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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 7 AUGUST 2016 42 Travel Two readers have the chance to win a complimentary return ticket each for travel on any scheduled Air Malta flights (excluding taxes and charges). All you have to do is answer the question below and send in your name, mobile number and email address to: Maltatoday competition, Air Malta plc, Sky Parks, Malta International Airport, Luqa, LQA 4000. The closing date is 12 Augusty. Two readers have the chance to win a complimentary return ticket each for travel on any scheduled Air Malta flights (excluding taxes and charges). All you have to do is answer the question below and send in your name, mobile number and email Maltatoday competition, Air Malta plc, Sky Parks, Malta International Airport, Luqa, LQA 4000. The closing date is 12 Augusty. Question: How often does Air Malta travel to Berlin? a) Once a week b) Four times a week c) Seven times a week ✂ Name Email Mobile Number Nourishing mind and soul in Berlin BERLIN is a cultural melting pot with a rich history going back to the 13th century. Ravished by wars and divided for almost 20 years, this city has emerged with a sense of toler- ance and acceptance that allows six million residents from 180 na- tions to live together in peace and harmony. Berlin is a world city of culture, politics, technology, media and science and really is at the cen- tre of Europe. Whether you're on a whistle-stop tour of the city or have a longer time to explore, Ber- lin is certainly not a city that will disappoint. From beer gardens to abandoned airports, museums and 24-hour nightclubs there really is something for everyone. Perhaps the most infamous struc- ture of Berlin, The Berlin Wall, constructed in 1961, was demol- ished between June and November of 1990. A restored stretch runs along the southern border between Wedding and Mitte. Checkpoint Charlie was the famous west-east border control during the Cold War and is now a tourist centre that tells the wall's story. The tale of how the border was facilitated im- parts to the visitor a lasting impres- sion of the construction that once divided an entire country. From the tower one has an impressive view of the preserved parts of the border facility. The memorial of the division of the city remembers the victims of communist tyranny. Take a more visual tour along the wall where the one-mile stretch known as the East-Side Gallery is dedicated to art and preserves the graffiti made when the wall came down. This creative mural is a re- minder that from dark times beauty can still flourish. Walk around the back for a peek at the 'death strip' through the gaps in the wall. With more than 170 museums and somewhere around 300 gal- leries, Berlin is the place to visit for a dose of culture. Pergamon Museum is the centrepiece of Mu- seum Island and is really a number of unique museums under one roof. Opened in 1930, collections of note include antiquities and Islamic art, thought he star exhibit is the Perga- mon Altar, which is considered one of the wonders of the ancient world. The Jewish Museum includes nu- merous exhibits focusing on Ger- man-Jewish history and culture, some going back a period of 2,000 years. Rare documents, ceremonial objects, paintings, photos, textiles, sculptures and rare books. Particu- larly poignant are the displays deal- ing with life under the Nazis. Admittedly, Berlin is not on the coast. Nevertheless, it is a city on the water. Berlin has five times as many bridges as Venice (around 2,100). The German capital is criss-crossed by the Spree, Havel, Dahme, Panke and Wuhle rivers – as well as six canals, making a total of more than 180km of navigable waterways plus 150km of non-navi- gable waters. Eating along the water is a big thing with many restaurants on the waterfront and just as many boat restaurants. If you're look- ing for something more active, try renting canoes or SUP boards and explore with your own manpower. In Berlin there are more than 100 options for cooling off in the water. These include a number of natural waterways – after all, Berlin has more water than the Alpine lakes, and a broad range of outdoor and indoor pools. Who says you can't combine a city holiday with some proper beach time? Berlin is famous for its legend- ary nights out. Home of techno, revellers have danced away more than just the night… make that the next morning and quite possibly into the following one. Clärchens Ballhaus has seen a generation of party-going Berliners with its open- ing night being held in 1913. Little has changed over the last 100 years, though the front of the building, now a terrace, was bombed dur- ing the war. Clärchens is Berlin's last real dance hall, with great pizza and German dishes, themed dance nights and live music. If you're looking to party hard in Berlin, it's Berghain that you need to get to. This infamous club, near the border between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain, is famed as much for its ground-breaking sounds as it is for its X-rated sites. The club opens on Friday night and doesn't close until some time around Mon- day morning with some clubbers, fuelled by a combination of MD- MA, speed and ketamine, spending longer than 24 hour stretches in the club. Berliners like to celebrate outside during the warm summer. But the festival season starts off each year in the midst of winter with the Berlinale Film Festival in February, with thousands of Berliners and foreigners retreat to warm cinema halls to watch the best new film re- leases. The outdoor season, starting in May, sees festivals, street parties and gay parades over the summer months, ending with the Festival of Lights in October. Enjoy some of Berlin's greatest creations out of their micro brewer- ies in their traditional beer gardens. Dust off your lederhosen – you want to look the part, don't you? – and head down to one of the many beer gardens scattered around the city. Hidden in a Wedding student- housing complex, Eschenbraeu is well worth visiting for its home- brewed beers and flammekuchen pies. In the Friedrichshain district, the Hops & Barley bar attracts a young crowd. Closer to the cen- tre, Brauhaus Lemke is an original Berlin brewpub, pulling pints since 1999. But two of the best places for a beer are the Prater Garten, the oldest Biergarten in town, serving its own Prater Pils, and the relaxing Cafe am Neuen See which serves Bavarian beers and overlooks a beautiful boating lake in Tiergarten Park. Tempelhof Airport was built in the 1930s and was meant to be the world's most advanced airport. Later used as a military airport by the Americans it played a key role in saving West Berlin during the 1949 blockade. Today the aban- doned airfield is used for much more leisurely activities. It has been converted into a park for running, cycling, dog walking or simply lying in the sun and barbecuing. Getting there Air Malta offer direct flights between Malta and Berlin. One way prices including a 20kg baggage allowance start from Euro 69 including taxes and charges. Tourists visit the Berlin Wall at the old door which was the only communication between east and west Though Bavaria can lay claim to Germany's best beers, Berlin has an increasing number of micro-breweries making a name for themselves on the global scene