How to get from Schönefeld airport into Berlin

If you’re visiting Berlin and want to know how to get from Schönefeld airport, into the heart of Berlin, it’s quick and easy by train. The train station is only 5-10 minutes walk from the Arrivals terminal and from there, you’re straight on the train into the city in around 45 minutes.

As you come from the baggage pick-up, into the arrivals hall, you can turn to your right to find a tourist information counter, where they can help you with train and city maps and sell you train travel cards too. There are a few different ticket options to consider. You can buy a ticket for a single journey with different price bands depending on how many different fare zones you cross. It will cost around €2.60 for a single ticket into the city. But it’s far better value if you’re in Berlin for a few days to buy a railcard. We bought the Berlin Welcome card, which is a travel card that also gives you discounted entrance to a wide range of Berlin sites. You can use the Berlin Welcome card on trains, buses and trams, so it takes any hastle out of getting around the city. When we visited in April 09 the prices were as follows;

Single Person Berlin Welcome Card (A & B fare zones)
48 hrs €16.50
72 hrs €22
5 days €9.50

Group Ticket for 1 adult & up to 3 children up to age 14 (ABC fare zones)
48 hrs €8.50
72 hrs €25
5 days €34.50

Once you come out of the arrivals hall, you turn left and see a walkway which leads to the train station. There’s a shuttle bus, but it’s pretty painless to follow the walkway directly to the station. Before you go onto the platforms, you need to buy your ticket at one of the machines if you haven’t already bought a travel card in the airport – they take credit cards. Once you have your ticket, you need to validate it in the machine at the entrance to the platform.

Head for the S-Bahn platform which has a White “S” on a green background. Take any S-Bahn in the direction “Spandau” which will take you through the station at “Alexanderplatz”, in the heart of Berlin. Check the train map and you can make a change to any other part of the city you need to go. You’ll probably find good directions on the website of your hotel or hostel.

Have fun in Berlin – it’s an easy city to enjoy.

Looking for a Berlin hotel? Compare prices and book at Hotels Combined

You may also enjoy
Checkpoint Charlie and other Berlin Wall stories
Our 36 hours in Berlin
Budget boutique bliss at Circus Hotel in Berlin

See all my Berlin Photos on Flickr

www.flickr.com   heatheronhertravels’ Berlin – Sightseeing photoset

Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

Meet the winemakers at Chateau Musar – in Lebanon

Unless you’re a wine connoisseur, you may not realise that Lebanon produces some world class wines, that rival the best of Bordeaux. On my recent trip to Lebanon I was lucky enough to join a visit to the Chateau Musar winery which has a world-renowned reputation in winemaking.

We met with Gaston Hochar, grandson of his namesake who founded the winery in the 1930s, and top winemaker Tarek Sakr, who trained with some of the best chateaux in Bordeaux. They are both passionate about their wines and the talk was about how, at Chateau Musar they try to make outstanding wines in as natural a way as possible. Tarek told me how the warm dry climate of the Bekaa valley provides near perfect conditions for growing high quality, fully matured grapes which provide the best raw materials for making great wines. Two years ago the winery received organic certification for their grapes and the wines are also made on organic principles, using none of the treatments and pesticides that are typically used in non-organic vineyards. We joked that such naturally produced wine must be one that you can drink without any hangover, but they assured me that a bad headache from a wine is usually due to the over-zealous use of sulphur on the grapes, to prevent oxidisation.

Since the 1980s Chateau Musar have had an office in London, which acts as their distribution centre in Europe. They now make 3 different ranges; the premier line Chateau Musar wines, are made from cabernet-sauvignon, caringnan and cinsault grapes, are full-bodied and aged in oak, being released after 7 years. The second range of Hochar Père et Fils is made with the same philosophy, being aged in oak and is released after 2 years, while the Cuvée Musar is a light and fruity wine designed to be drunk everyday. For the European market, the Cuvée Musar range is released under the brand of Musar Jeune and has been given a trendy, new label.

Gaston Hochar explained that the Musar wines have a distinctive taste; ‘Once you’ve tasted our wine you can recognise it anywhere’, he said.

‘Now we’ve been here, we won’t want to drink anything else’, we joked, but Gaston insisted, ‘No – you must try others, then you can come back to Musar and understand what makes it special’

For one wine magazine, he told us how the Hochar family was featured in the Christmas issue, pictured enjoying their Christmas lunch, Lebanese style. The only problem was that to allow for the magazine lead times, the lunch had to be photographed in July, one of the hottest times of the year. At least the children were happy, as they all had presents under the Christmas tree, which was brought out of storage for the occasion.

The conversation moved on to the number of journalists who had been hosted at Chateau Musar, including recently English celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, who featured the foods and wines of Lebanon in his new food magazine. ‘The trouble with journalists’, confided Gaston, ‘is that they always want to bring in the war’. I had realised by now that the Lebanese don’t like to dwell on such matters, prefering to put their political troubles behind them, enjoy the present and look to the future.

But later Tarek told us how, in the 2006 June War with Israel, they flew the Chateau Musar Flag on the trucks bringing their grapes to the winery, in the hope that the war planes would be able to distinguish them from military vehicles. He felt that the reputation of the winery rested on being able to produce great wines in good times and bad.

On my return to the UK, I found, to my delight, that the Chateau Musar wines were stocked in my local branch of Majestic Wines and stocked up on a case to drink on special occasions. The wine merchant assured me that the Lebanese reds of this quality were the equivalent to a top Bordeaux wine of twice the price, and were going down a storm in France, where they couldn’t get enough of them. So better get your hands on some to enjoy with your friends before the whole world catches on.

Chateau Musar are happy to welcome visitors for a tour of the winery and tasting, by appointment. The winery is a 45 minute drive north of Beirut, in the hills above Jounieh. To find out where Chateau Musar wines are stocked in your country, you can e-mail Chateau Musar via their website contacts page.

You may also enjoy
Wine tasting in the Bekaa valley in Lebanon
Sunset on the Corniche in Beirut
Mankoushe for breakfast in Lebanon
Read this article about the wines of Lebanon by Michael Karam

See all my Lebanon photos on Flickr

Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

Sunset on the Corniche – in Beirut

If you visited the Corniche in the daytime, you might be forgiven for thinking that it was like any other seaside promenade the world over. But come at sunset, especially at the weekend and you’ll feel it’s magic, be bathed in the golden glow as the sky turns orange and purple and feel the warmth in the air.

It’s not just the balmy night but the joyful atmosphere, as young lovers gaze into their future, toddlers on tricycles pedal furiously watched by their smiling, headscarfed mothers, older couples take a stroll and men try their hand at fishing from the rocks while their sons splash and clown around.

All of Beirut is out, just enjoying the atmosphere and hanging out with their friends. After our stroll, my friend and I took the lift to the top of the Gefinor hotel nearby and sipped our cocktail by the roooftop pool, with a great view over the bay. A great end to a day in Beirut.

This post is part of Photo Friday, hosted over at Delicious Baby – head over and see the other Friday photos here.

You may also enjoy
Mankoushe for breakfast in Lebanon
Wine tasting in the Bekaa valley in Lebanon

See all my Lebanon photos on Flickr

Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

Next Page »