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{{Infobox German Location
|country = Germany
|map = <map lat='52.5' lng='13.34' zoom='9' view='0' float='right' height='300' width='400' country='Germany'/>
|pop = 3,405,483 (31 Juli 2007)
|state = Berlin
|BW = DE/Land%20Berlin/Berlin
}}
'''Berlin''' is the capital of [[Germany]].
== Public transport ==
Despite its size and unless going from one edge of an outer suburb to one on the opposite side of the city, going from one point to another within Berlin seldom takes more than one hour. Use [https://www.vbb.de/en VBB.de] to find out how to get from one location to another within Berlin and also the surrounding state of [[Brandenburg]]. Berlin operates on a fairly simple tariff zone system: Zone A is anywhere within the suburban train ring (''Ringbahn'' / S-Bahn lines S41 and S42), zone B from the ring to the administrative borders of the city, and zone C is a defined area of Brandenburg in proximity to the city (somewhat confined by the terminal stops of the S-Bahn).
As of April 2023, the current prices for a single adult, one-way ticket are: €3.20 (tariff zones AB), €3.80 (tariff zones BC) and €4.00 (tariff zones ABC). There is a plethora of concession, daily, group and other discounted tickets too, check the VBB or [https://www.bvg.de/en BVG] website for more information.
== Hitchhiking out ==
=== Northwest towards [[Hamburg]], [[Rostock]] and [[Scandinavia]] {{Autobahn|24}} ===
==== Rasthof Stolper Heide Option 1: Kurt-Schumacher-Damm ====The hitchhikingTake subway line U6 direction Alt-Tegel and get off at ''Kurt-Schumacher-Platz''. Then walk ≈500 m south along Kurt-Schumacher-spot Damm to the start of the Autobahn. Alternatively, about 2 minutes away from the subway station there is a ''Jet'' petrol station. You can either ask the drivers who stop there or stand at the road right before it. You can have a free breakfast or dinner before you start in Henningsdorf the Sikh temple (gurdwara) that is a 10 minute walk from the petrol station at Kögelstraße 6. ==== Option 2: Prenzlauer Promenade ==== The street ''Prenzlauer Promenade'' is called ''Prenzlauer Allee'' in the city centre and becomes the Autobahn A114 next to the S-Bahn station ''Rasthof Stolper HeidePankow-Heinersdorf''. From there, just walk 500 m down the bridge and you' ve got a traffic light as well as two petrol stations ([http://hitchwikiStar and HEM).org/maps/?place=2153 map]Additionally, at the last intersection before the Autobahn starts, there's another petrol station (Shell) on ''Rothenbachstraße'' next to the traffic lights. It may be worth checking out which of these three is the cheapest and most frequented one on a given day – usually one of the two former. Be aware that the staff at the Shell station might tell you to leave their property and threaten to call the police. There is usually a lot of traffic on this road, so you could also hitch with a sign. Coming from ''Pankow-Heinersdorf'', 50 m before the first petrol station, there is also a shoulder where cars can stop and people waiting at the best option traffic lights are able to reach [[see you. Much of the traffic here is local, but there is also significant traffic towards Hamburg]], [[and Rostock]] . Try to get a lift to at least the first petrol station on the Autobahn ("Linumer Bruch"). ==== Option 3: Raststätte Stolper Heide ==== This Raststätte is ideal in the sense that you end up starting to hitchhike directly from a petrol station in which there are a fair few people heading to the big cities in Germany's North or [[Scandinavia]]. : You are going can easily get a direct ride to Hamburg from here, and, with a little patience, to have Rostock. If you want to go on catch a 2 km walk certain ferry in totalRostock or have other basic time constraints, please note that getting to this spot from the centre of Berlin may take two hours or even longer; Option 1 is likely faster and may work just as well. '''If you start from any district in West Berlin''', take S-Bahn station S25 towards ''Hennigsdorf'' and get off at ''Heiligensee'' (S25 towards Henningsdorf, EUR 2AB or BC ticket required).30 ticketTurn left from the station (so that you face North), and walk down up ''Ruppiner Chaussee northwards (left when coming out of the station about '' for 300 meters and m. Then turn right on an asphalt walking path (− there's a sign saying "Berliner Mauerweg"). Follow the path for 10-15 minutes1. Cross 2 km, crossing the bridge over the motorway and Autobahn. Immediately turn left - down a little path – you can stay close to the motorway Autobahn in order not to lose it and quickly you will quickly see a pathway that you can follow to this Rasthofthe Raststätte. As There is a small fence to the left of the path which you get closer have to jump at some point; the easiest place is probably to the right of a green fenced enclosure about half way to the exit for Raststätte. The walk from the service stationbridge is about 1.5 km. '''If you start from any district in East Berlin''', you will see a tall green fence faster way than the one described above is taking S- it is possible but inadvisable Bahn S8, get off at ''Hohen Neuendorf'' (ABC or BC ticket required), change to jump thisbus 809 (direction: alternatively ''Hennigsdorf, F.-Wolf-Str.'') and get off at ''Stolpe (OHV), Autobahnbrücke''. Head for the traffic light and turn onto the road on the correct side right (the one opposite of the motorway on-ramp), and follow it before until it starts makes a left turn; here, enter the forest and keep walking in parallel to the Autobahn, which will take you straight to the Raststätte's on-ramp for vehicles heading North. [[File:Hitch ber north stolper heide 2023.png|200px|thumb|right|How to walk from Frohnau station to Raststätte Stolper Heide]] If you for some reason don't have or after want to get a ticket including tariff zone C, you may also take S-Bahn S1 (direction: ''Oranienburg'') to ''Frohnau''. Getting off there, head to ''Ludolfingerplatz'', a small green square surrounded by a roundabout immediately west of the station, and start walking along ''Maximiliankorso'', the first road branching off on the right. Keep walking until the small intersection with ''Hainbuchenstraße'' (there's a bus stop with the same name), and walk over the road with this name, following it endsuntil its very end: It makes a sharp bend at the end of a cemetary (on your right) and a forest in front of you. You can easily get Enter the forest, walk until a path branches off to your right and turn there. At the end of the branch, you should see a direct ride golf course. Turn left and just keep walking straight now, which will take you to the Raststätte's fence. This route is about 3.64 km long and will take roughly an hour. ==== For [[HamburgScandinavia]] from here.bound hitchhikers ====
==== Prenzlauer Promenade ====The street '''Prenzlauer Promenade''' is called ''Prenzlauer Allee'' in the city centre and becomes the Autobahn A114 next to the ''S-Bahn'' station ''Pankow-Heinersdorf''. From there, just walk 500m down the bridge and you've got a traffic-light as well as two petrol stations, both on the right side for the drivers going Northeast towards the Autobahn. It may be worth walking to the second petrol station as it's cheaper and more frequented. However[[Szczecin]], it might happen that the staff at this second [[Gdańsk|Gdansk]] (ShellDanzig) station tell you to leave their property and threaten you to call the police.{{Autobahn|11}} ===
==== Kurt-Schumacher-Damm Option 1: Berliner Allee ====If you want to hitchhike towards [[Hamburg]] or [[Schwerin]] on the A24 it is the best to go with the U6 towards ''Alt-Tegel'' and get off at ''Kurt-Schumacher-Platz'' and then start walking towards the motorway. About 2 minutes away from the U-Bahn station there is a ''Jet'' petrol station. You can either ask the drivers who stop there or stand at the road right before it. (Update January 2009: Spot is open again!)* [[User:MaxHermens]] says: It's best to ask drivers if they are going on the motorway, and if so, if they can take you to the abovementioned Stolperheide. Then you can avoid the long walk and start hitching straight away.
==== Berliner Allee Option 2: Darßer Brücke ====Borough Pankow, part Weißensee: Take the tram M4 to ''Berliner Allee/Indira-Gandhi-Str.'' which can be caught at Alexanderplatz. Then walk along the ''Berliner Allee'' just around the half circle of the road and find a decent place where cars can pull over. Many cars at this intersection have Polish License and are heading North East, some as far as Gdansk. Use a sign with the city ''[[Szczecin]]'' and surely a Polish driver will stop, though be prepared to mix your languages and refer to cities by there Polish names. Check the map for the street view.
=== South towards [[Leipzig]] {{Autobahn|9}} and West towards [[Magdeburg]], [[Hannover]] {{Autobahn|2}} = Option 3: Am Luchgraben ====
[[File:IMG 5392.JPG|thumb|250px|right|[[Tiziano]] hitching from Berlin to [[Munich]]]]
==== Raststätte Grunewald Option 3: AVUS / Messedamm access lane ==== A good spot to stand with a sign is at the access lane onto the A115 (AVUS) from ''Messedamm''As . The access lane is a part of summer 2012 the exit from ''Funkturm'' junction which connects the A115 and A100. The exact place to stand is closedat the acceleration lane of the road connecting the ''Messedamm'' with the A115 in a U-turn around a quiet parking area at ''Messedamm''. That means From S-Bahn station ''Westkreuz'', walk north along ''Halenseestraße'', and cross the road at the big intersection onto ''Messedamm''. After 100 meters, there is only the local quiet parking area at your left hand side. Walk across the carpark. To reach the place to hitch from, climb the traffic at barrier between the gas station carpark and hitchhiking from the acceleration lane: [https://osm.org/go/0MZuR0mAF?m= This] is the exact location. Hitchhiking is prohibited here isnas the location is behind the Autobahn sign, but the risk is worth it. From S-Bahn station ''t advised. Construction work Messe Nord/ICC'' it is said slightly further, but easier to be ongoing until November 2012find.Walk to ''Messedamm'' , follow it south and at the next intersection turn right, then you'll find the quiet parking area after 100 meters on your left hand side. === South towards [[Dresden]] and [[Cottbus]] {{Autobahn|13}} === Firest rest stop once out of Berlin is 25 km away Raststätte Am Kahlberg Ost on highway 13 ==== Option 1: B96a Altglienicke ==== Take S-Bahn S9 or S45 to ''Altglienicke''. When getting off, you'll see there is a road that runs parallel on your left-hand side to the S-Bahn line (if you are facing south), and a red light. To get there, leave the platform by using the footbridge and turning right at the staircase (walk over the road running parallel). On the right side, There will be a pathway that goes down to the road - it's a little windy path that will eventually take you there. You will come to the road that runs parallel to the S-Bahn track (over which you just walked) and on that road is the red light that does not seem to have any shoulder space. But do not be confused. This is the BEST PLACE to stand and get an immediate ride. Cross the road to stand at the red light on the SBahn Track side. You can ask cars every time they stop for the red light. The red light is 100 m before the right hand onramp of the Autobahn going to Cottbus or Dresden. ==== Option 2: A100 Autobahn junction Tempelhof ====
=== South towards [[Dresden]] {{Autobahn|13}} and East towards [[Frankfurt an der Oder|Frankfurt (Oder)]], [[Poland]] {{Autobahn|12}} = Option 4: A100 Auffahrt Siemensdamm ====
==== Tempelhof ====Maybe Tempelhof used to be a good place to hitch hike in the past but now it seems impossible to catch a ride there - there is simply no space for a car to stop (or we failed to find a spot which i doubt because we searched the whole neighbourhood). If you still want to test it yourself here is how to get there:The East towards [[airportPoland]] is easy to reach with S-Bahn and U-Bahn. Once there simply follow the sign towards Dresden (A100). There are two red lights, for people coming from north and south, so they have time to see you. You should ask for A113 or A13, or simply if they are going in the way to Ikea, and get dropped on the petrol station before the big mall (before Waltersdorf, check map also). Bus #263 from S-Bahn station Grünau also goes to/near this petrol station. '''Please read the discussion page'''!{{Autobahn|10}} {{E|30}} ===
===== OpinionsOption 1: Raststätte Michendorf / least walking =====* However the attendants at the service station will ask you to look for your ride elsewhere and may even call the police. The road leading to the is a no stopping zone, so the best solution is to stand near the Burger King, where a driver can pull in. There is no better spot further up the road toward the . * 2008-08-24: I used this petrol stations quite often and never had problems. What the hell did you do? -[[User:atopia|Ben]]* I tried both the gas station and by using a sign to stop cars from the street. First of all most people weren't traveling to Dresden and even if they were they were very hesitant to give you a ride if you ask them. For all the time I spent there, two other hitchhikers came and they also had no luck. I eventually gave up and had to pay for the bus. I'm not sure if that's a good spot.* as of August 2010 I consider this the best spot for hitching to Dresden. Living in Dresden and going to Berlin for weekend-trips quite often it worked fine for me as well as for others visiting from Berlin. The catch might be it was almost always Sunday afternoons though. So if you take that into account you should be fine getting a lift to Dresden from Schöneweide, given the number of people returning to Dresden for the start of the week. Both standing by the side of the road with a sign as well as asking people at the petrol station turned out well for me.* We hitch hiked at the gas station by asking people. (the second, the first was rather empty). Most of the people who get gas over there stay local or are kind of rude. Using a sign we got a hitch after 20 minutes to Dresden.* Sept 2011 - we got a ride after about 30 minutes by standing at the exit to the 2nd gas station. There was another hitch hiker standing at the entrance and we got picked up before him. Recommended to stay at the exit with a sign and smile.
[[File:Berlinout.jpg|thumb|alt==== Grünbergallee ====You can also take the S-Bahn one station further to ''S Grünbergallee''. You'll find a big road and a big hardware-store (called ''Hornbach''). There is a right-going lane at the big road. Just show a sign saying E30 ''Dresden[[E30]]'' at the beginning of this lane. Sometimes you can ask drivers at the parking lot of the hardware-store if they can take you to the first petrol station on the Autobahn (this is just a minutes ride). From there you can be lucky, too.]]
'''S-Bahn + 2 stops with train + 5 km walking''' Take S-bahn S2 to the end station ''Blankenfelde''. From there, take any regional train 2 stops to ''Rangsdorf''. Walk the Kienitzer Str until the crossing with L40 road. Continue walking 500 metres and turn left on the gravel road. You will hear the highway and see a rest area through the bushes. Can someone confirm that Kienitzer Dorfstrase almost all lenght have bicycle path next to it?????? '''Train + bus with one C zone ticket''' [[File:Hitch_ber_pl_fichtenplan_2020.png|200px|thumb|right|How to walk from bus stop Am Weidendamm to Raststätte Am Fichtenplan]] '''A)''' From train stop ''S Blankenfelde'' catch bus 792, check [https://www.vbb.de/en VBB.de] in advance to find out about the departure times. If you’ve bought a ticket including tariff zone C to get to ''Blankenfelde'', it’ll also cover the bus fare. When looking for the bus at ''Blankenfelde'' station, the displayed direction doesn’t matter as this is the initial/final stop of this line. Once you’re on the bus, get off at ''Am Weidendamm'', the surrounding area being a business park. Walk towards the Northeast, there’s a crane business on the right hand side that you’ll spot from afar. The main road makes a left turn here, and a dead end road branches off: The latter is the one you have to take, the crane business coming closer and closer. A dirt road starts at the concrete square at the end of this road, and passes the crane business site, the fence of it being on your right. Now proceed to the field, pass the trench and turn left. If you’ve got the right shoes/boots, you may also head across the field diagonally to your left from where you crossed the trench. If you haven’t seen it from the trench, you’ll soon notice a low causeway ahead of you (if you walked across the field) or on your left (if you followed the field’s edge). You’ll want to be on the causeway, which in fact had a railway line on it many decades ago. Once on the causeway, turn right (South) and simply follow it. You’ll soon be on a forest road near the motorway, and likely also see a bridge as well as the Raststätte already. Cross the bridge, turn immediately left and enter the rest area. '''B)''' From eastern Berlin, go to ''S Königs Wusterhausen'', catch bus 730 to ''Brusendorf, Kreuzung'' (15 min ride with same C zone ticket) and walk Wilhelm-Pieck-Strase 100 metres and turn left on gravel road. You will see rest stop from there ==== Option 3: Raststätte Seeberg West==== [[File:Hitch_ber pl seeberg west.png|200px|thumb|right|How to walk from Hönow station to Seeberg West]] The cheapest, though probably not fastest option to reach ''Raststätte Seeberg West'', is to take subway line U5 to its eastern terminus ''Hönow'' (Berlin AB/BC ticket). Once out of the station, cross ''Mahlsdorfer Straße'' (the road right in front of the station), turn left, and then turn right into the first road that branches off, called ''Am Barschsee/Am Weiher''. Follow ''Am Weiher'' and keep heading straight; the road continues as ''Am Grünzug'' after crossing ''Hoppegartener Straße'' and eventually as ''Wernergraben''. Once you can see the REWE supermarket, turn right into ''Stöbberstraße'' and follow it until its very end (it becomes ''An der alten Gärtnerei'' past the kindergarten). Turn left into ''Bamberger Straße'' and walk until the main road ''Neuenhagener Chaussee''. Carefully cross ''Neuenhagener Chaussee'' – it’s a busy road with cars going pretty fast – and start walking on the dirt road straight ahead. At some point the road turns right and you have to enter the forested area; the road crosses a stream called ''Zochegraben'' here. The road will now continue to the left whereas on the right you’ll see a small path. Turn left and keep following the dirt road. A few minutes later, after walking besides a field (on your right), there will be two paths to a small natural pool (which, depending on the time of the year, might not have any water in it; you’ll recognise the place though, having some wooden installations as well as a small “sand beach”. There, you’ll also see a wire fence that follows the direction of the pool if you were to look at it from the dirt road. Walk past the pool on the right hand side – there’s something like a path for a few metres – until you encounter high grass or the overgrown area respectively. From here, the easiest way to continue is to look where the least shrub is and head towards the wire fence. Chances are you’ll be doing some bush-bashing (again dependent on season), so don’t wear your fanciest clothes. Once besides the wire fence, the grass is not too high and walking becomes easier; keep following the fence, which will make a 90° right turn soon, when a huge field opens in front of you. From there, you’ll already see a big power line. Your destination is a wooden gate near the power pole on the field. Walk along its edge or simply across the field if conditions are favourable, no farmer is around and you’re wearing boots or something similar. Approximately 20 to 30 metres before the power pole, you’ll see the open gate (with nothing but an overgrown area behind it) on the edge of the field. Enter the gate and immediately turn right; walk about ten metres, then turn slightly left (approx. 45°) and keep walking. The shrub is pretty dense in places so again it’s some bush bashing, but a few metres further you’ll already encounter the fence of the Raststätte. If you followed these directions, chances are you’ll already see the gate in the fence to enter the rest area. Altogether, the walk is a little bit over 5 km and should take 90 minutes at the most. To skip walking the suburban part in the beginning, you can also take bus 943 (direction: ''S Hoppegarten'') from ''Hönow'' station and get off at ''Thälmannstr.'', with this bus stop being very close to where the dirt road is starting at ''Neuenhagener Chaussee''. However, the bus only runs once per hour during weekdays and operates in tariff zone C, meaning you'll likely need an additional ticket. At the Raststätte, trucks heading for Poland abound, as well as a fair number of private cars with Polish number plates. === East towards [[Kostrzyn]] Poland and [[Frankfurt an der Oder|Frankfurt (Oder)]] === If you are only going to Frankfurt/Oder or somewhere else close by, you can try to hitch along the national road B5/B1 instead of taking the highway A12. Take the S5 to Mahlsdorf and follow Hönewer Straße to the South until the big intersection with the street Alt-Mahlsdorf. After the traffic light there is [https://goo.gl/maps/45v4qR1Np822 enough place to stop]. Cars go quite fast, but often slow down due according to the changing traffic lights. There is still a lot of city traffic though. Small walk away also is a Star Tankstelle petrol station (adress Alt-Mahlsdorf 117) Directly before the entrance to the Berlin ringway there is a bus stop & Shell Tankstelle suitable for hitching further. About 10 km after the highway the B1/B5 changes from a fast two lane road to a smaller national road. === North towards [[Fürstenberg]], [[Neustrelitz]] and [[Neubrandenburg]] === For the East part of Mecklenburg - Western Pomerania the B96 could be a good option instead of A11/A20, because there's only one petrol station on A11 and none on the eastern part of the A20. '''Option 1''' Go to S Oranienburg (S1, RE from Südkreuz - Hauptbahnhof - Gesundbrunnen, RB Lichtenberg - Hohenschönhausen). From Oranienburg go by bus or walk to Sachsenhausen, Kirche bus stop and continue walking Granseer Straße for 15 minutes and you'll reach the B96. At this point the B96 still looks like a highway. But don't be confused: just a few meters before the onramp Oranienburg-Nord there's a sign saying that Autobahn ends. So cars are allowed to stop north of the ramp. Between Oranienburg and Neubrandenburg just Neustrelitz is bad for leaving a car. If you're driver goes to Neustrelitz leave the car 2 km before at the last crossroad (connection with B198 to Wesenberg, Mirow) and use the bus stop over there to go on to NB or ask if you driver can drop you off at the North end of Neustrelitz. In every other town/village on that way the B96 goes directly via the town. So you can get off and look for the next busstop on the B96. Weekend or holidays it might be that there's nearly no bus via Sachsenhausen, Kirche then you can go by train to Sachsenhausen (Nordb) and walk 1 km to the spot. Check before on Vbb-Homepage! '''Option 2''' Raststätte Stolper Heide highway rest stop Go by bus 8O9 till stop Stolpe (OHV), Autobahnbrücke than 1OO metres back and right side 1 km walk away is Raststätte Stolper Heide highway rest stop on road 111. The road serves just as access to rest stop and starts opposite side from road 111 upramp Or you can walk 4 km from S Bahnhof Hohen Neuendorf starting from Stolper Street than its changes to Hohen Neuendorfer Weg street and all the way to bus stop above. There is a bicycle road next to street
== Hitching In ==
Getting into Berlin since the ring is big and maybe you are on a ride that's only passing by. Good option is to get out at... === The Ruhr area Highway 10 (Warsaw > Amsterdam) ===When hitch hiking towards Berlin Get off at ''Rasthof Michendorf'' (after all the ring interchanges). There is a bridge over the Autobahn nearby so if you are coming even from Belgium, avoid passing Poland you can jump over and easily find someone going into the Ruhr area (Dortmundcity. Alternatively, Essenyou can walk into Michendorf itself, Duisburg)which takes about 30 min. Once Just head north from the petrol stations (you get incan go under the Autobahn from the southern petrol station From Michendorf, it's difficult to get outyou can take a train for EUR 3. Service stations are rare and passing traffic avoids this region. We tried on several places and had 30 to take the train to pass this area centre of Berlin (lost 5 the ABC ticket, which is valid for 2 hours, so you can also use metro, bus etc. when in Berlin). There are sufficient work arounds The last train everyday is at 00:21. So don't leave the petrol station if you get there after 00:00. Also, if you end up having to avoid this area. See also sleep over there, that train station is definitely not really suitable for sleeping; however, near the hitchwiki page of petrol station there's a 24 hours restaurant called "Restaurant Michendorf Nord", you can charge your phone there and probably sleep in the [[Ruhr Area]]downstairs toilet for disabled people.
[[Category:Autobahn|Autobahn]]