“Regardless of whether you are Jewish or not, the Jewish and Holocaust-related memorials and museums in Berlin are outstanding.”
I second that. Mr B is not a museum person, but when we went into one just to dry out a bit from the freezing rain - the thought was for 20 min or so! - we did not leave until we saw everything.
When we were there, we were quite lucky - the Reichstag was open to visitors without pre-registration, and we got to tour it and admire the views and the architecture. I see that it requires pre-registration, but admission is still free. A good option for a college student on a budget!
https://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/visits/kuppel
The DDR Museum is small and quaint, but has a lot of cool East German relics. It seemed like it would be a tourist trap, but actually wound up being pretty interesting. I loved the Eastern side – it reminded me of West Germany, where we were stationed in the early 70s. We stayed in a small hotel on the eastern side that used to be a firehouse.
In parts of Berlin, the Wall is demarcated on the streets by a metal band where they once stood. Haunting. The holes in the walls of the Reichstag as one walks by are indeed bullet holes from WWII. Found confirmation of that on a sign as we were walking. A memorial to those who tried crossing the Wall is also next to the Reichstag. So close to freedom, yet so far.
Doner kabobs are delicious, ubitquitous and cheap. There is a good-sized Turkish community in Berlin (as is the case in many parts of Germany). We were there during the EuroCup in 2008 (did not attend any games) and for one game, it was Turkey vs. Germany, playing in Berlin. Sports crazy did not begin to describe the atmosphere! Fans were walking around the city wearing their team’s colors and national flags. I recall seeing many, many Netherlanders.
DH goes to Frankfurt all the time. It’s a business city for the most part, except for Romerplatz. We went to Cologne in 2003 and were unimpressed.
I did grad work in Berlin when it was still a divided city and recently returned for the first time since the Wall fell. One of the best things DH & I did was to take a bicycle tour with Fat Tire Bike Tours (http://berlin.fattirebiketours.com). They are located in the city center at Alexanderplatz at the base of the TV tower, and they offer a variety of city tours. We opted for a tour of Potsdam, which is a 30-minute train ride outside the city. The Potsdam tour includes Frederick the Great’s palace, Sansouci, and Cecilienhof, where the Potsdam Agreements were negotiated by Stalin, Truman, and Churchill/Atlee, and the Gleinicke Bridge where US & Soviet spies were exchanged during the Cold War. Berlin is a great city for bicycling since it is flat, has designated bike lanes, and the German drivers are surprisingly cautious of cyclists. (See http://www.theguardian.com/environment/green-living-blog/2010/apr/22/bike-blog-cycling-berlin)