BERLIN

Tell Me Where to Go

What do spicy sausages, ping-pong and naked rock stars all have in common? Your tips on what I should do in Berlin led me to meet some very interesting locals

Where you decide what Danny Robins should see and do in a different city each month
What do spicy sausages, ping-pong and naked rock stars all have in common? Your tips on what I should do in Berlin led me to meet some very interesting locals

"Do a tour of Hansa studios, where David Bowie and Iggy Pop recorded."

@bobollie via Twitter
"So he was actually naked? In here?" I ask. "Oh yes, nudity in studios can really help artists." I'm gobsmacked. Thilo Schmied, my impressively goatee-bearded guide, has just informed me that Martin Gore from Depeche Mode, a band I love, liked to record here in the legendary Hansa studios totally nude.

"More records than you would think are sung naked," he says. "A good comparison would be when you stand at home alone in the shower. You feel you can sing anything." Crikey. I'll never listen to my Depeche Mode's Greatest Hits in the same way again. But back to Bob's tip. Hansa is still very much a working studio - Snow Patrol and U2 were here recently - but go on one of Thilo's brilliant tours and you're allowed to sneak a peek. A former recording engineer, Thilo is a treasure trove of anecdotes on all the bands who've worked here, both clothed and unclothed. Before Unification, Hansa was so close to the Wall that the border guards could listen in to Bowie and Iggy, or just watch Martin Gore sing with his bits out. www.musictours-berlin.com

"I've got just two words for you - Dr. Pong."

Sophie Black via Facebook

There's an unwritten rule in Berlin; if a bar is really cool, it doesn't look like a bar. So, standing outside what could be an abandoned shopfront, I push open the door and find myself confronted by the joyous sight of hipsters playing a mass game of ping-pong.

Thanks for the tip, Sophie. Dr. Pong may sound like a particularly unhygienic super-villain, but it turns out to be one of Berlin's best bars, thanks to the philosophy that mixing beer and table tennis can only be a good thing. I get my ping-pong butt kicked by locals and chat to the owner, sadly not actually called Dr. Pong, but Oliver Miller, an American who set up the bar after getting hooked on the city's many outdoor tables. "Particularly in east Berlin there are concrete tables everywhere," he says. "I remember one day we were scraping the snow off a table and it just seemed like a great idea to have a warm place where we could play inside." Long live Dr. Pong.
www.drpong.net

If you like museums and sausages, you'll love the Currywurst Museum

@benkersley via Twitter

In 1949, when sausage vendor Herta Heuwer experimented by pouring ketchup, Worcester sauce and curry powder over a bratwurst, she created not just a spicy meat snack but a national obsession.

Veronika Schütt, who's worked at the Deutsches Currywurst Museum since it opened its doors in 2009, shows me around, and soon her passion for sausage is rubbing off on me. I learn that the Cold War wasn't just about rival political ideologies, for some there was also a currywurst divide. "The question," she says, "was to eat it with or without skin." Veronika confides that she is not a skin eater but encourages me to try for myself in a "currywurst degustation". She makes me cleanse my palate with a swig of water between mouthfuls.

This place is genuinely fascinating, mapping a very German passion in brilliant detail. There's even a cinema showing the finest currywurst moments from TV and film. And trust me, they're fine. Oh, and it's with skin for me.
www.currywurstmuseum.de

I stayed at The Weinmeister Berlin-Mitte (www.the-weinmeister.com ), a funky hotel in the heart of Berlin with a rock and roll twist. Some of the rooms are themed around the musicians - mine was devoted to the band Hurts - and there's a good chance you'll bump into real rock stars in the lobby. I used the Berlin WelcomeCard, which gives unlimited travel on public transport and discount to loads of attractions. www.visitberlin.be Fly Ryanair to Berlin (Brandenburg and Schonefeld)

Thanks guys!
Here are just a few more of the many top Berlin tips you tweeted:

The Film Museum is amazing, and has the robot suit from Fritz Lang's Metropolis @Mr_Deville
Climb the TV tower - the tallest building in Germany! @gedparsons
White Trash Fast Food - you can get a tattoo whilst you're waiting for your burger to arrive @TheRichJayShow

Tell Danny where to go!

What's your must-visit place in a Ryanair city? Tell us about it by email, Facebook or Twitter:
hello@letsgo-mag.com, www.facebook.com/letsgomag, @helloletsgo