As of Nov 2011 tours are on-hold, as I'm in Scotland. Generally they're about 4 hours long (including a stop for food / water / toilets) and the idea is to cover Berlin's history from the 1200s, when the city was nothing more than a swamp with a basic settlement, to modern-day, focussing on the 20th century and the two world wars and oppressive regimes that have strongly left their mark here. My tours are completely for free. (See note 1). I do not take tips, but if you want to buy me a beer / food / coffee, then I might say yes. :) I do this because I make my money elsewhere, and enjoy meeting people and showing them the city whilst helping them to understand the complicated history of this place, and modern-day Berlin, without the compromises or obligations that making money from it would involve. I studied Psychology at university, have lived here for over a year, and know what I know about Berlin from reading, visiting museums and talking with others, so this gives me an interesting angle to come at some issues, and normally we get a good discussion going at certain parts of the tour. I Want to Do a Tour Great. Generally, I did two a week. One walking tour on Wednesday, and one on bikes on Saturday. Both begin at 2pm. Get in touch to find out when the next one is. If that doesn't suit and you can get 6 people to come along and be interested, then I may even do a tour just for you. What Did Other People Say Travellers, visitors, Germans and long-term Berliners themselves have come on the tour and said positive things. If you want some testimonials, take a look at the references left on my CouchSurfing profile. Even Meg Ryan said she wanted to do my tour someday. As in THE Meg Ryan. No jokes. Notes 1) Other "free tours" involve the expectation that you will tip (as the tour guide is self-employed and works on a tips-only basis.) Thus, unless you're a cheapskate, it's not free. They also normally involve the tour guide - instead of being salaried - having to pay the mother company a fee per person that comes on the tour, whether they give a tip or not (for one popular company in Berlin, this figure is €3 per person.) So if your tips do not average €3 per person, you've lost money for the work you've done. And generally the tour participant is never told about this financial arrangement. |