Contiki planning! Berlin to Budapest, here we come!

I'm doing it, I'm going on another Contiki!  (...before I'm too old!).  Yes, that's right.  To do a Contiki you need to be between the ages of 18-35.  My sister and I have talked about this for a few years now.  The summer when she turns 18 and just before I turn 36, we're doing a Contiki together.  My last hoorah (how sad is that).  And the summer of 2014 happens to be the date!  So our planning is in full swing.

I've done two other Contiki's before: London & Paris extended, and the European Magic Tour.  This time we've decided to do Berlin to Budapest.  This has been on my bucket list for-ever!  I'm so excited my youngest sister is going to do it with me.  Contiki's are amazing, and I'm excited to show her this whole new world of travel.

As for planning, we're booked and the flights are booked as of yesterday.  A lot of prep work has gone into this, including two years of saving Aeroplan points so that I can get my flight free through Air Canada (well, 'free' turned out to be a relative word... I guess 'discount' would be more aptly appropriate).

Rewind 6 months ago, and I had a constant nagging craving to revisit London again.  Any time in London is never enough.  And Europe is a long flight.  So we decided to tack on a few days in London on our way home from the Contiki.  And it just so happens that Contiki offers its own London-based excursion with hotel and a few options, as a self-guided package (no tour guide).  Which is fine because I know my way around.  So on our way back from our Contiki we'll also be doing a London Contiki!  This is really going to be an amazing trip!

Right now I'm looking into Berlin info, getting from the airport to the hotel, what to do on our free days in Berlin.  I'm completely lost.  And looking at all those German labels makes my eyes gloss over.  I can't read them let alone pronounce them!  But I've always wanted to go to Berlin, so I need to figure this out, or spend my time asking a lot of German people for English directions. :)

I'll post more info on my planning as I go along.  If you have any good Berlin suggestions or words of wisdom, please leave some comments!