Jugendherberge Berlin - Am Wannsee - Hostel

I stayed here in late September of 2019 in Rm 431 for two nights. I stayed here because I stayed at this hostel back in 1993 when I did my long backpacking trek through Europe. It was the only official HI hostel back then I recall. I wanted to see the place again while in Berlin. The hostel is in a large building very close to Wannsee, a large lake near Berlin. It is just over 15 Kilometers from Berlin Central. Hence it is out from the bustle of Central Berlin with trees and so forth. It is fairly easy to get there. You take S-Bahn(above ground rail) 7 in the direction of Potsdam. S-Bahn 7 goes through Berlin Haupbahnof(train station) and Friedrichstrasse. From Berlin Haupbahnhof go to the S-Bahn platform(either 15 or 16) and watch the board to know which one is S-Bahn 7 to Potsdam arrives. Many other S-Bahns go through there. Once on board you go I think for 8 stations to Nikolasse. It is about 25-30 minute ride roughly. If you have gone to Wannsee station you went one station too far. Once you get to Nikolasse staton there are two exit/entry to the platform. Take the one closest in the direction of Berlin. Once down in the underground corridor, turn left. It is the closest exit from the station or where you see the sun coming through the station. Otherwise there is a long tunnel to the other side of the station which is darker. Once out of the station assuming you came out the right one you will see a wide path directly oposite the staton on the side with a street sign calling is Rosem^ Weg. The station is parallel to a major highway and you will hear the car traffic from it. The path I mention is a very wide pedstrian pathway that goes over the 4 lane highway(two in each direction). If you do not see the pathway directly opposite hte exit of the staiton you need to walk right to the other exit from station and you see it directly on your left. After crossing the very wide pedstrian bridge You will come a forested area. There is a path that goes through it. Walk directly straight on the paved trail from the bridge for about 100-200 yards. You will come to another street at the end of the path. There some white railings at the exit of the trail before exiting to the sidewalk. Once you reach the street you need to cross the street directly opposite the trail to the other side. Then turn left. This is the only official sidewalk crossing the street to the hostel. You could cross further down since there is not a lot of traffic but safer to do so. Anyway, you will go about 100-150 yards till you come to the 2nd driveway from the street you walking along. You will see a street sign there saying Badeweg and a sign say Jugendherbe on the fence. Turn into the drive way and walk about 30-40 yards till you will the three yellow steps going up at an angle to the building where the sign says Jugenbherge. Once inside reception is immediately on your left. There is a fairly good supermarket close by as well. Back at the Nikolasse S-Bahn station you will cross to the other side of the station from the side you went to the hostel. You will stay on the side of the street that the station is on and turn right. You will pass the other exit\entry of the station. Just for your ingo there is an ATM machine just inside the other entry/exit of station. It is located just before the steps leading down to the tunnel. Anyway, the supermarket is called Netto. You come to a parking lot on the right(about 70 yards from station tha building just past the parking lot is the supermarket. You will seeing shopping carts outside. The store is not big but certainly not small. The fruits and veggies are just inside the door. Going straight past them on your left hwere the refrigeration unit starts is a section holding prepared food. I saw sandwiches and other stuff there. They even had sushi which I had for lunch once day.. There are not many restaurants and bars in the area just to warn you. If you want that you will need to go to Berlin or find one in the area. The hostel is of such size that many large groups stay here. I often saw busses here. I saw them during my stay here but I do not recall them back in 1993 since I was there in April. European school schuedule are different from the US. Anyway, the lobby of the hostel is very larege but the includes the cafeteria which serves breakfast(part of hostel) and dinner. Dinner is only for those who pre-order dinner prior to 4pm that day from what one told me. It cost 6 Euros I was told. There are a number of drink vending machines here but expensive. At least 3 Euros for a small drink. You go up a central stairway up to your floor. On your floor you have to enter a door to get to the rooms. The hall is very dim but the room number are lighted. Once inside the room you will notice the room is divided into two section that are separted by a door from each other. The first section contains the lockers where you can store your stuff. The locker is big enough to store one large backpack and there are two shelves at the top. The locker has its own lock which you will get the key to when you check in. On the other side(left side) or opposite the locker is the sink and the shower. The shower is shared by the adjacent room which is why there is a lock on the door going into it but none to lock the other door when you are in it. I do not think they mix sex in these rooms where the shower is shared. In the other section of the room are two double bunk beds. Plenty of room to move around. There is a good size table with two chairs again the large window area. There were two electrical European style outlets near the window. And one near the door to the bedding area from what I saw. There did not appear to be any Wifi in the section I was in but there was in the lobby area. The Wifi is free and no password is required. Since 1993 there are other official hostels and unofficial hosel in central Berlin which I would have stayed at if they existed back in 1993. But I had fond memories of this place back 1993. I still think it is a nice place but if you want action/partying this would not be the place to be. But if you want serenity and outdoor, then this will be the place for you. I tried to make reservation here way in advance but each time it said it was unavailable. The HI website reservation system for this location does not appear to be very good. I went to Germany's official hostel website and was able to book it there about several weeks prior to arrival. I think summer times are very busy here will all the large groups coming in but I suspect during the rest of the school it is not so much like when I came through back them. There are trails and large green area behind the hostel you can walk around. You certainly do not get that in the city. I forgot the mention the toilets are in the hallway on each floor for each sex. This hostel seemed clean enough. I spilled some saled food on the floor in my room and it was gone the next day. The floors and wall are a dark color and make give a digny look but still look clean. It certainly felt it when walking around barefooted. I hope you have a good sense of the place from my review.