David Ingrim
Berlin for Tourists (3)
Help in Orientation
Contrary to rumors, "Berlin for Tourists"
is not here to lead tourists on a wild goose chase.
The opposite is true. Nor is it meant to leave tourists
bewildered from information overload. Youll get enough
of that with excursions on the "white fleet".
(Those flat, white tour boats that swallow up tourists
and cart them down canals, lakes and the Spree. Those
that indulge in such tours will be punished for their
carelessness with common generality. With this in mind,
you can think of "Berlin for Tourists" as
a practice run.)
Basically, "Berlin for Tourists" offers an
alternative to the typical tourist agenda. This program
doesnt just dump tourists off downtown and point them
toward the nearest sight. Instead, it inspires tourists,
with a few helpful "little hints", to rely
on their own resourcefulness. And this Orientation
is here to help you navigate your own path of adventure.
The first step: buy a city map. The Falk Plan (advertising
can't always be avoided) is recommended. It hasnt gotten
so bad in Berlin that a tourist holding the fan-like
map is
take for a willing victim by pickpockets and other miscreants.
(You shouldnt take anything for granted, though.)
Because even when dealing with "little hints",
it is occassionally
necessary to include house numbers in directions, you
need to
know Berlins unique numbering system. There are three
ways to find a house
number.
The first method entails walking about a kilometer in
one direction, then back in the other direction, to
establish that No. 350 lies directly across form No.
1. The second method requires being perplexed by the
fact that a street seems to have only even numbered
houses, even though you have already walked several
blocks down the same side.
The third possibility is to take a taxi and hope the
driver is kind enough to consult the tiny numbers printed
on the map, and sharp enough to do so correctly.
One can also disregard these methods and ask a passerby
for the whereabouts of the target destination. Then
you can follow their directions and save the tips from
"Berlin for Tourists" for another day.
There is one address any visitor to Berlin should write
down: Hardenbergstrasse 4-5. Here you will find
the supposed largest bookstore in Berlin, filled not
only with extolled reference materials (the mentioned
help for orientation, for example), but also maps of
all sizes (just in case you want to further the reputation
of Berlin as metropolis).
In addition, tourists can experience here that in the
future,
he better follow "little hints" - or should
devote at least one day to seeking reference materials.