Photo by FloSchMUC

Berlin’s public transportation system covers a lot of ground across a very spread-out city. Cheapos need never pay full price to use the system, as there are a number of discounts available. For visitors, there is the WelcomeCard, which offers unlimited travel in Berlin, plus a book of coupons for discounts to museums, tours, bike rentals, etc.

The WelcomeCard is available for 48 hours for €16 or for 72 hours for €21. Another good deal: the City tour Card Premium, which is available for €39.90 for 72 hours and offers free entry to museums and other attractions in Berlin, as well as a free trip up the TV tower.

Probably the best deal is the City Tour Card. It’s available for €14.90 for 48 hours or €19.90 for 72 hours, and offering discounts of up to 50 percent off Berlin attractions. Download the list of discount partners from the Berlin public transportation system site and plan ahead.

If you are in a group and you travel as a pack, make sure you take advantage of the small group ticket. This allows up to five people to travel on the same ticket until 3 a.m. the following morning. It costs only €15.40 for zones A and B and can be purchased at automatic ticket machines.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Photo by mompl

State communism may have gone its way in East Berlin, but the workers of the world can still get fed at the Schwarze Pumpe (Black Pump) in Mitte.

The décor, featuring exposed pipes and wooden tables, is stylishly retro-factory canteen. The food is fresh, simple and cheap; the menu features daily specials such as goulash with salad and potatoes for €7—or a delicious cheese spätzle and salad for €6. Stop in anytime from breakfast to dinner and commune with the common man.

Schwarze Pumpe is located at Choriner Strasse 76. Telephone: +49 30 449 69 39.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Photo by Jennifer Sokolowsky

Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name. For English speakers in Berlin, that would be Hairy Mary’s, which opened last fall in a cellar space near Kollwitzplatz. The bar has the feel of a friend’s living room.

The proprietors, Mark from Glasgow and Laura from Minnesota, offer a warm welcome, well-priced drinks, and occasional live-band nights and special-event parties. Better catch them quickly, though. Hairy Mary’s is a yearlong project for the couple and they will shut its doors in September. Hairy Mary’s is located at Diedenhoferstrasse 5 in Prenzlauer Berg and is open every night (barring Sunday) after 9 p.m.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Photo by Christian Franke BB

Berlin’s expat community is diverse and far-flung. Because the city is so spread out, it can be difficult to find one central point for English speakers. But this is changing with the appearance of the Toytown Germany online community.

A longtime expat fixture in Munich, the Toytown site has expanded over the last year to include Germany’s capital. The site offers online news and forums for English speakers to discuss life in Berlin. Toytown’s weekly Thursday night meetups are especially popular, open to anyone who wants to hang out with fellow English speakers over drinks.

Locations change each week, and the mix of attendees is also variable. Travelers are welcome. These meetups are a great way to get insider tips on the city from people in the know—and maybe even find your own personal tour guide.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Photo by chris_wass

White Trash Fast Food, the notoriously attitude-heavy restaurant/bar/club in Berlin’s Mitte, gets itself all gussied up on Sunday nights for Coconut Grove, a nostalgic nod to the heyday of swing.

While you can still order White Trash favorites such as the Killer Elvis Burger, and the joint’s schizophrenic décor is as much rock n’ roll Chinatown brothel as ever, starched white cloths adorn the tables and the wait staff dress up in period garb to match the mood.

Add candlelight and live swing by Andrej Hermlin & The Swing Dance Orchestra and you’ve got a memorable Sunday night out, all for a mere €3. The band usually starts sometime after 9 p.m. It’s recommended to make reservations or show up earlier to get a good spot. White Trash Fast Food is located at Schönhauser Allee 6/7. Telephone: +49 30 5034 8668.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Photo by minarai

Spring is glorious in Berlin—especially for Cheapos, as all that sunshine is free of charge. A particularly lovely spot to enjoy it this time of year is the tranquil Japanese Garden at the Gardens of the World in Erholungspark Marzahn.

The cherry trees are blooming, so now is the time to make a visit to take in the beauty of the pink blossoms. The Japanese Garden is open every day from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The €2 admission also gets you access to the Chinese, Balinese, Oriental, and Seoul gardens in the park.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Photo by Eulinx

Shine a little sunlight on Berlin and the city’s attitude warms right up with it. And after sleepwalking through another winter of 4 PM sunsets, this city deserves to party!

Berlin kicks off the springtime outdoor festival season with Spring Fest, on now through April 15, 2007 at the Zentrale Festplatz on Kurt-Schumacher-Damm. Festivities include rides, performances, yummy treats, and of course, plenty of beer and sausages. On April 7, fireworks will top it all off starting at 9:45 p.m.

The Cheapo-friendly festival costs €1.50 to get in (kids under 14 free), and Wednesdays are Family Day, with half-price discounts on rides. Hours are 3 pm – 11 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays; 3 pm – 12 am on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 pm – 11 pm on Wednesdays, Sundays and Easter Monday. The festival will be closed on Good Friday.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Photograph by babschi

It seems that Knut, Berlin’s über-cute polar bear cub, is alive and well—and despite the opinion of some animal-rights activists that he should have been killed rather than humanized. Three-month-old Knut made his public debut at the Berlin Zoo last weekend to the adulation of large crowds of children and an international media feeding frenzy. The little fluffball seems to be a natural star and all the attention didn’t faze him a bit.

Good thing, because the Berlin Zoo is banking on a bonanza of visitors this summer to come see Knut in action. He will be out every day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Photograph by F-power

How cute is Knut? The three-month-old polar bear cub at the Berlin Zoo is adorable enough to have become the darling of the city, which is waiting with bated breath for the roly-poly little guy’s public debut any day now. He’s gotten plenty of international attention too, and has even been photographed by Annie Leibovitz.

But some animal-rights activists have raised worldwide ire by saying that the cub should have been killed rather than reared by humans. Given his atypical rearing, he will have a lifelong bear behavioral disorder. The cub was abandoned by his mother at birth. He is being cared for full time by keeper Thomas Dörflein, who feeds him from a bottle and even has a bed near the baby bear’s crate.

Zoo officials say there is no way they are even considering doing away with the first polar bear to be born in the zoo in 30 years. Knut fans can breathe a sigh of relief and look forward to plenty more precious photos to ooh and ahh over.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Photograph by Wayne Zakaria

Berlin will host a huge European Union birthday bash this weekend as it celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome with a mixture of politics and a bonanza of Cheapo entertainment.

While European leaders sign the Berlin Declaration on European Values, museum lovers can attend the “Night of Beauty” on March 24. One €14 ticket gets you into 14 museums and galleries, which will stay open until 2 a.m. and feature special exhibitions and performances.

Those who want to keep going all night can play at more than 30 Berlin bars and clubs, where DJs and musical acts from across Europe will be entertaining partygoers. €12 gets you a ticket into all participating clubs.

On March 25, things get really cheap—free, in fact—with an outdoor concert at the Brandenburg Gate, starting at noon and lasting into the night. Acts include the Blue Man Group and Joe Cocker.

Berlin proved its party-throwing prowess with the World Cup last summer, and we expect nothing less than a wunderbar celebration. Prost!

Popularity: 8% [?]