Berlin Travel Guide

City Facts

Location

Berlin State, northeastern Germany.

Time Zone

GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

Electricity

220 volts AC, 50Hz; round two-pin plugs are standard.

Average January Temperatures

-0.4°C (33°F).

Average July Temperatures

23°C (73°F).

Average Annual Rainfall

484mm (19 inches).

Language

German is the official language and is spoken as a first language by almost the entire population. There is some variation between Hochdeutsch (standard German) and the Berliner dialect, as well as between East and West Berlin. English is the most common second language, and is widely understood and spoken by those in tourism-related fields. The dialect spoken in Berlin owes many of its hallmarks to the Prussian empire and the French-speaking Huguenots who sought refuge here. The most common word that stands out is kieken (sometimes pronounced more like gücken), which means ‘look’. Berliners also have a tendency to pronounce the German ch as ck, ie ‘lock’ rather than ‘loch’, and particularly ‘ick’ rather than ‘ich’ (which means ‘I’ in English) as they do elsewhere in Germany. It is important to pay attention to the times of performances in Germany – halb-acht (half-eight) means 0730 and not 0830 as it would in English. Similarly, viertel-acht (quarter-eight) means 0715, a quarter of the way to eight o’clock, and drei-viertel-acht (three-quarters-eight) is 0745. When speaking to strangers, one should use the formal forms of address (Sie rather than du). The following characters are used in German, but not in English: ä (=ae), ö (=oe), ü (=ue) and ß (=ss). PhrasesYes - JaNo - NeinHello - Guten TagGoodbye - Auf Wiedersehen / Tschüs (informal)Please - BitteThank you - Danke My name is … - Mein Name ist …How are you? - Wie geht es Ihnen? (polite) / - Wie geht es dir? (informal)I’m very well - Mir es gut gehtI feel ill - Ich fühle mich unwohl How much does it cost? - Wieviel kostet das? Do you speak - Sprechen Sie English? Englisch? (polite) / Sprichst du Englisch? (informal)I don’t understand - Ich verstehe nicht Where is …? - Wo befindet sich …?Entrance - Eingang / Einfahrt (vehicles)Exit - Ausgang / Ausfahrt (vehicles)Danger - Gefahr / VorsichtOpen - GeöffnetClosed - GeschlossenToilets - Toiletten / WCDoctor - Arzt / Ärztin (female)Hotel - HotelRestaurant - RestaurantBeer - BierWine - WeinMenu - SpeisekarteToday - HeuteTomorrow - MorgenMonday - MontagTuesday - DienstagWednesday - MittwochThursday - DonnerstagFriday - FreitagSaturday - SamstagSunday - SonntagOne - EinsTwo - ZweiThree - DreiFour - VierFive - FünfSix - SechsSeven - SiebenEight - AchtNine - NeunTen - ZehnTwenty - ZwanzigThirty - DreissigForty - VierzigFifty - FünfzigSixty - SechzigSeventy - SiebzigEighty - AchtzigNinety - NeunzigOne Hundred - HundertOne Thousand - Tausend

Cost of Living

Special Events

LangeNachtderMuseen(LongNightoftheMuseum)
January and August
Over 100 city museums are open all night long.
Various venues
Website: www.lange-nacht-der-museen.de

BerlinaleInternationalFilmFestival
February
Various venues
Website: www.berlinale.de

KarnevalderKulturen(CarnivalofCultures)
May
Parade and festival.
Werkstatt der Kulturen, Kreuzberg
Website: www.karneval-berlin.de

ChristopherStreetDay
June
Gay and lesbian pride march.
Various venues
Website: www.csd-berlin.de

Fête de la Musique
June
Street music festival.
Various venues
Website: www.fetedelamusique.de

Berlin-biennaleforContemporaryArt
June-August, even years
KW Institute for Contemporary Art
Website: www.berlinbiennale.de

ClassicOpenAir
July
Free outdoor classical music festival.
Gendarmenmarkt
Website: www.classicopenair.de

Berlin Beer Festival
August
Thousands of different brands of beer to taste.
Various venues
Website: www.bierfestival-berlin.de

JazzFestBerlin
November
Berlin's premier jazz festival.
Various venues
Website: www.berlinerfestspiele.de

SilvesterinBerlin
December
New Year's Eve celebrations.
Throughout the city
Website: www.silvester-berlin.de