http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34648 The theatre has a modern facade and a wonderfully ornate interior. If you are in Berlin for a few days at least I recommend you see a production at the Komische Oper. People of all ages go there and while some are clearly all dressed up, a majority dress simply and go for the music - which is as it should be.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34648 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34647 The Bode offers a quiet environment in contrast to the Pergamon and the many beautiful works of art there can be contemplated without being jostled or otherwise hurried along. There is also a good cafeteria adjoining the museum shop.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34647 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34529 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34529 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34526 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34526 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34207 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34207 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33841 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33841 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33839 Also perfect activity for wet days, snowy weather and when it is bitingly cold outside. Pre-booking is recommended and there is a great website with lots of extra information. It is not really a suitable trip for little children and people with special accessibility requirements might want to check in advance if the tour is suitable.
Tours cost around 10Euros and last a couple of hours.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33839 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32067 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32067 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31824 “The Bloch”, a 4m high mechanical monster by Hannes Heiner stands in the main courtyard of Haus Schwarzenberg watching over the entrance to the Monsterkabinett. He rolls his eyes, bats his lashes and flaps his wings, extending an invitation to meet his fellow creatures in the subterranean domain of the Monsterkabinett.
Allow a trusted guide to lead you down the narrow winding stair and into the bizarre and labyrinthine world of the Monsterkabinett where monstrous yet loveable creatures- in turn terrifying, tragic and comical- inhabit a world beyond the imagination. Driven by a compelling rhythm, the fantastic mechanical beings of the monsterkabinett dance and sing. Music and machine merge and thrill to the beat. Highlights of the exhibition include a giant spider which fortunately does not bite, my personal favourite, the hilariously poignant “Trampeltier” and the “Spiegelraum”- a room which has to be seen to be believed. A tour through the Monsterkabinett is an unforgettable experience- grotesque and poetic and berlin underground in every sense of the word.
open Thursday 6-10pm, Friday-Saturday 4-10pm]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31824 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/29981 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/29981 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/29977 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/29977 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/21730 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/21730 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/21674 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/21674 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18324 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18324 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14512
It houses many artists' galleries and workspaces where the public are free to wander and these are often turned into venues for impromptu parties.

There is a great outside space dotted with sculptures and beer served from an old VW van in the back and there's a cafe inside serving food from breakfasts to supper and coffees and hot chocolates and also a venue for live music. A wonderful space just to hang out.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14512 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11367
Hamburg is more arty, Munich more fashionable, Frankfurt more successful, Cologne more cultured, Stuttgart richer. Whether in football, ballet, opera, cuisine, nightlife, design or music, the focus in Germany lies elsewhere.

Most non-Berliners regard the city with a mixture of affection and pity; one of the things that surprised me when I got here was just how de-centralised everything is, as I was expecting the capital to be the focus. It is this medieval every-town-has-its-own-brewery aspect of local centres which gives Germany its charm.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11367 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11217
The collection includes European painting and sculpture from the Middle Ages to about 1800.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11217 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11180
As with Prenzlauer Berg before, the property developers have moved in en masse, creating an upsurge in eigentumswohnungen (private flats) which has indirectly impacted upon the previously reasonable rents. The buildings were once "typically East German", but new riches have brought a splash of colour and penthouse flats of which real Friedrichshainers could only dream about.

Moreover, the bars and cafes are almost exclusively of the "Ballermann" package holiday variety (cocktails, palm trees, water-pipes), geared towards German tourists and the easyJet mob. Decent bars and restaurants are few and far between.

If this were not enough, the area around Frankfurter Tor has seen numerous neo-Nazi attacks on tourists and anyone vaguely foreign-looking in recent months (Friedrichshain is edged by the Lichtenberg and Marzahn housing estates where, sad to say, right-wing sentiment is the order of the day for the largely disaffected and unemployed youth).

So, all in all, great if you're wearing blinkers.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11180 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11117
Rents are relatively cheap so it’s the preferred area of students, making it very lively and full of bustling clubs and cafes.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11117 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11116 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11116