Bummer. The Ishtar Gate was truly spectacular.
You mean falling off a cliff? 
Nah, merely without passengers, an empty trunk and almost empty tank, back wind and on a descent on a straight section of the Autobahn. I think a little prayer was optional, but might have helped.
As an alternative to the Pergamon Museum, there is the Pergamon Panorama. The panorama itself is fun and the rest of the exhibition includes assorted sculptures from Pergamon (although nothing from the Gigantomachy) displayed in a variety of rather inventive ways.
I’ve been to Berlin and Potsdam, and if you like history and palaces, I would highly recommend Sanssouci. Every room seems to be different and not to follow a strict Baroque / Rococco scheme. And there’s a lovely English-style garden through which you access it.
I think of Berlin as an old dog. A bit arthritic, horrible breath and grey around the snout, but very, very loveable.
I’ll add in a few notes to the great advice so far (and this is a tourist perspective).
I was certain that the checkpoint Charlie Museum was a tourist trap and for several Berlin trips I avoided it. I went last time and was surprised, It has some really interesting stuff, but (if they haven’t moved) it suffers from being in a really small building. It’s cramped, and hard to get around.
Sadly Ku’damm isn’t what is once was. In the 20th century it was a bustling place. Now it’s chain stores and dead in the evenings.
If you want shopping, check out KDW. I assume it’s more of a mall, than department store by now (i.e. independent shops set up in the old building) but still fun.
To natives: Is there still that €3/24hr transit pass? It’s the best way to get around.
Maybe, if you want German food, Hackescher Markt (sort of food court) has some stuff to offer. Walking distance to Alexander Platz.
If you make a slight detour going from Checkpoint Charlie to the Holocaust Memorial (which I think is a must) you’ll find Topographie des Terror built on the old Gestapo HQ. Google beforehand to see if it interests you. I did those three in a morning and it was quite the downer.
€3/24hr? That was a while ago, wasn’t it? Today it is 9,90€, but still the best deal. A single ticket is 3,50€ (valid for 2 hours, you can change from bus to U-Bahn and S-Bahn, but it is not allowed to go and return on a single ticket) and there is the four trip ticket pack for 10,80€. You can do the math: three trips in a day? Four trip ticket is cheaper, and you`ll have a spare ticket for another day. Four trips or more, two hours or more apart on a single day (wow! Over 8 hours travelling!): take the 9,90€ 24 hr. alternative.
And if you want to go to the airport or leave the AB zone (which is quite big: the C zone starts at what used to be the city border) you will need an ABC ticket, which costs more.
All infos here. Tickets can be bought in the U-Bahn, either at the entrance or by horrible, slow machines that may refuse change or your card. Or in cigarrete kiosks with the yellow BVG sign outside (BVG: Berliner Verkehrs Betriebe, Berlin’s municipal public transport society)
ETA: And don’t forget to validate the tickets! Yes, the 24 hr ticket too!
And 24 hr are literally 24 hr, they will be valid next morning. The time of validation is printed and mostly legible. Sometimes not so much…
For the OP, the 48hr Welcome Card might be a better deal if they use as many discounts as possible ( we used the 6-day and it was definitely worth it since it had a discount on the ho-ho bus tour as well)
I’m sitting here in Alexanderplatz and I’d like to thank everyone for this thread. It’s been a wonderful day so far (the sunny weather has helped a lot!). Really cool city - to me it feels like a mixture of New York, Vienna and Tel Aviv, and not intimidating at all. I’m going to find something to eat and hit a museum.
Oh, and I tried currywurst yesterday. It was… fine.
I was wondering how you were doing! Today seems like a perfect day to go up the Fernsehturm - you will have a great view with this weather. Enjoy your time, whatever you do!
Man, you weren’t kidding about the view! Thanks!
And I want to thank Pitchmeister for his Handel‘s Messiah suggestion: we are looking forward to the event next Saturday, already have the tickets.
Glad you are enjoying your stay, Alessan, very well timed! The rain is supposed to start late tonight or tomorrow.
Last time I was in Berlin I got shot at (literally) during a daylight robbery attempt at a cafe. Sill, a great city, although I prefer Bavaria.
On edit, this is in no way common in Berlin (or Germany in general). The cops were very surprised about it.