Go to the homepage of our German Course Chapter 6: Getting around town University of Portsmouth
6.3 An der Bushaltestelle Includes sound files!

Click here to listen to the conversation!Meanwhile, at a bus stop (die Bushaltestelle) near the Görlitzer Bahnhof in Kreuzberg, Frau Wendt is talking to the driver of a number 129 bus. She wants to go the airport but his bus doesn't go there directly and he suggests an alternative route. Strange but true: Berlin's main airport, Tegel, is only accessible by bus!

Click here to see a full-scale map of the Berlin transport system and follow her route. You can listen to Frau Wendt's conversation with the bus-driver by clicking either here or on the sound icon at the top of the previous paragraph.

A number 129 bus in Kreuzberg    Frau Wendt

Frau Wendt Ich möchte zum Flughafen Tegel.
Busfahrer Ich fahre nicht direkt zum Flughafen. Sie müssen zwei Stationen vor der Endstation aussteigen und dann in die Linie U1 umsteigen.
Frau Wendt Ach nein!
Busfahrer Am besten nehmen Sie die Linie U1 bis Möckernbrücke und dann die U7 bis Jakob-Kaiser-Platz (Richtung Rathaus Spandau). Und am Jakob-Kaiser-Platz nehmen Sie den Airport Express X9 zum Flughafen Tegel.
Frau Wendt Und wann fährt der nächste Airport Express?
Busfahrer Um halb eins.

Berlin buses known as Die grossen Gelben

die Bushaltestelle  The bus-stop
an der Bushaltestelle  At the bus-stop
der Bus  The bus
der Busfahrer  The bus driver 
der Flughafen  "The airport". "At the airport" would be "am Flughafen".
ich fahre nicht direkt zum Flughafen  I don't go directly to the airport
die Endstation  terminus
vor der Endstation "Before the terminus". Thus "vor" can either mean "in front of" when you are referring to a place or "before" when you are referring to time or place.
aussteigen  This means "to get off" a train or a bus or "to get out" of a car. It is also a separable verb like "umsteigen"
bis Möckernbrücke  This means "until Möckernbrücke". The preposition "bis" takes the accusative case.
Rathaus Spandau  "Spandau Town Hall". This is one "Endstation" of the U7 underground line. Click here to find Rathaus Spandau on a map of the Berlin transport system.(Hint: Spandau is in the West of the city!)
der Platz  The square 
am Jakob-Kaiser-Platz  "In Jakob-Kaiser Square". Note that German uses the preposition "an" whereas we would say "in the square" in English.
der Airport Express  The name of the bus which connects Tegel Airport to Berlin city centre. Many products and public services in German-speaking countries are given English names in order to sound cool.
Um halb eins  "At half-past twelve". When telling the time, German prefers to think of it being "half to the hour" rather than "half past" as in English. How to tell the time in German will be explained fully in Chapter 8.

der Bus     A German bus ticket


Weiter! Chapter 6.4: Conversation - Der Hauptbahnhof


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