Advantages: unique in the world
Disadvantages: none

..."How small it is," was what I thought when I walked through it the first time. Like many other Germans I had waited for this opportunity for a long time, for nearly 30 years it had been behind The Wall when you were a Wessi (a citizen of the Federal Republic of Germany) and beyond the so-called death zone running in front of The Wall if you were an Ossi (citizen of the German Democratic Republic). It isn't really small as far as city gates go, in fact it was the grandest of a series of city gates encircling the city at the end of the 18th century. The other gates haven't survived, the Brandenburger Tor (Tor=gate) has because it's at the end of the famous boulevard Unter den Linden (yes, there are linden trees on either side) leading directly to the residence of the Kings of Prussia. It's 26m (65ft) high, 65.50m (213ft) wide and 11m... Read review

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Advantages: Germany's capital and most interesting city
Disadvantages: a bit too large, distances too long

...'s throw to the Potsdamer Platz, waste land once and now a magnet for visitors from all over the world, they don't only come to shop or do business but also to look at the buildings from an architectural point of view the most famous being the Sony Centre with a roof that reminds of the peak of the Fujiyama. Back to the Brandenburger Tor, the area east of it was also waste land until ten years ago when the Grand Hotel Adlon (five stars +) was reopened and other buildings, many embassies among them, were built on the street Unter den Linden (Under the Linden) which starts here. This Avenue was a famous promenade before the war and has now regained some of its former splendour. We could get on Bus 100 again and go straight along Unter den Linden up to the final destination Alexanderplatz, but I'd like to invite you to make a detour... Read review

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Advantages: It IS Berlin
Disadvantages: None

...the Unter den Linden to herald in the 1000 year Reich. Any semblance to an Arch of Peace was well and truly 'up the lum'. Fast forward a mere 12 years, and the gate became the new frontier between East and West, a chink in the Iron Curtain. It was actually incorporated into the Berlin Wall, although the only traces of that concrete monstrosity are some markers in the surrounding cobbles which follow the line of the wall. These days, it's probably the best-known landmark in Berlin, if not Germany, and has gone some way to regaining its primary role as a symbol of peace with the re-unification of Germany. So what is there to do there? Apart from looking at it, walking through it and posing for photos, you mean? Well, nothing really. Wait, don't go, I'm not finished yet! The Brandenburg Gate, or to give it its proper name... Read review

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Advantages: good fun
Disadvantages: none

...at the top. These are useful as you can fit ladders /bridges to the climbing frame through these doors .There is one oval transparent window. This tent is not very easy to fit the climbing frame has to be dismantled to fit it. The tent has a seam at the bottom of it. This threads through the rungs of the bars of the climbing frame at the same level as the platform. This may be fiddly time consuming if you keep taking the den/tent on and off but my grandkids just leave their tent on all the time. You can buy this TP explorer den from the ELC, http://www.elc.co.uk/toy-30339?scid=awin for £55 it is also available at many other online stores most seem to be around the £55 mark. Yes I would recommend this toy it adds an extra dimension to play on the climbing frame. A special den to play /hide in can be Tarzans lookout; the eagles nest... Read review

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Advantages: 2 hours' play for your money!
Disadvantages: Expensive unless you buy a book of 5 or ten visits in advance

...We don't live near the Giant's Den, but we do find ourselves, with the kids, at the Team valley retail park from time to time. Shopping's no fun to 4 youngsters, so one afternoon, we decided to treat them to softplay. We have been to numerous softplay sessions over the past 6 years, and Giant's Den is there at the top for us. It's huge, with lots of different zones for different ages and activities. There's plenty there to keep the kids entertained .... 0-2 zone ball pond, shapes area, little 3-tier play area for the tiny toddlers to enjoy 2-4 zone separate play area for older toddlers with a spiral slide, ball pond as well as an obstacle zone under 6 'mini-village' cars, houses, see-saw rockers, roller-coaster car track for a slightly bumpy car ride The main zone Includes a variety of slides (giant wavy astra... Read review

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Advantages: huge play area
Disadvantages: Expensive

...Giants den Huge warehouse on the easily found Team Valley trading Estate, this has been opened a few years now, and is usually busy…one of those places to go to when it's raining and you need something to amuse the kids. The whole area is divided into sections for under 2s, which is basically ball pools and Little vehicles to drive in a specially enclosed area, an area for under 5s, which is more of the same but with some slides and climbing frames added, and then there is the real "I am" things. These include a giant slide 3 storey climbing frame, as many nets and tunnels as you can negotiate, basketball area (there are coaching nights), PS2 and x box areas complete with some of the latest games and a mini village with small road system. Definitely something for everything if nerves can take it!! PARTIES We have. Over... Read review

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Advantages: Multicultural mekka, still rather peaceful, friendly people
Disadvantages: far away from Italy ;^p

...that friendliness and helpfulness aren't usually on my list of expectations when I visit a large city. So I had quite a "wow" experience with the folks there. I drove around in a little Ford Ka rental car, which was really quite amazing; to drive from Charlottenburg to Pankow, to see the difference in architecture. One thing that really stood out was the large number of blue collar beer dives that look like something out of the 60's. I almost felt like I was in a time warp. Of course there are the many important historical landmarks, there's Unter den Linden, there's the Art Museum.... I'm sure you can find about those things in any Berlin Guide you pick up. I'm still now thinking about Berlin as something that is quite hard to find: a big city with lots of small town flair, green spots, friendly people. It wasn't as noisy as other big cities I... Read review

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Advantages: central, lovely location
Disadvantages: expensive place

.... Here´s my top-list of sights you can explore around the Gendarmenmarkt just by foot: Galleries Lafayette (a museum) Reichstagsgebäude Brandenburger Tor/ Unter den Linden Funkturm (get up there for a view) Potsdamer Platz Checkpoint Charly Zoologischer Garten (zoo) Botanischer Garten (botanical garden) The distance to Tegel airport is only 15 km / 30 mls , and you need about 20 minutes in a taxi which will cost you around 20 Euros. And you´re central in the middle of the town! As you can see...I enjoyed it. More about Berlin the next few days.... :-)... Read review

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Advantages: Fantastic collection of antiquities
Disadvantages: Unfriendly staff

...The Pergamonmuseum is istuated on the famous museum island in the heart of Berlin. It is at the very end of Unter den Linden and right next to Berlin Cathedral. The building itself is a huge neo-classical edifice, which looks like a scaled down version of the Acropolis. This is an appropriate setting for the collections inside. The Pergamon museum is devoted to works that were discovered by German archaeologists before the First World War. Some elements of the collection were taken back to Russia as spoils of war at the end of WWII and there are replicas in the museum with an unusual caption that says the original is now in the Moscow Museum. The exhibits come from all over the classicla world, from Greece to Babylon (present day Iraq). There are many highlights of this fantastic museum, the best of which is probably the Ishtar... Read review

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Advantages: An ultra modern hotel in an ultra modern city centre.
Disadvantages: None

...– a high rise construction of concrete, steel and glass. This houses offices, restaurants and boutiques which surround a central piazza that is a meeting place and display area for the latest in multi-media technologies. Wherever you look new buildings (offices, apartment compleses) are springing up apace. Massive infrastructure projects are going ahead (a new major intercity high speed train terminal). What is surprising is that within ten years of its demise, the division between East and West is very difficult to determine. Potsdam Platz is where you will find the interchange for the Metro, train and bus services (the U-bahn and S-bahn systems). Within ten minutes walk are the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate, Unter den Linden, the remnants of the Berlin Wall, the Jewish holocaust museum and the Nazi ‘Topographies of Terror’ museum... Read review

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