BERLIN

Berlin, Germany’s capital, dates to the 13th century. Reminders of the city’s turbulent 20th-century history include its Holocaust memorial and the Berlin Wall’s graffitied remains. Divided during the Cold War, its 18th-century Brandenburg Gate has become a symbol of reunification. The city’s also known for its art scene and modern landmarks like the gold-colored, swoop-roofed Berliner Philharmonie, built in 1963.Daily costs in Berlin are generally inexpensive. Visitors can eat out very cheaply since the city is packed with fast food stands selling kebabs, hotdogs and currywurst. Moreover, average sit-down restaurants are also affordable, especially compared to other European capitals like Vienna, Amsterdam or Rome.

Although the entrance tickets to most museums and places of interest are a little pricey, you can save by following our tips and advice.Examples of Prices in Berlin
The following list shows the prices of a few products and services, so that you can get an idea of the prices in Rome and can plan accordingly.

Food and drink
A currywurst (German sausage): € 2.50 (US$ 2.80)
A kebab: € 4 (US$ 4.40).
500ml German beer: € 4 (US$ 4.40).
Dinner for two at an average restaurant: € 35 (US$ 38.90) (minimum, without wine).
Transporation
Underground (U-Bahn) single journey ticket (zones A-B): € 3 (US$ 3.30)
One-day travel card (zones A-B): € 8.80 (US$ 9.80)
48-hour Berlin WelcomeCard: € 24 (US$ 26.60)
Taxi from Schönefeld Airport to the city center: € 55 (US$ 61.10) (approximately).
Accommodation
​​A double room in a centrally-located hotel: from € 60 (US$ 66.70)Since renovations in 2004, the Olympiastadion has a permanent capacity of 74,475 seats and is the largest stadium in Germany for international football matches. The Olympiastadion is a UEFA category four stadium.

Besides its use as an athletics stadium, the arena has built a footballing tradition. Since 1963, it has been the home of the Hertha BSC. It hosted three matches in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. It was renovated for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, when it hosted six matches, including the final. The DFB-Pokal final match is held each year at the venue. The Olympiastadion Berlin served as a host for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup as well as the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final.

It will host the UEFA Euro 2024 final, including 5 other games.The West Berlin city government sometimes referred to it as the “Wall of Shame”, a term coined by mayor Willy Brandt in reference to the Wall’s restriction on freedom of movement.[6] Along with the separate and much longer inner German border, which demarcated the border between East and West Germany, it came to symbolize physically the Iron Curtain that separated the Western Bloc and Soviet satellite states of the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War.After the end of World War II in Europe, what remained of pre-war Germany west of the Oder-Neisse line was divided into four occupation zones (as per the Potsdam Agreement), each one controlled by one of the four occupying Allied powers: the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the Soviet Union. The capital of Berlin, as the seat of the Allied Control Council, was similarly subdivided into four sectors despite the city’s location, which was fully within the Soviet zone.Within two years, political divisions increased between the Soviets and the other occupying powers. These included the Soviets’ refusal to agree to reconstruction plans making post-war Germany self-sufficient, and to a detailed accounting of industrial plants, goods and infrastructure—some of which had already been removed by the Soviets.France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Benelux countries later met to combine the non-Soviet zones of Germany into one zone for reconstruction, and to approve the extension of the Marshall Plan.Following the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, the Soviet Union engineered the installation of communist regimes in most of the countries occupied by Soviet military forces at the end of the War, including Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, and the GDR, which together with Albania formed the Comecon in 1949 and later a military alliance, the Warsaw Pact. The beginning of the Cold War saw the Eastern Bloc of the Soviet Union confront the Western Bloc of the United States, with the latter grouping becoming largely united in 1949 under NATO and the former grouping becoming largely united in 1955 under the Warsaw Pact.Since the end of the War, the USSR installed a Soviet-style regime in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany and later founded the GDR, with the country’s political system based on a centrally planned socialist economic model with nationalized means of production, and with repressive secret police institutions, under party dictatorship of the SED (Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands; Socialist Unity Party of Germany) similar to the party dictatorship of the Soviet Communist Party in the USSR.At the same time, a parallel country was established under the control of the Western powers in the zones of post-war Germany occupied by them, culminating in the foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949,[23] which initially claimed to be the sole legitimate power in all of Germany, East and West. The material standard of living in the Western zones of Berlin began to improve quickly, and residents of the Soviet zone soon began leaving for the West in large numbers, fleeing hunger, poverty and repression in the Soviet Zone for a better life in the West. Soon residents of other parts of the Soviet zone began to escape to the West through Berlin, and this migration, called in Germany “Republikflucht”, deprived the Soviet zone not only of working forces desperately needed for post-war reconstruction but disproportionately highly educated people, which came to be known as the “Brain Drain”.In fact, the city is best known for its striking contrasts. Historical buildings stand alongside modern architecture as the past and present intermingle. The sights Berlin has to offer, from the Brandenburg Gate to the Chancellor’s Office, bear witness to the history of an entire nation. Germany’s capital is home to all the main government buildings, including the historical Reichstag building as the seat of the German parliament.Berlin is the city of art, artists and museums. In fact, precious artefacts from all over the world are showcased at more than 170 museums here, some of which can be found on the internationally renowned Museum Island. Berlin is a popular destination for classical music fans from every corner of the globe thanks to its leading orchestras, such as the globally popular Berlin Philharmonic, and the city’s three huge opera houses, where spectacular operas and ballets are performed. And there is no end of theatre venues specialising in variety performances, revue, cabaret and more to ensure that there is something to keep everyone entertained.

Shopaholics are in their element on the renowned Kurfürstendamm, on the elegant Friedrichstraße and in the independent boutiques around the Hackesche Höfe. Berlin is a trendsetting city when it comes to music, art and life itself. More and more artists are flocking to Berlin from all around the world to draw inspiration from the endless creative vibes, making it one of the most exciting destinations in the whole of Europe. The vibrant city is abuzz with change – Berlin simply cannot stay still for a moment.And yet the city somehow remains chilled, with plenty of open spaces where people can go to breathe in some fresh air. With sprawling parks, wooded areas and lakes, Berlin is Germany’s greenest city. During the summer months, everyone moves outside. The sunshine and balmy evenings are best enjoyed in the beach bars, cafés and open-air cinemas and theatres, after all.The history of Berlin starts with its foundation in the 14th century. It became the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1417, and later of Brandenburg-Prussia, and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia grew about rapidly in the 18th and 19th centuries and formed the basis of the German Empire in 1871. The empire would survive until 1918 when it was defeated in World War I.After 1900 Berlin became a major world city, known for its leadership roles in science, the humanities, music, museums, higher education, government, diplomacy and military affairs. It also had a role in manufacturing and finance.

During World War II, bombing, artillery, and ferocious street-by-street fighting destroyed large parts of Berlin. Berlin was subsequently divided among the four major Allied powers and for over four decades it encapsulated the Cold War confrontation between West and East. With the reunification of Germany in 1990, Berlin was restored as the capital and as a major world city.The origin of the name Berlin is uncertain. It may have roots in the language of East Slavic, the Proto-Slavic root berl-/berl- which means “bear.” The meaning of the word was lost due to a superstition that is: saying the name would summon the wild animal; thus, people used alternate names such as “медведь” [medved’] (translates as ‘the one who knows where is the honey,’ a literal translation is ‘honey-know’). The only word that survived in East Slavic languages that points to the original root of ‘berl’ is “берлога” berloga/berlogha, which translates as “bear’s den/lair.” Furthermore, the suffix ‘-in-/-ин-,’ even in modern Russian and Ukrainian, denotes the Genetive case, which serves the function of “possession” or “part of a whole.” This suffix is common in many Russian last names, as it serves the same purpose as in ‘Berlin,’ which would translate as “bear’s/of bear/like bear/belongs to a bear.” Additionally, the root appears in the language of West Slavic inhabitants of the area of today’s Berlin, and may be related to the Old Polabian stem berl-/birl- (“swamp”).