I have just returned from Berlin, were my beautiful and vibrant girlfriend took me for my 27th birthday. You need a bit of time to get your head round it, but being a Londoner and au fait with public transport and also the ability to have lunch and dinner out in two different nieghbourhoods, it was cool.

Its not as physically accessable as Paris or Venice (I imagine, though i havnt been to the latter), but the enjoyment is mainly to be found in the ambience of the place and bon homie of the German public (though some Turkish-German kids got a sharp fuck off, when they started spitting paper through a Mcdonalds straw at me on a bus). Never before have i encountered such a friendly people, with the exception, plausibly, of the Irish. They were gracious in their behaviour, generous with their advice/knowledge and welcoming in their warmth.

We ate out in some excellent value restaurants, 3 course french cuisine near Checkpoint charlie (something entrecote), Brunch in Teirgarten, and Mexican and lebanese in Friedricschien (check spelling). We supped decent local brew, and sampled some nice cocktails (241 happy hours all over the city). The suburbs are fairly non descripit and in places minging, but quarters in the center are vibrant and interesting and there are some real tourist traps that are worth seeing. Public transport is cheap and plentiful, like the booze and food, and it cost us 2 Euros 30 from the Airport to our Hotel in the south west, compared to the frankly sickening 16 quid single from Victoria to Gatwick - how we get mugged off in these sceptic isles.

We didnt really sample the infamous all nighters or nightlife too much, though we did blagg it into a party where Paul Van Dyke was DJ-ing, and the set up (15 stories up in an office block)seemed pretty good so i imagine if you get your ear to the ground, you could have a pretty good time.

All in all well recomended to everyone for the versatility, scope for entertainment, interest and pleasure.

Lates