Berlin/Reinickendorf and Spandau

Spandau is the westernmost borough (Bezirk) of the German capital city of Berlin. The district lies conveniently in a green area with the nearby Spree and Havel rivers. Once a town in its own right, Spandau is one of the oldest areas in the Berlin region and retains much of its unique character, having been spared the worst of the Allied bombing in the Second World War that so devastated the rest of the city. The center of the district is formed by a dense network of medieval streets and a market square, retaining a large number of timber-framed buildings. Spandau was the site of the military prison in which Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess was imprisoned after the 1946 Nuremberg trials until his death in 1987. The prison was then demolished. Despite being part of Berlin, neither Berliners nor Spandauers usually consider that fact to apply in popular thought. If for example, you ask a taxi driver to take you to the "city center", they will most likely take you to the center of Spandau, not necessarily Mitte or the old heart of West-Berlin. It's as much in the boondocks as some Berliners ever venture and even those who consider Potsdam in BVG zone C to be at the edge of civilization might consider Spandau basically another planet.
Reinickendorf is a borough in the northwest of Berlin. It consists of the localities Tegel, Reinickendorf, Märkisches Viertel (1970s-era apartment blocks area) and some small, village-like areas. Reinickendorf loves to use fox symbolism as "Reinicke" is a poetic term for fox (the standard term is "Fuchs") which is used in fables. The coat of arms thus showing a fox and Berlin's most successful handball team, Füchse Berlin is from here though they now play their home games in Max Schmeling Halle in the former east.
In general, it is a very green district with much water and the neighborhoods have a typical small town cityscape. In addition to Tegel airport there are some minor sights interesting for tourists (especially architecture in Tegel). Within the borough of Reinickendorf, Märkisches Viertel (sometimes derisively called "merkwüdiges Viertel" - peculiar quarter) is one of the most notable West Berlin new constructions, dating to the 1960s when housing was scarce. When the housing units were constructed, a subway connection was promised, but it took until the 1980s to extend U8 towards the area (by then in questionable parallelity to the S-Bahn) - and Berlin ran out of money just about one or two stops before actually reaching the neighborhood, causing understandable frustration among residents. The extension of U8 to the center of märkisches Viertel is one of the most talked about U-Bahn extensions whenever proposals to extend the network are debated and the Bezirk Reinickendorf is among those clamoring the loudest.
While both areas might feel almost "rural" in parts to Berliners, Spandau alone would be the largest city in Brandenburg were it not part of Berlin, so the "ruralness" of this district is a very relative term.

Spandau is the terminal station for a couple of public transport lines (especially the backbone line ). Some long distance and all regional trains stop at Spandau.

By public transport

The main backbone for the western parts is the U-Bahn line , Berlin's longest, with the major stations

,

and

. The S-Bahn lines and end/start here as well.
The BVG (the public transport company) runs a public ferry between Kladow and Wannsee which is primarily designed for commuters.
The main U-Bahn routes for Reinickendorf are for the more easterly parts and for the more westerly parts.

By plane

• Tegel Airportis located in the southwest of Reinickendorf, 15 minutes distance from the center of Tegel. From the airport you can get into the center of Berlin with the bus lines TXL, 109 and X9 or into the center of Tegel by bus 128 (change at Kurt-Schumacher Platz to U6 to Alt-Tegel). Tegel Airport is not served by any tram, S-Bahn or U-Bahn line. From the center of Berlin take the U-Bahn line U6 to Alt-Tegel, or the S-Bahn line S25 to station Tegel if you want to get into the center of Tegel. U-Bahn line U8 and S-Bahn lines S1 and S25 go through Reinickendorf; main stations are Alt-Reinickendorf (S 25) and Rathaus Reinickendorf (U8).
  Tegel Airport is in a bad state due to having been scheduled to close in the mid 2000s and logically no major investments have happened since then. It is however one of the most notable designs of star architect Meinhard von Gerkhan and the hexagonal main terminal is pretty unique and a listed building that is planned to survive the eventual closure of the airport.

By train

• Berlin-Spandauis a stop for many long-distance trains and all regional trains. It has interchanges to various S-Bahn, U-Bahn and buses.

Both Spandau and Reinickendorf cover a pretty large area and as they are rather outlying, the U-Bahn is only of limited use. The S-Bahn meanwhile has stops too far apart to be useful for local transport in most cases. Unfortunately, there is not yet any tram in the area, the West Berlin tram having been shut down in the 1960s. For the most part, you'll thus have to rely on buses for your public transit needs. As elsewhere in Berlin a leading "M" in the line-number means "Metrobus" and they are more frequent, and also run at night but they can be crowded during peak times. Buses with a leading "X" in the line number meanwhile are express buses that skip some stops and will hopefully arrive a bit faster than the "regular" bus. An infamous phenomenon on busier Berlin bus routes is "bunching" when despite nominal five minute headway no bus comes for ten or even fifteen minutes as the first bus gets delayed by boarding and alighting passengers and the following buses catch up. This will lead to the strange experience of three buses arriving all at once the last notably emptier than the first one. The red-red-green government elected 2016 would love to replace the busiest bus lines with tram lines which don't show this problem but funds and planning capacity are limited and it can take years from the first idea to build a line to trams running.

Spandau

• Spandau Citadel

  phone: +49 354 94 42 00
  address: Am Juliusturm 64
  A fortress built between 1560-1590 to Italian design on the site of a 12th-century castle.

• St Nikolai KircheA splendid 15th-century Gothic church with many fine accoutrements.

• Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr – Flugplatz Berlin-Gatow

  address: Flugplatz Gatow 33
  At a former Luftwaffe and Royal Air Force (RAF) airfield, RAF Gatow. The museum's focus is on military history, particularly the history of the Luftwaffe of the Bundeswehr, with a collection of more than 200,000 items, including 155 aeroplanes, 5,000 uniforms and 30,000 books. There are also displays (including aeroplanes) on the history of the airfield when it was used by the RAF. Aircraft include reproductions of Otto Lilienthal's gliders, of World War I planes such as the Fokker E.III, and World War II planes such as the Bf 109 and Me-262, as well as at least one aircraft of every type ever to serve in the air forces of East and West Germany. Most of those postwar aircraft are stored outside on the tarmac and runways, however, and many are in bad condition. There are long term restoration projects, including a Focke-Wulf Fw 190. RAF Gatow is notable as the "missing third airport" of West Berlin. Each sector used to have its own airport; the French sector had Tegel, the American sector had Tempelhof and the British had Gatow. However, RAF Gatow never saw much traffic of any kind, was more kept as a political statement than for transportation value, and thus was shut down after reunification. Tempelhof after having been shut down for civilian traffic from 1975 to 1981 finally closed for all flights in 2008 while Tegel is still open despite longstanding plans to close it.

Reinickendorf

• Schloss Tegel

  address: Adelheidallee 17-21
  A remarkable medium-sized classical castle by the famous K.F. Schinkel built 1820 to 1824, also called "Humboldtschlösschen", because Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt (and their family) lived here once. Still privately owned.

• Dicke MarieNot far away from Schloss Tegel (at the "große Malche") you can take a look at the oldest tree in Berlin, an oak which has been growing there since about 1192 (so it's actually older than Berlin itself). The name ("fat Mary") allegedly stems from the brother Humboldt who named the tree after their overweight cook.

• IBA-Bauten at Tegeler HafenDuring the International Building Exhibition 1984 to 1988 a bunch of remarkable buildings were set around the old Tegeler Hafen. Architecturally diverse, the most important is the Phosphateliminierungsanlage (Gustav Peichl). Also some buildings by Charles Moore are interesting.

• Borsigwerke and BorsigturmEx-industrial buildings from the late 19th and early 20th century, nice clinker-architecture and the first (mini) highraiser of Berlin, the Borsigturm, 65 m high, built 1922-24. The area houses now offices, a shopping mall and some places for entertainment. The company Borsig has a very turbulent and storied history and while it has long since ceased being a "German" company or connected to the family of the same name, the investors that bought the name and assets after a bankruptcy keep producing in Berlin-Tegel.

• LübarsOne of the most authentic and oldest villages (1247) in the outskirts of Berlin, it looks the same way it did some hundred years ago. Take S-Bahn 1 to Waidmannslust and then bus 222 to Alt-Lübars.

• Swimming, watersports and boat trips on one of the biggest Berlin lakes, the Tegeler See.

• Greenwich PromenadeRelaxing lake-side strolls on 'Greenwich Promenaid', a path named after Reinickendorf's twin town of Greenwich, London.

Swimming and bathing

Spandau

• Sommerbad Staaken-West

  phone: +49 30-3631 946
  address: Brunsbüttler Damm 443, 13591 Berlin
  An outdoor 25-m pool.

• Stadtbad Spandau Nord

  phone: +49 30-375 1035
  address: Radelandstraße 1, 13589 Berlin
  An indoor pool built 1911 in the neo-baroque style.

• Kombibad Spandau Süd

  phone: +49 30-362 1021
  address: Gatower Straße 19, 13595 Berlin
  50-m pool

• Badestelle Bürgerablage

  address: Niederneuendorfer Allee 84, 13587 Berlin

• Badestelle Breitehorn

  address: Kolonie Breitehorn, Breitehornweg 36/38, 14089 Berlin

• Badestelle Groß Glienicker See, nördlich

  address: Uferpromenade 9, 14089 Berlin

• Badestelle Groß Glienicker See, südlich

  address: Im Dohl, 14089 Berlin

Reinickendorf

• Strandbad Lübars

  phone: +1 30-53086035
  address: Am Freibad 9, 13469 Berlin-Lübars
  A well-equipped beach.

• Badestelle Flughafensee

  address: Betzdorfer Pfad, 13507 Berlin-Reinickendorf

• Freibad Heiligensee

  address: Sandhauser Straße 132-140, 13503 Berlin-Reinickendorf

• Badestelle Oberhavel Sandhauser Straße

  address: Sandhauser Straße 57, 13505 Berlin-Reinickendorf

• Badestelle Tegeler See, gegenüber Reiswerder

  address: Bernauer Straße, 13507 Berlin-Reinickendorf

• Badestelle Tegeler See, gegenüber Scharfenberg

  address: Scharfenberg gegenüber Insel, 13505 Berlin

• Badestelle Tegeler See, gegenüber Reiherwerder

  address: Schwarzer Weg, 13505 Berlin-Reinickendorf

• Badestelle Tegeler See, Saatwinkel

  address: Im Saatwinkel 65, 13599 Berlin

• Paracelsus Bad

  phone: +49 30-4987760
  address: Roedernallee 200-204, 13407 Berlin-Reinickendorf
  25 m pool

• Borsighallen

  address: Am Borsigturm 2
  A nice shopping mall located in Tegel. It's converted locomotive assembly halls turned into a typical medium sized Berlin mall with every shop you'll need. Additionally there is a cinema and other entertainment stuff.

• Markthalle Tegel

  phone: +49 30 4343849
  address: Gorkistraße 13-17, 13507 Berlin
  Indoor food market. Fantastic fresh foods at local prices, including bakers, deli counters, and greengrocers.

• Märkisches ZentrumThe main mall in Märkisches Viertel

• Berliner Feinkost Fraktion

  address: Eichborndamm 80, Berlin Reinickendorf 13403

• Staaken Center

• Brauhaus Spandau

  phone: +49 30 353907-0
  address: Neuendorfer Straße 1

• Restaurant Aarju

  address: Medebacher Weg 24, Tegel
  Indian-Singaporean food busy on weekends, reservation recommended

• Fishermans Restaurant

  phone: +49 30 43 74 64 70
  address: Eisenhammerweg 20, 13507 Berlin
  A fish place with a terrace with views of the lake

• Casa Schmuck

  address: Wilhelmstr. 114, 13593 Berlin
  Maybe the sweetest little bed and breakfast place in Berlin. Outside the center in Spandau, close to lakes and rivers, to the Olympic Stadium and the convention center. The lady running it is really nice!

• Hotel & Hostel Altstadt Spandau Berlin

  phone: +49 30 54813021
  address: Wasserstr. 4
  5 minutes away from U Altstadt Spandau.

• Hettler & Lange Hotel und City-Camping

  phone: +49 30 33 5036 33
  address: Gartenfelder Straße 1
  A nice campsite and small hotel next to the river. The amenities are quite basic, but clean and sufficient. Not suitable for people who need absolute silence for a good sleep - but the noise from the nearby Tegel airport is not very hard to get used to.

• BCC Campingplatz Breitehorn

  phone: +49 30-365 340
  address: Breitehornweg in Kladow