PlanetEye

Situated on the Landwehrkanal a short walk from the Kottbusser Tor U-bahn station (U8), Il Casolare is a great Italian restaurant. Checked table cloths and heavy-duty water glasses for wine give it a real trattoria feel, which is only slightly at odds with the other decorations. Punk posters cover the walls, along with graffiti happily added by guests throughout the years. One of the waiters has a mo-hawk to complete the picture and he's been there for a few years now, so probably won't be disappearing in a hurry.

Honestly, I've only ever had the pizza there. It's large, reasonably priced, and very tasty. I have heard good things about their other dishes - and the menu makes for an amusing read, with instructions on how to use it included - but would not recommend trying the red wine. Really, just skip the house red and order a beer. That works well with pizza anyway. Also, don't forget that these are European pizzas. There is no such thing as deep pan, cheese soaked pizza on this continent. Toppings are added sparingly and crusts are thin and crunchy. Flavours are more important than mass.

Il Casolare does get busy. The place is popular and, on a warm summer night, you may be fighting for a table outside. A cold winter night will see you fighting for a table inside, and there's less of those, so it's a really good idea to try and reserve one. There is quite a high turnover of diners, so hanging around and waiting usually does work, but you may have to wait a while if you decide for that route.  Service can at times be slightly harried - on really busy evenings the waiters may take a while to get to your table - but for a popular, lively restaurant, you couldn't ask for much more.

With names like Fire Pot, the meals actually aren't as spicy as they could be - unsurprising as this is Germany. I recommend that if you like a bit of hot in your dinner insist. And insist loudly because they don't really believe you. Germans don't take spice very well and other cuisines have had to adapt to their customers.

Many of the meals come with variations of different meats, and the entire menu is lavishly sprinkled with seafood dishes. The wine list is short but good, and the service excellent.

An interesting part of the buildings history is noted on the plaque that stands in front of the restaurant. In 1992, when it was the restaurant Mykonos, the Iranian-Kurdish opposition leader Sadegh Sharafkandi and two colleagues were assasinated here. It was announced in the court ruling that these assasinations had been ordered by Iranian intelligence and the Ayatollah. The plaque out the front names the vicitms as freedom fighters and declares that the Iranian leaders were responsible. The relationship between Germany and Iran is, as you can imagine, strained.

The Long an, however, stands apart from this terrible history. It is a lovely restaurant with great service and food. Just be aware that the chopsticks in the table decoration are for looking only. You'll get some usable ones with your meal. Oh, and for any Australians this may be a reason to get over there and allay some homesickness: the spring roll entree tastes exactly like a fried dim sim.

You may miss these when walking around. They're small and unobtrusive. Brass blocks imbedded in the footpaths around Berlin, engraved with names, dates and places. These are called Stolpersteine (stumbling blocks) and are individual memorials to Jews who were killed under the Nazi regime.

These are the work of the artist Gunter Demnig. For fifteen years he has been placing these stones at the former homes of murdered Jews. 13 000 Stolpersteine have been laid so far, and he has put them down in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Hungary. In Berlin there are around 1400 that have been laid down.

You can find the locations of the Stolpersteine from various lists. Here is a complete list of those in Charlottenburg/Wilmersdorf, including the area around Kurfurstendamm and Zoologischer Garten. Complete lists for the rest of the city are slightly more difficult to come by, so the best bet is to just keep your eyes peeled as you tramp around.

One spot in Prenzlauer Berg which has raised a ruckus recently, is the seven new stones that have been placed at Rosa-Luxemburg Strasse 18. In this house lived the seven Jews who the stones commemorate, and who deported and murdered. Now the building houses a right extremist clothing store. Protests against the shop have been going since February, and the locals organised the Stolperstein placement themselves.

Hang outside the Starbucks in front of Brandenburg Gate and you'll be run over by the hundreds of tourists that hang around a small sign announcing the New Berlin Free Walking Tours.

Run on the idea that you only pay what you think you should, the Sandemans walking tours are taking off all across Europe. Berlin, Amsterdam, London, Paris, Edinburgh, Munich and Hamburg - all have these red t-shirted guides ushering tourists around on three hour long tours of the cities. Free is, of course, relative and you are expected to tip your guides. They must pay 3€ per person back to the company, so it can work out to be a lot of work for klittle for them if people don't tip much.

Berlin, the origin of this idea, now offers several tours. As well as the free city tour (in English, German or Spanish), Sandemans also offers several more specific tours, which aren't free.

The Third Reich Berlin tour covers the history and sites of Nazi Berlin. Hitlers bunker, Goebbel's propoganda ministry and the SS and gestapo headquarters are all visited. The tour costs 12€ and goes four times a week.

The Red Berlin tour focuses on the post-war Berlin. The Cold War, the Stasi and KGB are covered along with the unpleasantness of day-to-day life under this regime. This tour only runs twice a week, on Mondays and Saturdays.

The Sachsenhausen tour goes up to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp north of Berlin. It runs every day ecept Mondays and costs 14€. this tour takes quite a bit longer, including travel time, and be prepared that it will emotionally wipe you out. Do not plan on a fun evening afterwards.

The same company also offers a pub crawl and a bike tour and a free introductory booklet to Berlin that can be picked up at Schoenefeld airport and other places around the city. It isn't a bad tour at all, but you will be in large groups and possibly end up paying what you would for other tours of the city, so keep that in mind before you get all excited at the prospect of free.

You've done hotels, hostels, B&B's. You've tried Tokyo's capsule rooms and tents in the Australian outback. You've slept in airport terminals and ferry lounges. Cruise ships, long haul flights and nudist parks.

Now it's time to pull on those flares and rent out a classic VW bus.

Berlin Bulli was started by the keyboardist of that German industrial metal band, Rammstein. The German name for the VW bus is Bulli, and a real aficionado would know there are currently 5 generations of them. Berlin Bulli rents out the Type 2 (Type 1's are those with the V paint work at the front) with full 70's camping gear. Yellow and orange plaid, formica table tops, gas cookers, mini fridges and pull-out beds - everything you need to spend an evening in style. With the added bonus that you can spend that evening anywhere you want.

The cars have been beautifully restored and given such names as Woodstock, Easy Rider and Starsky & Hutch. One nights rental will cost you between 115€ and 180€, including 200km; while a full weekend with 600km will put you back between 260€ and 430€. The expensive one, the Sgt Pepper model, has a full 70 horse power engine. Stand back in awe as it loudly revs up and then putts sedately away.

Don't forget the potential uses of the VW bus as the perfect festival mobile. You can pass virtually the entire summer, just cruising from one festival to another across Germany, transport and accomodation in one. From Rock am Ring to Melt, Hurricane to Highfield - in this automobile you'll not only get there in style, but you'll have a much warmer, dryer and more comfortable nights sleep than anyone else on the campsite. Your beer can be kept cold as well.

If you want to talk top food then I hope you see stars. Michelin stars of course. These tiny marks of approval are the ultimate goal of any restaurant and though few make it to the lofty heights of multiple stars, nine berlin restaurants have so far gained the much sought after first star.

One of these is Vau, situated near Gendarmemarkt -slap, bang in the middle of Berlin. Its modern German cuisine by chef Kolja Kleeberg has garned both a Michelin star and sixteen Gault Millau points, so it can safely be considered one of the finest restuarants the city has to offer.

Of course, such exquisteness comes with a price. Eating a la Carte of an evening will cost you 30€ for an entree and 38€ for a main, while the 6 course menu is slightly better value at 110€.

Vau also offers a lunch deal for those who'd like to sample the Michelin stars, but don't want to shell out for the evening experience. For 15€ per course, entree, main and dessert are offered, or you can go straight to the arranged menu's: 3 course 65€; 4 course 75€; 5 course 85€ and the full 6 courses for 100€ - which is only slightly cheaper than the evening price once you go the whole hog. If you get through all 6 courses at lunchtime, you have my total respect.

Be wary of the drinks though. A glass of water will set you back about 7€, so though I don't doubt that it is top quality water, your lunch bargain will quickly skyrocket if you don't pay attention.

For those who wouldlike to take a little of the cooking art home with you, Kolja Kleeberg has also put out a cookbook. Of course, that's all in German but for the high art of cookery you do have to suffer a little.
 

This restaurant, nestled in ivy and dark wood amongst the trendiness of Prenzlauer Berg’s Helmholdtzplatz, is the perfect example of modern German cuisine. As it’s name implies (Weinstein = tartar, the source of those clears crystals which sometimes appear in white wine), a major focus of the restaurant is the accompanying wines.

The menu changes often, so the current specials are usually noted on the chalkboard. They do a mean asparagus when the season arrives and specialise in giving those traditional German meals a nouveau twist. A wine is recommended with each of the meals, and the waiters love to offer further tips.

A somewhat cheaper way to enjoy the full meal is to take advantage of the three- or four-course specials. These are designed for their taste sensations and the individual wines for each course are included in the price.

The last time I was there they had on offer an aperitif of Sekt (German sparkling white wine) with a ball of lemon and rosemary sorbet floating in it. Trust me, you want to give that a go.