Heading to Berlin. Any suggestions on what I should buy as gifts for family/ friends? What is Berlin known for that can be taken on an airplane? Food? Clothing? a jewelry or craft design? Not interested in buying a piece of the Berlin wall or lederhosen or anything tchotcka-ish.
I don%26#39;t NEED to buy anything but coming home with a few gifts wouldn%26#39;t be a bad thing either.
Thanks.
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If you want a really dumb souvenir, they sell sealed cans with the famous Berlin air. Advantage: lightweight!
Otherwise, what is typical for Berlin?
- the bear is the city%26#39;s crest and symbol, you will find a wide variety of Berlin teddy bears and things with bears on them
- t-shirts, as in many places
- Berliner Weiße, beer mixed with either raspberry or woodruff syrup and requires special wide big glasses: a) the glass b) the syrup
- East and West is a big rtopic in the once divided city, you will find a wide variety of (imitated) items with DDR symbols
If you want something with a bit more spirit and wits and a story behind it: the Ampelmann series. East Germany and West Germany used to have different symbols on their pedestrian traffic lights. The East has a cute little man with a hat, standing (red) and marching (green), the West a rather indifferent human figure. After the reunification, the Western traffic lights were introduced in the new Länder, too - big protests, they wanted to keep their traffic light man. Protests were successful, by the way. A clever merchant developed a souvenir series of towels, shopping bags, t-shirts, umbrellas and many other things with the Eastern traffic light man in red and green on them.
There is also a traffic light girl, by the way!
Ah, the English Wikipedia has an article on the traffic light figures: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampelmann. The External link at the very bottom of the article leads to the website of that souvenir merchant and shows the products.
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Working link without the point behind it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampelmann
Berlin shopping
visitberlin.de/english/…e_be_shopping.php
E.g. check out the section %26quot;Fashion from Berlin%26quot;.
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No idea why TA added that point, the link was copied and pasted from my browser. Anyway, thanks abalada.
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Definitely Ampelmann things, I only bought a t-shirt and a fridge magnet, and I%26#39;m already thinking of going back to Berlin to buy more :) They don%26#39;t scream tourist, but people who have been to Berlin will be %26quot;in the know%26quot;. ;)
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If there is a fair or special market going on, you might be able to buy Lebkuchen hearts. They are decorative, and can be eaten after admiring them for a few months.
Perhaps beer mugs or glasses, or wine glasses (the ones with handles). Something possibly useful.
I was interested in seeing Ampelmann items after reading about them on this forum, but to me they left a lot to be desired!
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I%26#39;d rather have an Ampelmann towel than a month-old Lebkuchen heart.
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