Car Rental Berlin

Exploring Berlin

Berlin was surrounded by the former (East) German Democratic Republic, and although more than a decade has passed since unification many clues remain to suggests that this was the poorer twin for 45 years, a drive through the small countryside towns can be fascinating.

Potsdam, on the Havel river just beyond the southwestern tip of Berlin, was the address of German bigwigs from the 17th century onwards, a good example of their legacy being Schloss Sanssouci castle, commissioned by Friedrich the Great in the mid-18th century and emulating the French grandeur of the time.

Stasi HQ is the old headquarters of the German Democratic Republic's secret police force (the notorious Stasi), located in the graceless suburbs of East Berlin.

Kreuzberg is a rather odd suburb, southwest of the centre. Originally full of punks and neo-nazis, it’s strangely become quite trendy, full of curious coffeshops, book stalls, music shops, markets and kebab shops.

Futher a field, Leipzig and Weimar are two interesting towns worth visiting for an overnight excursion. Anyone who ever read stories about heroic WWII escapes from the infamous Colditz prison will recognised Leipzig, while Weimar is the epicentre of the country's ‘Age of Enlightenment’ , attracting scholars of the Bauhaus movement.