2: Shopping slave

Once you leave the Adlon you won’t be able to use the complimentary limo anymore, so rent a $755-a-day Mercedes-Benz
E200 for the next two days from TouringinGermany.com. Drive to The
Regent Berlin, just round the corner from the Adlon in Gendarmenmarkt
Square, and check-in to your $3,690-a-night rooftop Presidential Suite.

Whether you like it or not, it’s inevitable when you travel, and now it’s time to check out Berlin’s shops. Instruct your chauffeur
to drop you off at Quartier 206 department store in the art-deco
district of Berlin Mitte. Here you’ll find a variety of designer shops
in which to blow your budget, including Cerruti, Yves Saint Laurent,
Moschino, and Sisley.

After you’ve handed over $4,000 on more
stuff you don’t need, check out the swanky shopping streets of Ku’damm
to the west of the city -- a mecca for discriminate consumers like
yourself. More of a sight for sore eyes than a shopping arcade, you’re
certain to find something that tickles your fancy -- like a pair of
$170 stilettos from the Gino Rossi store for that special someone in
your life, for instance.

Hop back in your Benz and grab a bite
to eat at Zur letzen Instanz, Berlin’s oldest -- and possibly most
famous -- restaurant. An authentic Medieval pub, Zur letzen Instanz is
something of a city institution, with everyone from Napoleon to Jacques
Chirac enjoying the traditional German food here. The age-old building
is a marvel in itself, and the Wiener Schnitzel and the Eisbein are
to-die-for. Take cash with you for the $50 tab though, just in case
they’ve never laid eyes on your fancy Black Amex before.


Spend your second afternoon in the country that invented the
frankfurter at the Sony Center Music Box, the only entertainment center
in the world dedicated entirely to different styles of music. Give the
burly mustached lady at the door your $10 entrance fee and let your
imagination run wild -- inside there’s a whole host of rides, shows and
attractions for your pleasure. Have a go on the water harp and have fun
conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra -- and who said Germans
were uptight?

You kept it on the low last night, so there’s
really no excuse not to go out and party like a frat boy on your second
night. Pull on that fantastic new shirt you bought during your shopping
spree and show the Berlin frauleins exactly what they’re missing.

Dine at The Regent Berlin’s Michelin-starred Fischers Fritz restaurant, over which chef
de cuisine Christian Lohse presides. Seafood is his specialty, so don’t
miss out on the $54-carpaccio of Atlantic prawns and scallops to start
with and the $66-Bretonian lobster for the entree, which is served with
juice from a lobster press.

Spend $25,000 in Berlin
After picking up a couple of those afore-mentioned frauleins in the hotel bar, head to the 40seconds club -- where Will.I.am from the Black Eyed Peas was involved in a brawl -- and make your way to the stylish Platinum Lounge area. There, you’ll be able to enjoy the pulsing house beats in the privacy of your own dark booth, should you and your fraulein posse be getting a little frisky after downing too much $350 Krug.

Price tag: $9,145
Day 3: Country crawl


After you wake, have a bellboy come up and take your things down to the
car. Tip him $50 for being so quick, smiley and competent, and make
your way to the Schlosshotel, located on the edge of the city. Built by
Wilhelm II’s legal advisor -- and rebuilt after the fall of the wall --
the Karl Lagerfield-designed hotel is another of Berlin’s most historic
places to rest your head, and is worth spending your hard-earned cash
on the $854-a-night Grunewald Grand Suite.

Positioned next to
the Grunewald Forest, you’ll feel like you’re in the middle of a
traditional German fairytale in this recently converted private mansion
-- heck, you’ll half expect Hansel and Gretel to emerge from the
foliage. If you’re visiting in the winter, make use of the great
outdoors, and go ice-skating, skiing and sledding down the slopes in
the forest. In the summertime, check out the 15th century lakeside
renaissance castle, Jagdschloß Grunewald, the 184-foot historical tower
of Grunewaldturm, and the castle and gardens at Pfaueninsel.

Have your last supper in the city at Margaux -- along the bustling Unter den Linden -- where Michelin-starred chef
Michael Hoffmann gives a deliciously German twist to traditional French
cuisine. The fare’s so fresh and innovative, he registered a whole new
way of cooking -- Avant-Garde Classique. Try the $70 parfait of
Gillardeau oysters with Champagne beaumes de Venise and roasted
pancetta -- you won’t be disappointed. Ask sommelier Rakhshan Zhouleh,
winner of the Gault Millau Sommelier of the Year 2002, what wine he recommends.
No doubt he’ll point you in the direction of one of his most expensive
bottles from his collection of 30 vintages. Expect to uncork no less
than $400 for a slap-up meal here.

Head over to the Theater
des Westens in Kantstraße and watch one of its magnificent operas,
usually featuring renowned German cabaret stars such as Ute Lemper and
Helen Schneider (beats Liza Minelli any day). Hand over $40 for a Premium Ticket to ensure you see everything up close and don’t miss a beat.

Price tag: $2,169 (including your Benz rental)

Total three-day price tag: $25,191
tips for the trip

• Rain is a possibility in any month, so come prepared.
  
• If
  you have time, take a walking tour of Berlin -- the history that’s
  offered by the guides (who are usually students) is priceless.
  
• Berlin isn’t famous for its beer houses -- that’s Munich.
  
• Wednesday is typically market day.
  
• If
  you decide to visit in the winter, try to hit the Christmas markets and
  visit the New Years celebration at Brandenburg Gate. Berlin Tourism has
  a website dedicated to making the best of a winter visit.
  

buried in berlin


Well, Berlin certainly wasn’t what you expected. In place of the cold,
unwelcoming accommodations you thought you’d be staying in, were
historic palace hotels filled with grandeur and gold; instead of
dried-up Wiener Schnitzel meals, you had feasts fit for Michelin stars
and kings; and instead of finding yourself lost in translation, you
simply found yourself at home. With Berlin’s international profile
rising by the day, it’s one of the hottest places to catch a city
break. You’re just glad you got there first.

Resources:
http://goeurope.about.com
www.lonelyplanet.com
http://wikitravel.org
www.virtualtourist.com
www.hotel-adlon.de
www.die-berliner-mauer.de
www.studiobabelsberg.com
www-zeuthen.desy.de
www.berlinfo.com
www.ana-e-bruno.de
www.elegant-lifestyle.com
www.world66.com
www.hotel-adlon.de
www.theregentberlin.com
www.berlin.de
www.timeout.com
www.kudamm.com
www.zurletzteninstanz.de
www.fischersfritzberlin.com
www.40seconds.de
www.schlosshotelberlin.com