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Sport
The Olympiastadion (Olympic Stadium), Bismarckstrasse, was built for the 1936 Olympic Games and is now the site for sports events, concerts and conferences. Football is extremely popular and the Hertha BSC football team (tel: (01805) 437 842 (charged at 12 cents per minute); website: www.herthabsc.de) plays at the Olympic Stadium, competing valiantly against other top German sides in the Bundesliga (First Division). German football was given a massive boost by the announcement that the country will stage the 2006 World Cup, with games scheduled for the capital, although suspicions of alleged bribery surrounded the decision to choose Germany over hot favourite South Africa.
Berlin is home to the German Women’s Open tennis tournament, which takes place on the clay courts of the LTTC ‘Rot-Weiss’, Gottfried-von-Cramm-Weg 47–55, Berlin-Grunewald (tel: (030) 895 7550; fax: (030) 8957 5550; e-mail: info@rot-weiss-berlin.de; website: http://rot-weiss.red2pro.net), each May. In men’s basketball, Alba Berlin (website: www.albaberlin.de) is strong in the German league and compete in Europe. Games can be seen at the Max-Schmeling-Halle, Am Falkplatz, Prenzlauer Berg (tel: (030) 443 045; fax: (030) 4430 4709; e-mail: info@velomax.de; website: www.max-schmeling-halle.de).
Fullhouse Service (tel: (030) 3087 85685) sells tickets to basketball matches as well as major annual sporting events. Showtime (tel: (0800) 8822 8822; website: www.showtime-berlin.de) also sells tickets to sporting events, with an outlet in the KaDeWe department store.
Fitness centres: Elixia – Mitte, Behrenstrasse 48, on the corner of Friedrichstrasse (tel: (030) 2063 5300; fax: (030) 2063 5310; website: www.elixia.com), is a centraly locatedl gym with handy opening hours (Monday to Friday 0600–2300, Saturday and Sunday 1000–2200). Options include free weights, circuit training, aerobics and other classes, a sauna and a steamroom. A day pass costs €25. The Ostkreuz branch, at Hirschberger Strasse 3, has a 25m (82ft) pool.
Golf: There are 16 golf courses in the Berlin-Brandenburg area and information on these is available in a guide published by the Association of Golf Timers, available free from Golfverband Berlin-Brandenburg, Forststrasse 34 (tel: (030) 823 6609; fax: (030) 824 4098; website: www.gvbb.de). Public courses charge approximately €18 per round, while the green fees at the various private clubs range from €25 to €50. A public course, Golf-Zentrum Berlin-Mitte, Chausseestrasse 94–98 (tel: (030) 2804 7070; website: www.golfzentrum.berlin.de), is a central spot with equipment and training available, where golfers can practice from 0700 until 2200.
Swimming: There is no shortage of places to swim in the city. During summer, locals head to the beaches on Wannsee and Tegeler See, in West Berlin, or to the larger Grosser Müggelsee, in the East. Public swimming pools include the indoor pool at Bad am Spreewaldplatz, Wiener Strasse 59, in Kreuzberg (tel: (030) 612 7057; website: www.berlinerbaederbetriebe.de), and an outdoor pool next to U-Bahn Prinzenstrasse station. The Sport- und Erholungszentrum (SEZ), Landsberger Allee 77, in Friedrichshain (tel: (030) 4218 2320), is one of Berlin’s largest sport centres and has a swimming pool.
Tennis: There are a number of tennis courts in the city, including TSF Freizeitcenter Marienfelde, Richard-Tauber-Damm 36 (tel: (030) 742 1091), and TSF Freizeitcenter Spandau, Galenstrasse 33–35 (tel: (030) 333 4083), charging €12–19 in summer and €16–24 in winter. TSB City Sports, Brandenburgische Strasse 53 (tel: (030) 873 9097), has rates starting from €8.50 and rising to €17.00, while TCW Tenniscenter, Roelckestrasse 106 (tel: (030) 927 4594), charges play at €14–26. Rates vary depending on the time of day, with the highest prices falling between 1600 and 2200.
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