Fast Facts

Business Hours -- Most banks are open Monday to Friday 9am to either 1 or 3pm. Most other businesses and stores are open Monday to Friday 9 or 10am to either 6 or 6:30pm and Saturday 9am to 4pm. Some stores close late on Thursday (usually 8:30pm).

Currency Exchange -- You can exchange money at all airports, major department stores, and any bank.

Dentists & Doctors -- The tourist office keeps a list of English-speaking dentists and doctors in Berlin. In case of a medical emergency, call tel. 030/310031. For a dental emergency, call tel. 030/89004333.

Drugstores -- If you need a pharmacy (Apotheke) at night, go to one on any corner. There you'll find a sign in the window giving the address of the nearest drugstore open at night; such posting is required by law. A central pharmacy is AlexAApotheke, Grunerstrasse 20 (tel. 030/27581640; U-Bahn: Alexanderplatz). It's open Monday to Friday 9am to 10pm and Saturday 10am to 10pm.

Emergencies -- To call the police, dial tel. 110. To report a fire or to summon an ambulance, dial tel. 112.

Hospitals -- Hotel employees are usually familiar with the locations of the nearest hospital emergency room. In an emergency, call tel. 112 for an ambulance.

Hot Lines -- If you're the victim of rape or sexual assault, call LARA, Tempelhoferufer 14 (tel. 030/2168888; www.lara-berlin.de). For problems relating to drug use or drug addiction, call the drug help line at tel. 030/19237. Gays seeking legal or health-related advice should call Maneo (tel. 030/2163336). Gays can also call Mann-o-Meter (tel. 030/2168008; www.mann-o-meter.de) for information about anything to do with gay life or gay events in Berlin or the rest of Germany. All of the above are staffed with some English speakers.

Internet Access -- Try Netlounge, Auguststrasse 89 (tel. 030/24342597; www.netlounge-berlin.de), open daily noon to midnight. It charges 2.50€ per hour. Take the U-Bahn to Oranienburger Strasse.

Laundry & Dry Cleaning -- Deluxe and first-class hotels offer laundry service, but prices tend to be high. You'll find laundromats (Wascherei) and dry cleaning outlets (Reiningung) all over town. Ask at your hotel for options.

Lost Property -- For items lost on the bus or U-Bahn, go to BVG Fündbüro, Potsdamerstrasse 180-182 (tel. 030/19449; U-Bahn: Kleistpark); it's open Monday to Thursday 9am to 6pm and Friday 9am to 2pm. For items lost on the S-Bahn, go to S-Bahn Berlin GmbH, Invalidenstrasse 19 (tel. 030/29743333; www.s-bahn-berlin.de; U-Bahn: Friedrichstrasse), Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday 10am to 4pm, Tuesday 10am to 6pm, or Friday 8am to noon. The general lost-property office, Zentrales Fündbüro, is at Platz der Luftbrücke 6 (tel. 030/75603101; U-Bahn: Platz der Luftbrücke). Hours are Monday and Tuesday 8am to 3pm, Thursday 1 to 6pm, and Friday 8am to noon.

Post Office -- You'll find post offices scattered throughout Berlin, with particularly large branches positioned at Bahnhof Zoo, Hardenbergplatz (U-Bahn: Zoologischer Garten), Tegel and Schönefeld airports, the Hauptbahnhof (main railway station), and in the town center at Joachimstalerstrasse 10. With a limited number of exceptions, most post offices in Germany are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm and Saturday from 8am to 1pm. None of them receives direct telephone calls from the public, but if you're interested in postal rates and procedures, call tel. 0180/23333, or click on www.deutschepost.de. Unlike the old days, German post offices no longer offer the use of pay telephones for long-distance calls and no longer send international telegrams. (A limited number, however, offer telegram service for destinations within Germany.) When you enter a German post office, know in advance that the yellow-painted windows are for issues about the mail and that the blue-painted windows are for issues associated with money orders and banking rituals. If you just want to buy a stamp for mailing a letter, it's usually more convenient to buy it at any of thousands of small stores, newsstands, or tobacco shops throughout the country that stock them.

Safety -- One unfortunate side effect of reunification has been an increase in muggings, bank robberies, hate crimes, and car break-ins. Residents of Berlin sometimes feel unsafe at night, especially in the dimly lit streets of Kreuzberg. Nonetheless, Berlin is still much safer than most large American cities. In case of a robbery or an attack, report the problem immediately to the police. You'll need a police report for any insurance claims.

Toilets -- A restroom is called a Toilette and is often labeled WC, with either F (for Frauen, "women") or H (for Herren, "men"). Public facilities are found throughout Berlin and at all terminals, including the Europa Center on Tauentzienstrasse. It's customary to tip attendants at least 1€.

Water -- The tap water in Berlin, as in all German cities, is safe to drink. However, most Berliners prefer to ask for bottled water, either carbonated or noncarbonated.