What: Athletics: IAAF World Championships
Where: Berlin
When: August 15-23
Why: Extend your passion for major championships in an otherwise barren year by heading to Berlin to see the best the athletics world has to offer on the deep blue track at the renovated Olympic Stadium.
Undoubtedly the main story will be Usain Bolt, the Jamaican who will bid to equal his remarkable Olympic sprint double victories over 100 and 200 metres and improve his world records in both events inside the stadium once graced by Jesse Owens at the 1936 Games.
Flying there: Both Aer Lingus and Ryanair fly daily from Dublin to Berlin while Aer Lingus flies on Tuesdays and Fridays from Cork and Ryanair flies from Shannon three times a week. All flights from both airlines are to Berlin Schoenefeld Airport, which is 20km from the capital city and accessible by both bus and rail service.
From the UK, British Airways flies into Berlin Tegel, 8km (five miles) from Berlin city centre. BA operates flights from Heathrow with connections from Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow.
Ryanair flies from Stansted, Edinburgh and East Midlands to Berlin Schoenefeld, 20 Km from Berlin. There is both a rail and bus service available into the heart of the city, journey time is approximately 45 minutes.
Easyjet also flies to Schoenefeld from Bristol, Liverpool, Luton, Gatwick and Glasgow.
Hotel accommodation should be plentiful in a city as geared to tourism as Berlin and the local organising committee has worked out a discount scheme on select rooms through the Berlin Tourism Marketing company (BTM) at http://www.visitberlin.de/english/. Our online search for a double room for four nights from the August 15-18 produced 132 hotels of varying quality with rooms from €196.00 total for the stay. For those looking for accommodation close to the action, the Olimpiastadion is in the Charlottenburg district just to the west of the city centre.
IAAF world championships have been played out in front of remarkably small crowds given the quality of competition on offer and when we checked the official ticket website at http://www.berlin2009.org/ there were still tickets available for every session in all four categories, including 100m final night from €34.90 to €153.55 on the finish line.
Prices for the rest of the championships start at just €13.00 for the Tuesday morning but for all other days, tickets cover both morning and evening sessions. Whole day tickets start at €20, with finish-line tickets not going on sale until May.
Nine-day tickets for all events are available in the three categories €350, €470 and €960.
My mum and dad went to Berlin and brought me back: something from Berlinomat, a fashion market at Frankfurter Allee 89, near the Frankfurter Allee subway stop in the Friedrichshain district in the eastern city centre. Every item of clothing, accessories and jewellery is created by a Berlin designer, and at attractive prices too for this fashion-crazed city.
When in Berlin: Try the currywurst, Berlin’s favourite fast food. It is a spicy sausage cut into bite-size pieces and smothered with a curry flavoured tomato ketchup. It is sold at stands throughout the city with some of the best on offer at Konnopke, near the Eberswalder Strasse subway stop at Schönhauser Allee 44. Or go for glamour at Biers 195 in Charlottenburg at Kurfürstendamm 195 (Adenauerplatz subway) and get your currywurst with a glass of champagne.
Home from home: Near to the stadium, try the Black Swan, an English pub with a beer garden at Leibnizstrstrasse 81, close to the Deutsche Oper (U2 line) and Wilmersdorfer Strasse (U7) subway stops.
In the city centre, or Mitte, the Irish hot spot is Oscar Wilde’s at Friedrichstrasse 112a, close to the Oranienburger Tor (U6) stop. That said, the reports are that it is on the pricey side.
For alternatives check out http://www.berlinfo.com/, which has good pub reviews.
Local brew: For many a Berliner Weisse may seem an aberration for the beer-loving Germans, with their brewing prowess and purity laws, but the locals love it. Berliner Weisse is a young, top-fermented bottled wheat beer that is sharp and acidic. The Berliners, though, pour it over syrup, either raspberry (red) or woodruff (green) and drink it through a straw. Don’t leave Berlin without trying one.
Event website: http://www.berlin2009.org/