Making time slot appts with Berlin museums online — questions

The whole Checkpoint Charlie thing has never done much for me - I'd sooner spend the time in and around the Topography of Terror outdoor exhibition space.
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https://www.topographie.de/en/the-historic-site/berlin-wall-monument/
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Or spend the time travelling to the Bornholmer Strasse S-Bahn station where the wall was first breached on November 9th, 1989.
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I'm assuming that you have set sometime aside to visit the Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Strasse.

I didn't bother to go to the CC Museum - as periscope said, the Topography of Terror is a must-see. You will get a real sense of what went on in Berlin here. I spent several hours here and was very glad I went.

With regards to your question, it looks like you have to pay when you reserve a time slot (and that time-slot costs additional $$). That said, I can't imagine the CC Museum will be that crowded that you need to reserve a time slot. I was there in May and walked past it and it did not look that busy.

Have you downloaded the "The Berlin Wall" App ?

https://www.chronik-der-mauer.de/en/182827/the-berlin-wall-app

Thank you for the Berlin wall app! I am planning to go to the Topography of Terror but I thought its focus was Nazi Germany. I’m very interested in life in West and East Berlin between 1961 and 1990. I’ve been to the DDR Museum & the East Side Gallery and was absolutely fascinated. This is my second visit to Berlin and I am so excited to be leaving tonight from JFK!

Have a great trip, Continental!!!

Thanks Mardee!

I think a visit to Checkpoint Charlie is worthwhile just to stand where history happened… like where Lucius Clay defiantly drive through the Checkpoint to assert the US military’s right to cross at the checkpoint or where US and Soviet tanks faced off. There are some placards that show the history of the site, including pictures that show the still standing buildings. I have not been in the museum, so I can’t comment much on it.

I strongly endorse a visit to the old Bornholmerstrasse checkpoint, which, as noted above, was the first checkpoint to raise its gates to allow East Germans to enter West Berlin. Again, there are placards there showing what happened Nov 9, 1989. Standing where history happened is cool!

I strongly endorse a visit to the old Bornholmerstrasse checkpoint, which, as noted above, was the first checkpoint to raise its gates to allow East Germans to enter West Berlin. Again, there are placards there showing what happened Nov 9, 1989. Standing where history happened is cool!

Thank you!!

Continental,

I also would highly recommend the Berlin Wall Memorial Site at Bernauer Strasse. If you have time, you might also consider the Stasi Museum. Finally, Hohenschönhausen has been for some time on my (never shrinking) list of things to see in Berlin.

Enjoy your time in the German capital!

While you're in Berlin, I'd strongly suggest the 4hr walking tour from Original Berlin Walks on the first or second day.. Takes you past almost all of the Berlin highlights and explains the history of Berlin and the various landmarks. Might help in deciding where you actually want to visit.

Willkommen in Berlin!

While a university student in 'West' (at the time) Germany, I visited Checkpoint Charlie museum when the checkpoint was still in use, before the wall came down. I still remember how fascinating it was to see how people were smuggled out of East Berlin & just to read a visual history. I would highly recommend it, especially as it sounds like you're interested in life in West & East Berlin. (We were on a university trip, so also took a guided bus trip through Checkpoint Charlie into East Berlin, which I recall was dreary; I think the lengths to which people went to escape tells it's own story.) BTW, there is nothing to see outside the museum now, it's just marked with a fake sentry box. I'd also recommend a bike tour, first day if possible, our Fat Bike tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable about 20th century history. While we were in Berlin, we were able to access Netflix at night & watched 'Bridge of Spies" & "The Lives of Others", both great movies about the era!

I completely agree with Sandancisco: I thought the Checkpoint Charlie Museum was very interesting. It's heavily focused on escape attempts.

I also highly recommend a visit to the Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen, a former DDR prison now maintained as a museum/memorial. It's a tram ride from central Berlin. There are English-language tours several times a day. If the times are inconvenient for you, the museum's explanatory material will provide much of the same information. I visited the museum first, and there was a lot of duplication when I took the tour.