Is Berlin a Good travel Destination?

[+ Lucky]

I have heard that this city is boring and ugly. They apparently have a hot leather scene which I wouldn't be interested in. Escorts, of course.

But is there anything to do here and should I stay more than a couple of days?

[Traveller]

The clubs are great (especially in the former East Berlin), but they change often. Very good galleries, restaurants and museums. Great new architecture. I spent a week there at the Adlon (excellent hotel by the Brandenberg Gate). I have friends there and speak German, but I think you'd still have a blast. Hippest city in Europe right now.

 

Later.

[Guest MrB]

Hippest

>city in Europe right now.

>

>

>Later.

 

 

After Barcelona, that is. But yes, Berlin is certainly worth an extended visit. I am there for work a couple of times a year and I keep discovering new things. The scene is very changeable as T says, make sure you have a good guide.... seeing as you mentioned escorts, may I suggest Andreas? Really great guy. http://www.eurostud.de

 

 

Have fun!

 

 

MrB

[Traveller]

>After Barcelona, that is.

 

I said city, not town.

 

>seeing

>as you mentioned escorts, may

>I suggest Andreas? Really great

>guy. http://www.eurostud.de

>

 

And as you'll see on another recent thread, I like Sergi.

 

I'd love to get back to Berlin this fall, but I don't know when I'd have time. Have a great time if you go.

 

Later.

[swallows22]

G'day!

On 17 May in the lounge I asked for help with accommodation in Berlin and Barcelona in conjunction with some USA questions. May I repeat my request? I need help with hotels in Berlin and Barcelona. [Yes, those are the two cities I picked out, other than London].

After 20 hours of flying, I don't want to be disappointed with a hotel. Just a nice, clean and hopefully quiet place. Unfortunately, what you Yanks call reasonable, we Aussies call outrageous-solely because the A$ is worth 1/2 the Yankee $ and 1/3 the British pound. What is reasonable in Berlin/Barcelona? $150/$200 US per night.

Know there isn't much hope in asking about London. Hooboy tried awhile ago and didn't seem to have any luck.

So, mates, any help will be appreciated.

Have been ogling the lads for nearly two years and can hardly wait to sample the talent with much respect and gratitude to Hooboy. Cheers!

[sf traveler]

Berlin is a great place to visit, assuming you're not interested in the beach. I stay at the Bliebtreu Hotel which is nice enough, central and rather chic. Here's no real gay area so it there's nothing to be that close to. As long as you don't stay in one of the real deluxe places, ie Adlon, the Berlin hotels aren't that expensive. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about Barcelona.

[Guest MrB]

Hi,

 

 

In Berlin, the Dorint on the Gendarmenmarkt, very nice location, very stylish and not overly expensive--certainly les than $200. http://www.dorint.de/berlin-gendarmenmarkt/ to book.

 

In Barcelona, Hotel N/H Sant'Angelo, call +34-93-423-4647. In the centre, but not the touristy parts. Round the corner from Thermas sauna. Rates vary greatly, but always less than $100. Suites on the 5th floor are only a little more and they have a whirlpool in your room :-)

 

Have fun!

 

 

MrB

[+ Lucky]

RE: Is ThermasHeaven?

 

Well, it isn't exactly on topic, but thanks Mr. B, for the hotel near Thermas. One could not wish a more convenient spot...hehehe. Do they allow guests in the rooms, as in local men of beauty?

[trilingual]

Depending on the time of year, Berlin is definitely not ugly and boring. In spring/summer it's one of the greenest cities in Europe, with magnificent parks and lakes. Not to mention the nude sunbathing spots (FKK). There are superb museums, a fun scene, and outstanding opera/symphony. Theatre is also at the highest level, and even if you don't speak German (I don't) can be worthwhile, especially if there are any big musicals on. Usually those are at the Theater des Westens.

 

South American friends of mine were just in Berlin a few weeks ago. They stayed at the Hotel Bogotá, in West Berlin near the Ku'damm, and said it was inexpensive (under US$100/night, I think.) In Barcelona, there's the ultra gay-friendly Hotel California, on c/Raurich in the Gothic Quarter. Clean, basic rooms with private bath were about US$60, or less, continental breakfast included. Get a room that doesn't face the street, because those that do can be noisy at night. The hotel is convenient, just a couple of blocks from the Ramblas and the Metro station that will take you to the Thermas! :-)

[Guest MrB]

RE: Is ThermasHeaven?

 

It's mandatory :-)

The manager is gay--or why would he look at me like that?

Have fun!

 

 

MrB

[Guest MrB]

Tri,

 

 

The noise at the California is *not* from the street, it's from the adjoining rooms. This is the greatest whorehouse in Barcelona. It's clean and really quite fun, but a little substandard. A single room is 5000 pesetas or so--not even $30. It has a private bath and toilet, and a *very* noisy airconditioner, which you'll be grateful for to block the sounds of intimacy from all directions.

 

MrB

[trilingual]

My experience at the Hotel California was different (perhaps it was because of the time of year I was there?). The clientele was largely, but not exclusively, gay. My first room had a window onto the street, which was very noisy because of the carousing going on outside (the street leads to the nearby Plaza Real, which is one of Barcelona's main hang outs). I switched to an inside room and it was quiet. The hotel is very basic (i.e., no decor) but it's perfectly clean and you have your own bathroom. Being focused on the gay market, it's especially handy because all the local gay magazines and maps are available in the lobby when you check in so you can start getting oriented right away. For my tastes, it's perfect. Cheap and clean. I don't spend much time in my hotel room when I'm traveling, anyway, so I'd rather economize on the hotel and spend the money on dining out, shopping, and, of course, contributing to the scholarship funds of the young men at places like the Thermas!

[Guest MrB]

You have a point :-)

 

MrB

[+ Lucky]

Well, now that Viagra is here, we can all make a point!

Mr. B, your contributions are always pleasant and helpful. You seem to have a knack for avoiding the rancor on some threads. I find that admirable.

[Guest alanm]

The Adlon Hotel is the greatest pick up lure in Berlin.

My room overlooked the Brandenberg Gate and the Reichstag. Most

Berliners have never been in any of the rooms in the famous hotel

which was recently renovated. (It was the model for the movie "Grand Hotel"). Every time I struck up a conversation with a good looking guy in a bar and mentioned where I was staying

he wanted to come back to my room. Berlin is the hip city in Europe right noe, because of all the new theatres and galleries in East Berlin. Stay in the Adlon a few night and make up for it by staying in a cheap hotel for the rest of the time. It's worth it in every way.

[Guest MrB]

Thanks, that's great advice. Let me try that...

 

MrB

[Guest MrB]

Thanks, Lucky. I do understand where Tri is coming from and anyway, I think it's clear that the California and the Sant'Angelo are both very suitable hotels and that they are very different. The reason I want to spend a ltlle more on the room is I tend to bring boys back there and when it's a nice spacious suite with a jacuzzi, they tend to stay longer. Waste not, want not :-)

 

 

MrB

[Traveller]

>The Adlon Hotel is the greatest

>pick up lure in Berlin.

>

>My room overlooked the Brandenberg Gate

>and the Reichstag.

 

So did my room. But the best thing about this hotel is that you have to go down to the lobby to let up guests after a certain hour, proper place that it is. Now, some nights after partying until around 5 in the morning (and feeling really horny), I'd go dialing for dollars and call up an agency. Granted, the pickins are much slimmer at that time of night, but one night they sent over 2 guys, both handsome, tall, thin and muscular - one with a shaved head and major tatoos, the other with pink hair and about as many body piercings as I've seen on a guy. I'd wager probably ages 18 and 22. The Germans at the front desk (who had just called me to inform me that I had guests) with their stiff lips would glare as I walked with my new friends (new, because invariably, right in front of the desk, they would ask if I was so-and-so) across the lobby to the elevators. It's Kodak moments like these that make life fun.

 

Later.

[Guest alanm]

Hey, Traveller. Enjoyed your story about the Adlon. Perhaps we had the same room. I am surprised that the desk clerk openly showed attitude; my experience was very different. The staff

was eager to please no matter how unusual your guest(s) might be.

[Guest wolverine]

Hey Traveller,

 

What agency or agencies have you used in Berlin? How do you contact it or them? I'll be in Berlin next month and would enjoy some hip company of the kind you describe.

 

Wolverine

[Traveller]

>What agency or agencies have you

>used in Berlin? How do

>you contact it or them?

>I'll be in Berlin next

>month and would enjoy some

>hip company of the kind

>you describe.

>

 

I don't recall if they were listed in the back of Siegessaeule magazine, if I got them out of Spartacus (which lists a few), or if I found them in the other fag mag which lists escorts (and the name of which I can't remember). Try them all and return to sender if it's not what you ordered. I found the agencies to be very accommodating with returns and re-bookings at no cost; and I'm pretty particular about what I want.

 

Later.

 

PS. As you can see alanm, it may not have been the quality, but more likely the quantity, that was raising the hair on the back of the Adlon staff's neck.

[+ Lucky]

Hey Guys

Thanks for the tips. My friend leaves on Tuesday, Sept. 4, so any last minute suggestions as to what to see are welcome!

[trilingual]

I assume you're asking about Berlin? And about sights as opposed to escorts? In my opinion by far the best guidebook to the city is the TimeOut Berlin guide. A few places include the Zoo, one of the world's finest, and the palaces in Potsdam, especially Sanssouci, built by the gay Frederic the Great. He didn't want women around there and lived there with his buds while the queen lived in the city at the town palace, which was torn down by the East Germans to put up the abestos-laden Palast der Republik. Charlottenburg palace and the surrounding park, in West Berlin, is very nice, too. Then there are all the museums. If you're in an Egyptian mood, see the immortal bust of Nefertiti; it lives in Berlin.

 

Go to the revue at the Friedrichstadtpalast one evening. It's not terribly expensive and you get lots for your money: tap-dancing, acrobats and magicians, music and lavish special effects, the Berlin version of the Rockettes, etc. You don't need to know a word of German to enjoy it. There may be other theater that would be worth seeing, even if you don't speak German, especially if there's a big musical on. Not to mention opera and symphony, if you like classical music.

 

If you can handle grimmer stuff, there's the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in the northern suburb of Oranienburg; this was the first purpose-built concentration camp and the HQ of the whole system. It was also one of the places where homosexuals where herded and worked to death in the camp brickyards. In the southwest of the city is the Wannsee conference house, where the Nazi leadership met to decide on the "final solution."

 

Unless you're diabetic you should plan on pigging out on coffee and superb pastries in the afternoons in the better cafés. The rather gay Café Berio would be a good place to start! Much decor to be seen in the new design center and the houseware departments of the main department stores. Also, the gourmet food department on the sixth(?) floor of KaDeWe is one of the more amazing experiences you're likely to have! The similar department in the cellar of the new Galeries Lafayette on Friedrichstrasse is a close second.