Berlin Museums and related questions?

Lots of good information on the train journey from London to Berlin here, including timings. It takes about 12 hours with a couple of changes. https://www.seat61.com/Germany.htm

It doesn’t look as if there’s an actual overnight train - doing an overnight journey seems to entail an overnight wait at either Brussels or Cologne rather than being actually on the move.

Jane thanks very much for the info. Thought it would be a more fun way to go over just flying in direct.

The Deutsches Historisches Museum at Museum Island is a great museum for all things German, including military history.

The Alliierten Museum (Allies Museum) is located on Clay Allee in the old US military area of Berlin and deals with the struggle between the Soviets and the other Allies for the hearts/souls of the people of Berlin. It has exhibits in two buildings (one of which is the old US military cinema). Between the two buildings is a Hastings TG 503 that was (likely) used in the Berlin Airlift, as well as some buildings used at the various checkpoints between East and West Berlin. It is roughly across the street from the US consulate, which was previously the US military headquarters in Berlin during the Cold War and, prior to that, the Luftwaffe headquarters. Admission to the museum is free. On Sundays, you can pay 1 euro to go into the Hastings aircraft. The current special exhibit (100 Objects: Berlin during the Cold War) is awesome, but closes at the end of January.

Willing to go outside of Berlin?
With a day trip to Dresen, you could go to the Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr. I haven't been here, but it's on my list of places to go.

I don't know anything about train travel from the UK or hostels/pensions in the central district, so I will defer to others on those.

Another great military history activity in Berlin is an English guided tour of old Tempelhof Airport. It's an excellent example of Nazi architecture and the location of one of America's greatest military endeavors, the Berlin Airlift. See the Nazi eagles who had their swastikas knocked off to make them non-Nazi Bundesadler (the German federal eagle). There is a nearby plaza with a memorial to the pilots/crew who lost their lives as a part of the airlift. The decommissioned airport is now an expansive park (and, last time I checked, home for refugees).

I personally enjoyed the free museums relating to the wall - Berlin Wall memorial, Topographie des Terrors, and the
Tranenpalast. If you get a museum pass, be sure to go early to the museum island places - even with the pass, you must wait in line. I personally enjoyed a walking tour with Berlin Walks on my first day in town - great overview and history lessons before diving in to sightseeing. If available on your dates, book a behind the scenes tour of the Reichstag building- easy to arrange online and one of the most interesting things I did in Berlin. Just be sure to factor in time to check in for your tour (you must go through airline style security).

Dave and CL thanks for the great tips I will definitely look into those before flying over and CL I do remember those long lines looking at sights in London so thanks for the reminder to plan ahead accordingly. This might seem like a dumb question but I would assume that having a leatherman multi-tool over there would be a no no even on a belt in a sheath?

Hi,

Going from London to Berlin, how do you plan on doing that? If the flying option is precluded, then I would do it this way by train if you want to be constantly on the move ..all very doable. Take the morning EuroStar to Paris Nord, walk over Paris Est get your train ticket for Frankfurt. (Unless you have an appropriate rail pass or discounted ticket bought on-line). By 2200-2300hrs you should be in Berlin Hbf. If you want to push it, it can done. In 2014 after an eleven hour flight (one hour delay in arrival ) from SFO to FRA, I took the ICE ca two and half hours later to Berlin from Frankfurt Hbf., got there shortly 19:30 hrs.

You could also break it up by staying a night in Paris, depending on your time constraint; take the 0720 hr departure from Paris Est to Frankfurt Hbf, have a hot lunch at the Hbf, then take the next ICE train to Berlin.

Hi,

There is indeed an overnight train in Germany to Berlin, depending on how you want to tailor your routes. If the night option is under consideration, doing it is very easy, straightforward. The day you dep from London to Paris Nord by EuroStar, take the next TGV Paris Est to Strasbourg, take the S-Bahn from Strasbourg train station to Offenburg.

The night train Offenburg-Berlin, (I have't done that route yet but it's easiest going from Berlin (or Hamburg) to France by night train. )

Fred I have actually revised my plans after consulting with family, what my plan is now is to fly into Heathrow and stay overnight. In the morning I would check out of the hotel and just do a quick flight from London to Berlin which I think would be about 3 hours and reverse it on the way back staying in London again and then fly back to the states.

@ Mike....totally understandable time wise. The train options I listed above are still feasible as long as one is not too rushed. I've done all different routes (day or night) going from France to Germany over the years, with overnight stays and without.

Paris-Metz on the TGV , a couple of nights, then on to Berlin is one option. As you're into war history, Metz is a place that surely rings a bell. The place was fought over in modern history four times, 1870, 1914, 1918, 1944.

There are numerous war related sites (museums, military cemeteries, memorials, etc) in Berlin. One needs to know where they are and how to access them. It all depends on how much time you are devoting on tracking down these sites, whether you have a rental car, etc. In 1999 I went out to Zossen-Wünsdorf, the remnants of the former HQ of OKH site was there and the newly constructed military museum. I only saw once this but the museum is there and has been expanded. You can access Wünsdorf by regional train from Berlin. Berlin-Wünsdorf was the site of Tank School (Panzer Schule)

I would suggest the Resistance Museum (Gedenkstätte deutscher Widerstand) esp if you read German. It's located on Stauffenberg Straße.

My opinion: good call on flying to Berlin.

Easy Jet has some cheap flights from London's secondary airports to Berlin (40-60 pounds). If you fly in to Tegel, you fly into an airport that was originally created from an old Prussian/Nazi air training site for the purpose of supporting the Berlin Airlift.

You may not want to spend Might 1 at Heathrow if your flight toBerlin departs from a different airport, but if you do choose Heathrow, check out the location and price for the Premier Inn near Terminal 4. It is relatively new and has been offering some bargain prices. It's about a 10-minute covered walk from T4, where you can pick up free transportation to the other Heathrow terminals.

Dave I never knew that history about Tiegel so I would be starting my visit off with something of real interest to me. acraven thanks for the tip in regards to the hotel. I looked it up and they had no bookings for my dates so perhaps next time. I booked the Leonardo hotel which is about 5 minutes from Heathrow and found a nice hotel in Berlin.

Mike, I can't believe the Premier Inn is booked up. Perhaps it just doesn't have its September rates loaded yet. But as long as you're happy with what you found, that's all that matters. I was thrilled to pay less than 50 pounds for a single room (and no taxi required to get me there), but I think someone else mentioned paying under 30 pounds recently!

Just out of curiosity... where are you staying in Berlin?

acraven that could be entirely possible but I have ample time to look around since I wouldn't be leaving until September 2nd and it would be nice not to have to take a shuttle. Thanks again for that tip.

This might sound like a strange question but aside from the usual things like weapons and illegal items what should I not bring into Germany?

Dave I am staying at Aparion Berlin at Theklastrasse 20A. The pics and the price were very nice and within my budget. It does seem a little out of the way and I always have the option to cancel if need be.

I looked up that address on google maps. It's a long long way from the center. You'll be spending an hour commuting each way. It wouldn't be worth it to me. Use hostelworld.com or hostelz.com to find centrally located hostels. The areas around Alexanderplatz and Checkpoint Charlie are usually a little cheaper and both are good locations.

One of the most interesting museums I went to was the DDR Museum just across the river from Museum Island. I thought the Checkpoint Charlie Museum was way overpriced and poorly organized - you can get better information by reading the nearby billboards along what used to be the Berlin Wall.

Hi Mike:

I spent about ten days in Berlin this past October. My main interest was seeing "dark tourism" sites since I am a history buff. Here is a link to a page that describes the many dark tourism sites in that city:

http://www.dark-tourism.com/index.php/germany/15-countries/individual-chapters/228-berlin

Because I had visited that city two decades ago I skipped seeing the Nazi history exhibits which I saw back then and focused on Cold War related sites. The two that I liked the most were the Stasi prison for political prisoners (you have to sign up for a guided tour - they don't let people wander around like at an art museum) and the European Espionage Museum near Potsdamer Platz (lots of cool secret cameras, weapons.....). The dark-tourism web site provides detailed descriptions of these places. For laughs I visited the DDR Museum located near the Museum Island where you can see the third rate consumer products that were marketed to the East Germans during the Cold War era (including a Trabant car which must have been the equal of the Yugo car). I must say that the East Germans liked the nudist lifestyle which is depicted at that museum. There is a more serious DDR museum in the Prinzlauer Berg district.

Have a good trip. Berlin is an exciting place to visit - I wish I had more time in that city. Enjoy.

Hi,

Is this Aparion the apt set up? If it is, you're near to Berlin-Zehlendorf....very nice, pricey area that was originally a suburb of Berlin. If you get a chance ie, away from tracking down the museums, stroll around the neighborhood. I was there once in 1999.

What museums everyone would recommend visiting aside from museum
island

We loved the Gemäldegalerie.

From their website:

The Gemäldegalerie boasts one of the world’s most important
collections of European painting ranging from the 13th to 18th
century. Masterpieces from all epochs in the history of art are on
permanent display here, including paintings by Jan van Eyck, Pieter
Bruegel, Albrecht Dürer, Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, Peter Paul
Rubens, Rembrandt, and Jan Vermeer van Delft. The gallery is
especially proud of its strong collection of German and Italian
painting from the 13th to 16th century and painting from the Low
Countries dating from the 15th to 17th century.

The 2nd recommendation is the DDR Museum. Absolutely fascinating experiential museum about everyday life in East Germany. Not just for your eyes either.

The DDR Museum provides a unique visitor experience, making it one of
Berlin’s most popular museums. Engage all of your senses to enjoy an
immersive experience of everyday life in the former East Germany.
Covering a range of topics based on sound academic research – everyday
life, the Berlin Wall, the Stasi and much more – our exhibition
encourages its visitors to touch, feel and interact, so as to reach a
fun and full understanding of the past. Explore all aspects of daily
life behind the Berlin Wall and the workings of state and Stasi – all
under one roof.

The reconstructed German parliament is well worth some time, but it is necessary to register ahead for security reasons. The guts are quite modern and the glass observation deck up top allows panoramic views across the roofs of the city.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_building

http://www.bundestag.de/en/

https://www.visitberlin.de/en/reichstag-in-berlin

(In my experience the visitberlin website is an essential source of information for almost anything in the city.)

"But aside from the usual things like weapons and illegal items what should I not bring into Germany?"
It's much easier to enter Germany than the US. Just join the lane with the green 'Nothing to Declare' sign (German: Nichts zu verzollen). There are random checks, but if you don't look suspicious or behave in a suspicious way you will get through uncontrolled. For instance there are no food restrictions like when entering the US and you won't be asked if you are a criminal, a drug addict or a Nazi.

@Chani yeah it is a little ways off but it does seem like a nice place to stay that would allow me to explore a little more and perhaps interact more with others which I am horrible about doing so it might have a plus unless I do find something better but thanks for letting me know about the distance and about checkpoint charlie which I was excited about visiting until finding out it became an overpriced tourist trap but perhaps a quick walk through is in order.

@Geor that link was awesome and thanks for providing it since I am a fellow fan of the darker aspects of history and that site has a very good list of places that I never considered. The Stasi museum and the DDR one are on my list from the start but I didn't know about the espionage museum which is now on my list too since I am a spy buff and I will to check out the dark history site more. Thanks again.

@Fred the Aparion is an apartment set up which seriously appealed to me since it would be nice to have a good home base to come back to from a day trip, Dresden is already planned for one such trip so I can visit the Bundeswehr museum and had a friend recommend a castle in the same area as well that I should visit.

@Continental thank you for the advice about the Gemaldgalerie which is one place I will have to go and reflect.

@Southam thanks for the warning about booking in advance for the Reichstag which really does sound amazing. What your talking about with the views reminding me of the London eye so photo opportunities will be very good and thanks for the visit Berlin link which I will take a look at.

@demag thanks for the tip on the line. The food thing is more what I was worried about since if I have time to stop at Harrods in London I would hate for anything tasty I might buy there get taken from me. Overall it sounds like much like in the states just don't be stupid and draw attention or your going to have a bad time.

Everyone thank you very much for your advice and sorry I didn't reply yesterday but it was a busy day with a very early start.

Definitely walk around Checkpoint Charlie and the billboards along the old border. But consider if you want spend the pricey entrance fee to visit the museum.

Chani I am planning on walking around the area since that is a big part of history and deals with books I am reading so it would be nice to see those places in real time. Thanks for the tip on the fee and that is a little steep with an additional 5 euros should I get a guided audio tour.

Have a great trip, Mike.

Thanks I intend to since I haven't had a real vacation going on about five years so this will be such a nice thing and I can catch up on reading during my flight and train rides. Not sure if anyone does know about this but what are the smoking laws in Berlin since I plan on bringing a couple cigars to enjoy on a nice evening.

Mike:
If you plan to visit the dome on top of the Reichstag building here is my experience. I tried to book a spot on-line about a week in advance and found that there were no spots available. However, when I was walking by the Reichstag a guard directed me to a small building about a block away where one can make a reservation. When I got there I found that there were many immediate openings. So if you can't book in advance just show up and there is a good chance that you can walk in with a minimal wait. Keep in mind that I did this in October. The situation might be different when you visit in September.

Also, in reference to my earlier post one of the two places I recommended was the Stasi prison (not the museum which is also worth seeing). What I found is that the commercial map that I purchased and the free maps that one gets in hotels do not include enough of east Berlin to show where these two institutions are. They are not close to each other. Having GPS on a smartphone helps, and reading the directions on the dark-tourism web site helps. Also, there are enough English speaking Berliners who can give you directions once you are in the area of the museum or the prison.

Geor thanks for letting me know about your experience and I might book a couple weeks before getting there and make it my first stop to really look around to see what Berlin has to offer. The prison does very interesting since I have heard a couple stories about prisoners which were quite moving. What I am planning on doing is making a list of addresses as a back up should I not be able to find anyone to use in combination with GPS on my phone. I am learning German ahead of time since I really want to make an actual effort but it is nice to know that I can still get by with English if needed.

@ Mike....Bravo! Keep plugging away at the German! Übung macht den Meister!

"...a castle in the same area." Which one? Schloss Pillnitz? If it is Pillnitz, keep in mind that this place played a role in the origins of the French Revolutionary Wars.

While the museum's ( in Dresden-Neustadt) main focus is that of the Bundeswehr, it also shows the history of the Saxon Army in its kingdom and until 1914. Dresden always has its military history since the 1600s. Dresden was the HQ for its military district (Wehrkreis) Where the museum is located, was a traditional military site in Dresden. In 1945 the horrors of the bombing of Dresden left this site hardly damaged. It escaped mass destruction.

@Fred my language skills are slowly coming along and I want to make an actual effort because from everything that I have seen I am pretty sure I wouldn't mind residing over there so I suppose this could be a little bit of a trial run.

The castle that my friend mentioned is called kolginstein, he wasn't sure of the spelling but said I should visit if I am going to be visiting Dresden and after reading accounts of the bombings I am stunned that anything remotely survived what the allied forces did along with hamburg which I might visit as well. Since I am using Berlin as a home base and would do most of my traveling by train when having to go long distance what train pass would you recommend and do I need a different one for travel within Berlin itself since I am thinking about having the passes shipped to my home so when I get there I can just go.

@ Mike.... One of the areas that did basically survive intact the " bombing of Dresden" in Feb 1945 was the currently named Olbrichtplatz (named after the general), where the museum is situated and other areas of Dresden-Neustadt. The site of the museum was the site of the Infantry School (Infanterie Schule). You may want to check on that (I think). The Allies were not aiming for that in Feb 1945 but the Altstadt; the rail way yards were left relatively undamaged ie, a definite military target.

@ Mike...What your friend suggested is "Festung Königstein" ...It's huge, well worth your time. I've not been there. There are several in the great Dresden area, I was only at Schloß Pillnitz.

My compliments on your linguistic efforts....all I can say is, keep at it. There is a German proverb that fits your situation, "Aller Anfang ist schwer." Keep in mind that although knowing the daily niceties, greetings, certain phrases, etc, is good, that isn't good enough, plain and simple.

'Festung' is a fortress, something introduced after the inventon of fire weapons, i.e. even more fortified than castles. Schloss Pillnitz isn't a castle, but a palace.

Admittedly, Schloß Pillnitz is not a good example since the OP mentioned "castle" without its name. What the OP has in mind is "Festung Königstein." which he was told by his friend was a castle but fortress is an apt description.

@demag and Fred thank you for the clarification and sorry for the late reply I have been sick the last few days. Any other spots you can recommend for a good day from Berlin that I can travel back from in the same day and I did change my hotel as well to one that is a little more city center located and closer to my airport.

@ Mike...What about a day trip from Berlin to Seelow as you are into war history. Easy to reach. Take the regional train from Berlin Hbf to Frankfurt an der Oder, then transfer to the S-Bahn to Seelow.

Seelow was the biggest battle ever fought on German soil when the Soviet hurled hundreds of thousands of troops at the Seelow Heights (Seelower Höhen) to start the Battle of Berlin in 1945. In spite of the overwhelming superiority enjoyed by them in troops and tanks, the Soviets were thrown back the first day of the massive attack.

The site is a battlefield memorial, (Gedenkstätte Seelower Höhen), cemetery and museum and shop plus examples of Sovier armour, ie T-34, JS I. What is sold in the shop is all in German, very esoteric literature on the battle, etc. The last time I saw this museum was last June.

@Fred that sounds like a very interesting day trip and see the armor would be amazing since I have never seen Soviet tanks up close and personal. I suppose if I wanted to beef up my German language reading skills that would be a fun place to start and pick up a few books. My knowledge of post war and modern Germany is lacking aside from intelligence history are there any good general knowledge books that you could recommend that I should flip through ahead of my trip?

@ Mike...There are two places that come to mind in Gross-Berlin, if you want to see Soviet armour of WW2, ie tanks and tank destroyers up close, Seelow (as mentioned above) and Berlin-Karlshorst, where the Germans signed the surrender with Soviets one day after it was done with the West in Reims. In 1945 the Germans signed 4 surrenders.

Take the S-3 to Karlshorst, the terminus is Eckner. Most likely, you need to transfer at Ostkreuz because of all the construction. You can bet on seeing no North Americans or any international tourists on the S-3, at Ostkreuz, Karlshorst, Frankfurt an der Oder, or Seelow.

That building in Karlshorst , ca 30 min walk from the S-Bahn station Karlshorst, now holds the German-Russian Relations Museum, ie basically focuses exclusively on the Russo-German War, the Nazi-Soviet Pact and its origins.

Very interesting, totally revamped, modern with the electronic aids, but also different from its former presentation. I saw this museum in 1999, slowly and thoroughly; the last time was in 2016. You can critique its methodology in the present exhibition. Obviously,some of what was featured in 1999 is no longer shown. There are audio phones now along with English language explanations. In 1999, no such thing, the Museum was totally in German, no audio phones

The tanks and other ordinance are displayed around the Museum garden, several of them, all Soviet, just as at Seelow Heights. If you want to see German tanks, you'll have to go somewhere else.

"...any good general knowledge books...." I would recommend Mary Fulbrook's book Modern Germany, 2nd ed. Also on Berlin the huge work by Alexandra Ritchie...captivating, very readable.

One more for more heavy duty reading on Prussian history....Christopher Clark's "Iron Kingdom"

All these historians' works here are competent, analytical, scholarly, readable

Historical Museum Berlin

address - Am Flugplatz Gatow 33, 14089 Berlin, Germany

This is the one museum you like it i guess

If you're into war history, a few ideas for you along the way, aside from the big museums. Just keep your eyes open, and you will find traces of the war wherever you go:

• Almost every town and village has some kind of a war memorial with the names of the soldiers who died in WW I , WW II, and sometimes even back to 1870/71. There has been a lot of discussion and controversy about these memorials, especially about those that are within churches (some have been removed or relocated), and especially about those that are not mere memorials but depict the soldiers as "heroes".

• Some cities have kept certain buildings unrestored after the war, as a memorial. In Berlin, that would be the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche. In Hannover, it's the Aegidienkirche. Also, have a look at the walls of downtown pre-war churches, and guess why many of them are partly black.

• Look at the houses of a city and try to guess if they are pre-war or post-war. It's pretty easy to see once you get the hang of it, even if you're not into architecture. 1950s houses are usually plain and without frills, built quickly to house many people who had lost their homes. And then try to imagine what these cities looked like at the end of the war. Or before the war.

• When you walk through a town, keep your eyes not only turned upwards. In many towns, Stolpersteine have been installed by the artist Gunter Demnig to commemorate the Nazi victims who lived there.

@ Mike....Given your time limit in Berlin, you'll need to prioritize as regards to the historical interests. If you want to see historical or memorial plaques (Gedenktafel) on soldiers and the wars (not only WW2) I recommend numerous other places as well...Minden, Magdeburg, Dortmund-Hohensyburg, Eutin/Holstein, Bad Sassendorf/Westf., Lüneburg, etc

In Berlin there are statues of military commanders...Bülow, Scharnhorst, Blücher, Roon, Moltke (the last two Am Grossen Stern), also the statue in from Schloss Charlottenburg (forgot the name). They are also on street names, You just have to know what you are looking for and looking at.