Results tagged “Berlin” from Intelligent Travel Blog

Looking for a winter getaway that still leaves you with some cash for holiday shopping? Some hotels are offering special winter rates to encourage travel during the off-season. Most of these offers aren't available during holidays, but they offer a great option for a winter vacation. (None of the following rates include taxes)

Maswik Lodges, Grand Canyon National Park: from $82 per night

"If you think winter is a weird time to visit the Grand Canyon, think again. The snow-dusted scenery is stunning, the crowds thinner, the hiking can be great (absent a snowstorm) and some lodge prices are lower," writes Jane Engle in an article from the LA Times. Taking in the beauty of the Grand Canyon without fighting off throngs of tourists sounds like a pretty good deal to me. Xanterra Parks and Resorts has made it even sweeter by offering rooms in their Maswik South Lodge for $82 a night and in their Maswik North Lodge for $105 a night.

This deal isn't advertised on their website, but if you make an online reservation during the qualifying dates (November 29 through March 4, except for December 19 through January 2 and February 12 through 14) the discounted rates will automatically be applied.

Sonoma Hotel, Sonoma, CA: from $99 per night

The Sonoma Hotel, a 19th-century hotel located in the heart of the Sonoma Wine Country, is offering a $99 per night special for rooms booked Sunday through Thursday between now and March 2009.  These rooms normally run between $110-$170 a night.  A "Superior" room can also be reserved at the reduced price of $125 (normally $165-$190).  

The Hotel offers complimentary wine every evening, not that you'll need it after a day of tastings at the local wineries. This "bed and breakfast style inn" is located an hour north of San Francisco on the Sonoma Square near a variety of local artisan shops.

Friend of IT Hunter Braithwaite braves the winter doldrums to find the best bookstores in Berlin.

The Pro QM bookstore in Berlin

A few months after the publishing world gathered in Frankfurt for the annual book fair, I went to Berlin to catch up on my reading. Northeastern Germany in January seems closer to martyrdom than a vacation, but if authentic travel has taught us anything, it is that you have to take the bad with the good. Food, accommodations, even the weather are best experienced as locals do. And in the winter, Berliners stay inside and read. The resulting tide of bookshops keeps one busy for weeks. Guessing that this blog is read mainly by Anglophones, I'll only list those with English titles. After that, a brief mention of the one sport that you can do in Berlin this winter (with the obvious exception of competitive döner-eating).

Start in hip Prenzlauer Berg at Saint Georges Bookshop (Wörtherstrasse 77, off the M2 Marienburgerstrasse).  The shop carries standard literary fare and boasts an impressive used books collection. When I went they had taken in a local street cat that was trying with all its might to escape whenever someone walked in through the front door. In the back room you can sink into a chesterfield sofa and read a used copy of Döblin's Berlin Alexanderplatz or a collection of Philip K. Dick's stories. They also do a movie night on Tuesdays. The 2-euro admission comes with a glass of wine or a beer. Saint Georges is open 11-8 p.m. during the week, 11-7 p.m. on Saturday, and is closed on Sunday.

While not technically an English Bookstore, Pro QM (+49 (0) 30 247 285 20) shouldn't be missed.  Located at Almstadtstrasse 48-50 (U8, Weinmeisterstrasse), the shop manages to stay hidden in the heart of popular shopping district Mitte. One way to classify bookstores is by how they apply order to chaos. Though the Pro QM stocks thousands of books that range from urban planning to philosophy to typography to environmental politics, the shop itself is spacious, beautiful, and organized with a ruthless German efficiency. Most of the titles are in English, and while some can be a bit expensive, just browsing makes you smarter. Pro QM is open Monday through Saturday, 11-8.

All through December we'll be showcasing the best of the holiday season in cities around the world. Today it's Christmastime in Berlin and we've asked local experts for the essential ways to enjoy the winter's best. Visitors and locals alike come together to celebrate the holidays and the New Year, and we encourage you to share your own favorites with us in the comments below. You can find all of the cities we've already visited and stay up-to-date on the rest by bookmarking the series here.