The Berlin strike has entered its eighth day on Wednesday, March 12th as the Ver.di labor union warns that the stoppage could last through Easter, March 23rd. To those not used to European strikes the mere thought of a transport shutdown in a city that you are about to visit can create a freak out, however, in Berlin tourists now have the opportunity to “see more of the city than they normally would”, according to Barry of Fat Tire Bike Tours.

The reason for the strike is worker compensation- the Ver.di labor union is asking for a 12% bump in salaries for their members who work for Berlin’s public transportation system (BVG). The main inconvenience seems to be to commuters, tourists and of course workers. Why? Because financially, Berlin is saving about €500,000 ($750,000) per day for what it normally subsidizes the BVG while the BVG, according to Berlin daily newspaper Die Tageszeitung, the revenue loss of €1,300,000 ($1,900,000) is offset by savings on salary, electricity and fuel. Let’s hope they can resolve this issue so the workers can get back to work and Berlin can start to shine as the fantastic city that it is.

In the meantime here is what you need to know to get around strike land Berlin:

Arriving to Berlin via air has been affected but is not crippled.

• Airport Berlin-Tegel: There is a replacement bus service between Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) and the airport.

• Airport Berlin-Schönefeld: Use the AirportExpress or S-Bahn.

Getting around:

• The BVG replaced some of its most important routes with around 130 buses operated by a private company.

• Take a walking tour. It’s no secret that we love walking tours as a way to see a city and Berlin has some of the best we have taken. The Insider Tour comes highly recommended. They offer a number of tours including Berlins Original Pub Crawl.

• Take a bike tour
  • Fat Tire Bike Tours
  • The Insider Tour
• Rent-a-bike
  • Fat Tire Bike Tours. They set aside a number of bicycles for people who have taken their tours, but they also rent to people who have not taken their tour.
  • Berlin on Bike also offers guided tours and has set aside 200 bikes for rental.
  • Call-a-Bike. Run by the Deutsche Bahn and located at just about every major junction of the city. Simply register on the Internet at www.callabike.de or call the service hot line at 07000 5225522*, to speak with a customer agent to immediately receive a customer number. Once registered your credit card is debited €5 which is deducted in full from your next Call-a-Bike invoice.

If you decide to rent a bike and are worried about getting around the city you might want to check out BBBike, which has a handy little mapizer? that can be used to help you plot your rout strategy. The application is OK and is dependent on your knowing a lot about Berlin and where you are going and from where, but imagine the possibilities of when they are able to sink this application with a GPS phone. It will be awesome.

Happy Travels

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