This is a beautiful indoor pool facility that was recently restored. There are two large pools -…read morethe largest is kept at around 28c/82f and the smaller large pool (which is still quite big) is kept just below bathwater warmth - it's REALLY warm and you don't have to get used to the water temperature at all. There is a schedule for open swim time for the public on their website. It's around 5€ to use the pool. There are separate locker/changing rooms for men and women. Each locker room has hair dryers (1€) and lockers where you get a key in exchange for a 1€ coin that you get back, so remember your coin if you want to secure anything. The locker rooms have changing tables and wooden playpen sort of things to put your baby while you change. There are swim classes at various times during the day so it's important to understand the schedule if you want to use the pool. I've enrolled in two classes. One instructor spoke only german which is understandable. Another instructor spoke german, spanish and english. The pool facility has a website but no way to do online registration so if you plan to take a class, plan to register in person, and to get there before opening time. The queues run out the door and he wait for registration is longer than an hour. During registration, their card machine wasn't working so they were only accepting cash. All in all, it's a nice big clean pool facility but they could benefit their customers by creating online registration. After all, it's 2018. The front desk staff could also use a lesson in smiling and not being so crabby.

This place is great in the winter, especially because they have certain hours when the price is…read morelower. The problem is that during those hours it is impossible to do a work-out swim. Forget lap swimming, there are no lane lines and swimmers pretty much have to stop at each side of the pool to plan how to criss cross their way to the other side. And the late night cheap swim seems to also be the make-out-in-the-pool spot and the get-sexual-favors-in-the-corner-of-the-pool times. I haven't gone during the normal hours but if you are here as a tourist and want to see the beautiful architecture, go during the day. It is certainly worth seeing. The sauna is also affordable and charming with the old tiles, but I went on a mixed (male and female) day that was a total sausage party. Honestly, I don't care that the majority were dudes, but why they all seemed to be doing yoga moves that required spreading their legs as far as possible in the air has always baffled me. Not too pleasant when the sauna is so packed that the guy behind you is dripping on your back! For a more pleasant mixed sauna, I recommend liquidrom or this one really cool, smaller Russian owned sauna in Friedrichschain (will review soon!).

A true hidden gem in the middle of Neukoelln, this architecturally rich park has a beautiful…read morefountain (though unfortunately dry to lack of funding), and a wonderful space to get coffee in cake in front of the 1890's Orangerie, which now serves as an art gallery (free admission). Being sunken below street level cuts down on noise and creates of tranquil space. The neighborhood organizes concerts and other events there: check the web site. I really recommend swinging by if you're in the neighborhood, just for the fun of seeing this urban oasis appear in the midst of one of the less polished areas of Berlin.

I love love love Körnerpark. This is my neighborhood park, a…read morethree-block walk from where I live, and the perfect place to hang out when I want to get away, if only (and especially) for a short while. The park itself takes up an entire block, and is landscaped beautifully: fountains, trees, benches, and green green grass. Along one end of the park there is also the gravel area outside the Cafe and Gallery, which has tables with umbrellas, and plenty of seating for cafe patrons. While the cafe is a nice place to meet friends, I personally enjoy grabbing a beer or two and some snacks and spending time outside on the grass with friends. Beware of the area where sitting is forbidden of course, most of the time it's not enforced, so sit away. But during rare instances you will be approached and reprimanded, and then promptly kicked off. But don't let it discourage you there are plenty of other places in the park to sit. And regardless, time at Körnerpark is always time well spent.

I dont come to Germany to visit America. blahhhhhhh…read more Mcfit down the street is better.

I hardly ever leave reviews online, but I really really do not recommend starting a contract with…read morethis gym. I did everything by the book, cancelled my membership when I was supposed to, but was hit with a 85 Euro fee 1 year after I had cancelled my membership, for a "service fee" for the year, which was not communicated to me as I had moved address after I quit my membership. I called to explain the situation, and how I received no letters or any form of communication to pay this fee, but I was still happy to pay the original fee of 29,90. But their customer service was absolutely terrible, and are forcing me to pay 85 euros simply for the fact that I changed my address AFTER I had quit my contract and not told them. The contract included my mobile phone number, which hasn't changed for about 10 years, and they did not feel that it was necessary at any point to contact me via phone or any other form of contact. Nor did they mention any extra fees or charges when I went to cancel my contract. They left me thinking that I had paid off everything I needed to, until they played a very sneaky, unfair move to draw even more money from me. I had quit my contract and had no intention of returning to the gym, paid off all the debts they had told me about initially and so left NOTHING outstanding when I left. Only to be hit with a 85 euro charge more than 1 year after I quit the gym. This is absolutely terrible terrible communication and service from this gym and I highly recommend you pick another gym to start your membership with.

Berlin-Flughafen Tempelhof (THF) is long gone. But coming here, you can almost feel the…read moreTempelhofer Feld history. Berlin Hauptstadt is trying to converted into something incredibly useful for the locals. But mind you, it's still a work in progress. We just enjoyed seeing it and walking around.

What do you do with a decommissioned airport? Make it into a huge park and nature preserve for…read moreeveryone to enjoy. So much history here, but folks from the western world may recall that during the height of the cold war, West Berlin was essentially cut off. This airport was the scene of many airlifted supply runs. There's also a pretty interesting monument in the front of the complex celebrating this.

Holmes Place has been a life line in Berlin! Staff is so freindly and understanding and the…read morefacilities, especially the sauna, are unbeatable!

I want to share a very mixed experience with Holmes Place Germany…read more First, the positive part: I am actually very happy with the club itself. I like the facilities and have enjoyed being a member. My problem is with the way my long-term memberships have been sold and subsequently handled. This is now the **second time** I have experienced essentially the same situation with Holmes Place. When I was considering a long-term membership, I was reassured that if I later needed to leave, the membership could be transferred and another customer could take it over. That reassurance made it much easier for me to agree to a long-term commitment. Then, when I actually needed to leave, the position changed. The first time this happened, I had to write several letters before Holmes Place eventually resolved the situation. Now it has happened again. Holmes Place has confirmed in writing that a transfer is possible -- but says that **I must personally find the new customer**. I find this extremely troubling. If customers are encouraged to sign long-term contracts by being reassured that there is a practical way out, and that reassurance changes once the contract has been signed, I consider that a deeply misleading sales practice. Once could perhaps be a misunderstanding. Experiencing essentially the same thing twice is much harder for me to dismiss that way. I have now formally escalated the case to Holmes Place senior management and asked them to resolve it. I am also submitting the case to the relevant German consumer-protection bodies so that they can examine whether this kind of sales practice is acceptable. Again: I like the club. This is not a complaint about the gym itself. It is about how customers are persuaded to make long-term financial commitments and what happens when they later rely on what they were told. I will update this post with Holmes Place's response.