Get to know me and my team

My name is Jo Eckardt. I began doing tours as a private guide in 2003, shortly after moving to Berlin after many years in the US. In 2004 I started my own company: A Friend in Berlin.

I have a Ph.D. as well as a MSW from NYU. My oldest son was born in New York, he was part of the reason why I came back to Germany.

When I don’t take people around Berlin, I write books. One of my books, a children’s book that takes place in pre-Nazi Germany, is available on Amazon (search for Stepping through Time by Jo Thun). If you can read German, then check out my other webpage.

Click here to watch a video of Jo

Andromachi

Andromachi is from Greece originally, but she also speaks fluent English and Italian. Her special interests are history (especially East/West and Nazi era), the bunker system, the art scene of the 70s and 80s as well as the underground art scene, and architecture. She can also guide around the underground, the Olympic Village and Tempelhof airport.

Click here to read in Italian Andromaca è originariamente dalla Grecia e parla correntemente l’inglese, l’italiano e il tedesco. I suoi interessi particolari sono la storia, soprattutto la storia della DDR, il periododel nationalsozialismo a Berlino, il sistema sotterraneo di bunker cioè dei rifugi antiaerei del periodo bellico, la scena artistica degli anni ‘70 e ‘80 a Berlino Est, così come la scena dell’arte underground, e l’architettura. Lei è anche una guida esperta per la metropolitana, il Haus der Kulturen der Welt, il Villaggio Olimpico del 1936 e l’aeroporto di Tempelhof.

Click here to read in Greek Η Ανδρομάχη ειναι γεννημένη στην Ελλάδα αλλά μιλάει άπταιστα αγγλικά, ιταλικά και γερμανικά. Τα κύριά της ενδιαφέροντα είναι η ιστορία (κυρίως η ιστορία τηςΓΛΔ, της περιόδου του εθνικοσοσιαλισμού στο Βερολίνο, του υπογείου συστήματος αντιαεροπορικών καταφυγίων, η ιστορία της καλλιτεχνικής σκηνής του ‘70 και του ‘80 στο Ανατολικό Βερολίνο καθώς και η σύγχρονη καλλιτεχνική ζωή της πόλης και η ιστορία της Αρχιτεκτονικής της). Η Ανδρομάχη είναι μια πολύ έμπειρη ξεναγός και για το σύστημα του μετρό, του Haus der Kulturen der Welt, του Ολυμπιακού χωριού του 1936 και του αεροδρομίου Tempelhof.

Cuihua

Cuihua is from China but has been living in Berlin for many years. She can show you the highlights of Berlin, and also tell you why she loves the city so much that she decided to stay.

Click here to watch a video of Cuihua

Click here to read in Chinese 翠华来自中国河北,2007年来德学习法律,现定居柏林。她去过很多美丽的国家和城市,但是柏林始终由于其独特的历史、艺术、文化以及闻名世界的柏林墙而吸引着她。翠华自2012年起为 A Friend in Berlin 工作。

Isabelle

Isabelle is from Belgium, so French is her native language. But she also speaks fluent English. When she doesn’t guide, she works as an interpreter and translator. She is very good with kids, and everybody else too!

Ivan

Ivan is from Barcelona, Spain. Originally a lawyer, he discovered his passion for travels and history, and has been living in Berlin for many years now. He is a full-time guide, but he still finds the time to write novels. He speaks Spanish, and also Italian and English.

Click here to read in Spanish Ivan es de Barcelona. Abogado de formación, su pasión por la historia y los viajes lollevaron a Berlín, ciudad en la que reside desde hace años y donde trabaja como guía a tiempo completo. Además escribe novelas. Ivan habla español, italiano e inglés.

Jeannine

Jeannine is from New Jersey originally but she has been living in Berlin for a long time. Even before she settled here to marry and raise her two children, she visited Berlin and remembers the time before the wall came down.

Click here to watch a video of Jeannine

Joshua

Josh was born in the US, but his love of languages brought him to Europe. He speaks Spanish, French, Hungarian and German, and has spent the last ten years living in Normandy, Alsace, Budapest and, since 2015, Berlin. In addition to languages he is passionate about music, history and architecture.

Niti

Niti is a native Berliner, but he lived in Thailand for many years. He still travels there frequently when he takes German tourists through Thailand and Vietnam. When he’s in Berlin, he takes Thai, Chinese, and English-speaking tourists through Berlin.

Click here to watch a video of Niti

Tania

Tania, born of an American mother and an Italian father, has been working as a guide for many years. She has also written books on Berlin and given tours throughout Germany and Europe. Recently she has written and produced a very successful documentary on Italians in Germany called “La Deutsche Vita”. In addition to English and Italian, she also speaks Portuguese and Spanish.

Click here or here for a video of Tania

Sergeij

Sergeij speaks Polish and Russian, as well as English. He is very active and could take you on a bicycle tour or take you on an extended walking tour. He is also a proud father, and the founder of a new start-up company that has been written about in several newspapers.

Sharon K.

This is Sharon Kuckuck. Kuckuck is the German word for the Cuckoo bird, but Sharon is still very much the New Yorker. She was born and raised in New York City where she studied Media and Film with a special interest in Holocaust Cinema at New York University. In 2001 marriage and kids brought her to Berlin where she worked as a researcher in German television. Sharon is presently studying for an MA in Berlin in Holocaust Communication and Tolerance. “Berlin is a vibrant city, full of history, let me bring it alive for you!”.

Sophie

Sophie is from Canada and has been living in Berlin since 1987. She speaks fluent French and English. She is raising her family in Berlin and she works as a guide for A Friend in Berlin and several museums.

Click here to read in French Sophie vient du Canada. Elle habite à Berlin depuis plus de 25 ans, elle parle le français, l’anglais et l’allemand couramment. Sophie est guide pour „A friend in Berlin“ mais également pour différents musées.

Sven

Sven is half German, half Spanish. He grew up in Germany as well as in Spain and he speaks both languages fluently. He has been working for A Friend in Berlin since 2010.

Click here to read in Spanish Sven es mitad alemán y mitad español. Ha vivido tanto en Alemania como en España y habla ambosidiomas con fluidez. Lleva trabajando para A Friend in Berlin desde el 2010.

Luca

Luca has been living in Berlin for close to 10 years, and has been a guide for almost that long. He’s originally from Switzerland and Mexico and studied anthropology in the US and other places. His passion, besides history and Berlin, is music. He is always very happy to show you around the city he loves.

Click here to read in Spanish Luca es un joven guía suizo / mexicano con mucha experiencia y muy amigable.
Viviendo ya 10 años en la capital Alemana , ha estudiado antropología y es músico. Estará muy contento de ensenarte la ciudad que quiere tanto.

Thomas

Thomas owns his own taxi van but he also works as a driver/guide. Originally from Prague, he speaks fluent Spanish and English. He can show you not only Berlin, but also Dresden or Prague.

Wolfgang

Wolfgang has been working as a guide for many years. His languages are English, French, and Italian. He has the license for Sachsenhausen and many museums, and he is an avid bicycle rider, though he’d be happy to take you on a walking tour also.

Click here to read in French Wolfgang a fait des études universitaires en histoire et philologie allemande (en Allemagne et en France), en se spécialisant dans les débuts du tourisme à Potsdam au XVIIIe siècle. Il travaille comme guide déjà depuis beaucoup d’années - d’abord exclusivement pour la Fondation des Palais et Jardins à Potsdam et puis aussi à Berlin. Ses langues sont le Français, l’Anglais et l’Italien. Il est un cycliste enthousiasmé même s’il sera aussi heureux de vous amener sur un tour à pied.

Click here to read in Italian Wolfgang ha studiato storia e filologia del tedesco (germanistica) all’università (et in Germania et in Francia) specializzandosi negli inizi del turismo a Potsdam nel XVIII secolo. Lavora come guida già da tanti anni - prima esclusivamente per la Fondazione dei Palazzi e Giardini a Potsdam e poi anche a Berlino. Le sue lingue sono l’Italiano, l’Inglese e il Francese. Ha studiato l’italiano a l’università di Urbino. È un ciclista appassionato anche se il lui farà così bene piacere di portarvi su un giro a piedi.

Konrad

Konrad is a real Berliner. He was here when the Wall went up in 1961, and he was here when the wall came down in 1989. After studying and working as an economist and event manager for some time, his love for Berlin made him become a professional guide in 2000. You will love his knowledge, enthusiasm and friendliness.

Preston

Preston grew up in Oregon and earned a B.A. in German Area Studies. He moved to Berlin in 1999 and began working as a guide soon after. His specialties are History, beer tours, Jewish tours, and Potsdam. He also loves extra long walking tours.

Asoka

Asoka went to high school on Martha’s Vineyard, studied at Columbia and later at the Free University in Berlin. She wrote her M.A. thesis on Shakespeare’s reception during the Nazi period and has recently opened her own bookstore/café in Berlin. She’s been working as a guide in Berlin for 10 years now.