Map of Berlin

I’m currently planning what things I’m going to do on my first few stops travelling in Europe.
A friend of mine recommended starting my travels in Berlin, so I’ve planned to go for December and begin the Christmas festivities early.
Christmas markets are definitely a bonus! I’ve planned on making it to Germany twice now for Oktoberfest, only to miss it each year, and other than that, Christmas in Germany has always seemed a real laugh.
I’m also going to try and get to the Berlin Wall (predictable I know, but formed a large part of my History degree!).

I’m finding the list of things I want to do at each stop becoming longer and longer, so if anybody has any suggestions of the most exciting things to do, I’d love to hear. I’m really interested in culture as well as a good social vibe, bars and restaurants and a bit of cool history.
On that note, I’ve gathered quite a few books about Berlin as well as other travel essentials. Packing is actually the hard part for me as I always forget something.

My list so far goes all the essential travel items, some good books, ear plugs (v. important if staying in the city) and a new laptop, having drowned my current one in coffee. I had wanted to snatch up an iPad to save room, but travel expenses have eaten into my savings so I’m relying on Cyber Monday to get a good deal on a laptop. I’m thinking of getting this one: http://cyber-monday.co.uk/deals/argos/hp-laptop-offer unless anything good comes up over the weekend.

If you know of any good deals on Black Friday/Cyber Monday, or just a relatively cheap laptop let me know. I’d much rather get something a bit smaller but I suppose this lets you do more than a tablet.
I also need to get a few new clothes – I’ve heard Berlin is ice cold in Winter and my wardrobe is looking quite bare, especially on the hoodie front.

The next stop after Berlin is Brussels, so watch this space for updates. Hopefully the next post might see some concrete plans for Berlin.
Comments always welcome!
Jon