Annie, would you be able to sned me the bus numbers that they sent you. I don't know if I will be of my right mind you go about looking for buses seeing as I have 3 flights to catch just to get to Berlin all in the one leg, but it's worth it to know. Just for interest sake when are you leaving Melbourne and who are you flying with?

Hullo.. I'm tsing... my husband and I have jus paid our deposit for Eastern Europe... can't wait to see u guys there..

Phelon I leave Melb on June 5th and am flying Singapore Airlines direct to Frankfurt with a stopover for a couple of hours in Singapore. From Frankfurt I fly Luftansa to Tegel in Berlin and arrive on June 6th, their time. I figure getting the bus is all part of the adventure! I have decided in my spare time before the tour starts that I will be visiting the Berlin Zoo and Aquarium.
Who, when and how are you flying in?

Tsing - hello there! Tell us a bit about yourselves ...

I leave on the 4th, flying with Emirates. To Dubai then to Dusseldorf and then onto Berlin. I arrive on the 5th. I don't know much about Berlin so i don't know what I plan to do for the time before the tour starts, but I picke dup my itenerary today and it all looks good

Picked up just the flights itinerary or the whole lot from Contiki at your travel agents??? I am busting to get mine!

I went to Borders and bought a book for $20 called Top 10 in Berlin, it has some awesome stuff in it, a wise investment so not to waste the time I have there before the tour starts.

If you are staying at the Comfort maybe we can meet up when I get there and go to the zoo together? Just an idea ...

omigosh.. u guys are all so well-prepared... frankly speakin, I still have no idea whether our trip is confirmed.. just paid deposit yesterday tho...

am a malaysian married to a singaporean, so we will provide the 2 asian faces in the trip! joined contiki 5 years ago for the western europe trip and had a whale of a time... very curious bout the eastern part and so here we are..

by the way, u guys may want to check this website, which I find very comprehensive:

http://www.berlin.de/english/visitors/

apparently for those who would be spending some time in Berlin, u can opt to get the Berlin Welcome Card which provides unlimited public transportation for 48 to 72 hours...

as for flight details, we will either fly to London and from there to Berlin or direct.. still monitoring the various online flights...

I've paid!!! I'm officially going and very excited and so excited to meet you all.
I'm from Miami, FL and going with a friend.
It is exactly ONE MONTH away!!

Annie- I picked up my entire contiki itinerary, it has a list of all the hotels we're staying in and give a brief (very brief) description of what we'll be doing during the day. I am staying at the comfort hotel before the trip starts so i think a trip to the zoo would be awesome- is it supposed to be a famous sort of zoo or just an ordinary one?

Hi Annie
I notice in ur mesg that we'll b stayin in Comfort @ Berlin. Could it b Comfort Hotel Lichtenberg with address; 159 Rhinstrasse? Haven't got my contiki pack yet and gotta book a room for the 6th june.... Wow.. less than a month to go...
thanks so much...

hello tsing, nice to meet you!

I would also like to know if that is the hotel we are staying at, if you would let us know annie that would be great!I am trying to figure out transportation from the airport at well. It seems like everyone is getting to Berlin early. We are arriving on the 7th unfortunatly.

if anyone has anymore info on the hotels or itinerary that please share! I am so exicted!
What do you guys think the weather will be like?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sara-Jo,

tsing - the hotel is the Comfort Hotel in weissensee. The exact address is Rennbahnstrasse 87 -88, 13086, Berlin. Email info@comforthotel-weissensee.de or website is www.comforthotel-weissensee.de. My travel agent booked the extra night at the same time I booked the rest of my trip.

Phelon - as far as I know the Berlin Zoo has the largest collection of animals in Germany and one of the best in Europe - they have pandas!!! That's enough for me! Check out their website for more info. for 18 euro we get entry into the zoo and the aquarium nearby.

Christy - Hi! Tell us a bit about you and your travelling companion - ages etc.

Sara-Jo I can email you the directions the hotel sent me if you send me a private message with your email addy.

Thanks so much Annie.. will check the website right this moment..

Hullo Sara-Jo... the weather at the moment ranges between 15 - 20'C. Hmmmm shouldn't be toooooo hot by next month I suppose..

Here is a list of the hotels we shall be staying at on the tour (or so my itinerary tells me)
Berlin- Comfort Hotel Weissensee
Prague- Ibis Praha Mala Strana
Vienna- Austria Trend Event Hotel Pyramide
Budapest- Hotel Stadion Budapest
Krakow- Express By Holiday Inn Krakow
Warsaw- Kyriad Prestige

It is not the Lichtenberg one for the Berlin leg I'm afraid.
Sara-Jo, according to the booklet I received with the itinerary the weather will be quite mild, not too hot and not too cold. Although Prague averages 10 degrees year round so it might be a bit chillier there.
Also you should be able to get your itinerary now too because they release it to your travel agent at least 3 weeks before you leave.

Thanks so much Phelon... :P now finalising all my stuff.. gosh! i really don't have the mood to work ....

Hey all
Well my friend and I are from Miami, Florida. Right now I'm in pharmacy school in Savannah, Georgia and 22 y.o. I haven't had any time to do my research on the different places we are going b/c school's been in the way...I'm trying my best to fit it in though.

Anyway, I can't wait to meet everyone.
Has anyone been on a contiki tour before? This is my first time and I'm not going to lie, I'm a bit nervous/excited/don't know what to expect.