Cost of food and entertainments in Berlin

Hello,

This is my first post. I looked around for a bit on the board, but did not find anything that really answered my question.

I am planning on staying in Berlin for 4 weeks this summer to study through my university abroad program. My housing is taken care of, but I need to take care of food, personal expenses and what not. Problem is, I don't know what things cost in Germany? Food, eating out, drinks in bars? Movies? Bahn?

Any info would be greatly appreciated. I am trying to figure out now, while I have time to work and save , how much money I need to have to have a good time. I also would like to travel on the weekends out of the city, so any tips on that would also be appreciated.

Danke im voraus!

Food? Not quite sure yet, only here two weeks so I haven't done too much shopping as of yet. Eating out hits the pocket but I'm probably picking the wrong places.

Cinema - Roughly 7 euro. In the Sony centre it depends on where you choose your seats. If you choose front row it can be only 5 euro (and the place will be empty so you can sit whereever you want).

Bahn - I bought a monthly ticket for 70 euro which covers the areas A B.

As far as food goes the supermarkts can be quite cheap,Penny Markt, Plus, etc..

Thanks for your response, Partridge.

Wow, you choose where to sit when you buy tickets? Thats kinda odd. Well, to me it is... I don't go to the movies too often here in the states, but 7 Euro is about what we pay here, so that is no shock.

I am concerned about the food/eating out thing, though. I am going to be sharing an apartment with other students, so I am assuming I will have access to the kitchen. It would be terrible to have to eat out for a whole month...not to mention pricey, I am sure.

That is also good to know, irishsteafan! Thanks!

Food in the supermarket is fairly cheap

Eating out can cost anywhere from 10-50+ Euro for an entree and drink depending on where you go and what you order. If you want to go cheap you can even get pizza or a döner for a couple of euros.

What is a döner?

And how is the pizza? I guess I am pizza snob, cuz there ain't nuthin like a pie from my home town---Chicago!

Anyways, I am super excited about coming to Berlin, so I don't really care if the pizza sucks...

Well I dunno cuz I come from Canada and I think the pan pizza at Pizza Max is good, but I've been told by 'experts' it's not. the cheap pizza is usually thin crust.

A döner is like a turkish mean wrap thing. I never eat them though.

Compared with most English-spreaking countries, Berlin is very reasonable both in terms of rent, eating out and food shopping.

For "mean", read "meat". And here is a proper explanation: Döner kebab.

clearly I suck at typing haha.

Thank you very much!

This is good to know also...I live in a big city, and I consider it expensive, so I am hoping not to blow my budget too much.

Hi Paiseley - Just for comparison sake...

I spend about 50 - 80 euros every 2 weeks on groceries for two people. The most exensive things I buy are wine and meat. If you budget about 100 to 150 euro a month for food you should be more than fine.

Also, a month pass for BVG is 70 euro a month. Although, I think as a student you get a discount. Ask your uni. You don't want to get caught without a pass when you ride the public transport here. They will fine you.

Most fast food type places are pretty cheap, like the Turkish kabab shops. You can get most things for under 4 euro. They usually sell little thin crust pizzas, kabab, and Borek (bread filled with cheese and Spinich). There are little asain places that you can get lunch for about 5 euros in as well. The grill walkers are 1.20 for a bratwurst on a roll. There is a sushi place in Mitte I go to that you can get a sushi lunch for 5.50. You just have to look around and you will find lots of cheap eats.

Drinking... well cocktails are expensive about 5 to 7 euro a pop depending on where you go. But a Berliner is about 3 euro, its a beer made in Berlin and its pretty good.

what neighborhood are you going to be in...those people who live there as well can probably chime in and give you some details.

Pmohsgrl,

Thanks for all the tips! Very informative!

I don't know exactly what neighborhood yet...I just got my acceptance into the program only a few days ago. Yay! So right now I am planning, planning, planning. I will post when I do know for sure.

i am from canada and i think the cost of food is around the same, entertainment maybe a bit more expensive. it depends on where you're coming from, i guess. for example, scandinavian people think berlin is sooo cheap, whereas i don't happen to think so.. i budget around the same for food as i did back at home.

at a cheap italian pizza/spaghetti joint you can eat with about 5 euros. schwarma/falafel, around 3 euros maybe? and you can get some vietnamese/thai food (pho, pad thai, etc.) with 5-7 euros. i am super lazy and i hate preparing food at home but at the same time i am relatively poor so i try to get away with 5 euros per meal

My local Turkerei does full size kick arse kebabs for €1. Can't go past that...an entire days eatin is only €3.

i wonder what is inside a one euro kebab!!

anyway so where is this Turkerei..

Schöneberg, opposite the S-Barn station on Dominicusstr. Honestly, they're brilliant...scientifically proven to be better than 91% of Munich doners.