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US Vaccine Cards Not Accepted at the Reichstag

Just wanted to let everyone know: when visiting Berlin your American vaccine card won't be accepted at the Reichstag. You have to have a European vaccination pass with a QR Code. You can easily get them at any pharmacy. Unfortunately today is my last day in Berlin so I won't be able to go inside. I wish I had decided to visit yesterday instead that way I could have gotten a QR code to visit today. Wanted to let everyone know so you can plan ahead. I never got the QR code because everywhere else has accepted the vaccine card.

Posted by
3809 posts

Sorry you didn’t get to enter the building. Thanks for the heads up.

Posted by
98 posts

Dylan,
We have been trying to get reichstag tickets for weeks but online it says they are not open. Did you just show up? Are they doing tours? I understand about the QR code but I don't understand how to get a ticket now.
Thanks for any advice.

Posted by
4137 posts

As I understand the QR code issue , if you obtain one in one EU member country , it is valid in other EU member countries . If I have tthis wrong , a correction would be appreciated . Also , buying site tickets often depends on the date of visit . If you are too far out , tickets may not be on sale for your date .

Posted by
247 posts

Sorry you were not able to go. Thanks for the heads up. I will be there late April.

Posted by
3809 posts

steven--

I got my EU certificates with a QR code in Germany. The QR codes worked for the French TousAntiCovid app, too.

Posted by
4137 posts

Thanks Dave ! My Autumn trip is starting in France , so ( if it's still required ) I'll get the French QR code in Paris when I arrive . I'll be moving east - Switzerland , Germany and Austria before coming back in November . Just waiting now to see what will be culturally on then . On our last visit we had two performances of Bavarian State Opera which were spectacular . and several in Vienna as well .

Posted by
374 posts

The pass/QR code you get in France can be used throughout Western Europe? If so, I’m glad Paris is my first destination.

Posted by
6428 posts

Dylan's news is too bad. This is a change since October, when I got into the Reichstag with just my CDC card. That's all I needed for museums, restaurants, and hotel over ten days in Berlin and Potsdam. Pre-Omicron -- things got worse there after I left.

I also tried to book entry to the Reichstag dome a few weeks before the trip, as RS' book recommends, but found it booked up. There was a lineup for same-day tickets across the street, but it filled fast and involved waiting quite awhile. I ended up taking a 90-minute tour of the building, which was very interesting even though in German, which I know very little. The tour included the Bundestag chamber, plus several other parts of the building and adjoining buildings. It ended at the entrance to the dome, and we then could spend as much time there as we wanted. There were only six of us on the tour, and the guide eventually took pity on me and explained a few things in very good English, answering some of my questions. So that might be another way for visitors to get into the Reichstag building (apparently with QR code now). The building itself is amazing. Sorry you'll miss it, Dylan. Hope the rest of your trip was great though.

Posted by
247 posts

Hi Nonnie and Dick

similar to Nonnie, i cannot find any openings for booking the next few months! (there are only two dates in march and thats it). i was looking for end of April. nothing in may or june either. wonder if its closed, or parliament is in session or if it opens up only a month in advance.

EDIT: ok i found this in the tripadvisor forum: "Slots are only released a couple of weeks in advance"
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187323-i135-k13795556-Berlin_in_may-Berlin.html

Posted by
32508 posts

I wonder if security will be stepped up because of the war, perhaps cancelling tours?

Posted by
6428 posts

@Ganga -- I think I was told in October that the dome-only visits were booked up through the rest of the year. There is a chance to get a same-day ticket by lining up across the street, but I was told there were only 96 of them and I was much farther back in the line. I think you'd spend several hours in line that you could be spending doing something more interesting and fun (or at least sedentary). ;-)

Posted by
3985 posts

When you get a QR code from a pharmacy, does it reside in an app? Also, for how long is it valid?

Posted by
6227 posts

@Jis Ganga and Nonnie, I emailed them about visiting the Reichstag to book a visit to a plenary session, and the response told me that they book about a month out. She said that they would be opening up April slots soon after the first of March.

Posted by
2 posts

Thanks for the heads up. We are currently in Düsseldorf and haven't run into any issues yet but will see about getting the QR code today.

Posted by
76 posts

Thank you so very much for this information! The dome was the last thing I had to book on March 11, 2020 when everything stopped. Now that we're trying again two years later, I would be devastated if I missed it for this reason. I'm so sorry for you that you didn't get to go. It was very kind of you to think of others.