2014 EUROPE by Rail 24 - Checkpoint Charlie

We started our day with a return stop at the Bagel Shop. It was on our route to Checkpoint Charlie's and the Berlin Wall, but we would have gone out of our way to return there. 

The cutsie little lady remembered us and our order as if we had been there a hundred times before. It was just as good, maybe better, than yesterday. We even lingered for a second cup of cafe au lait.

Mike had the sniffles that morning, so we stopped by a drug store to buy a travel size pack of tissues. Inside we did not spot them, so asked if they had them on hand. Sure they did and gave us a pack -- for free. How nice was that, and we didn't need to buy anything nor did it have advertising on it. Amazing!

Continuing back over the Spree River and down Unter den Linden Boulevard, we made a left at the 5-star Hotel Adlon (wish we could stay there next time!) at Friedrichstrasse heading south. We thought the street our hotel was on had high-end stores. But after seeing the line-up here of designer this and designer that, our street was more boutique-y than glamorous.

Here were endless brand name stores of  jewelry, watches, beauty products, clothes, shoes (oh, I lusted after those), and electronics. Not on budget with our purchase level, but really fun to window shop and to ooh and aah. Brands included Yves Saint Laurent, Rolex, Hugo Boss, Heidi Klum, Tommy Hilfiger, Ferragamo, Dolce and Gabbana, Sephora, Apple, the list is endless.

But, alas, shopping or even window gawking was not our focus today. Once onto Friedrichstrasse, we continued about 12 blocks to Checkpoint C (or Charlie) at Zimmerstrasse.

Mike had been in Germany at the time the Berlin Wall was still standing. He was stationed at the Hanau Army Airfield near the small town of Fliegerhorst. Although Mike did not, many of his army buddies made the trek to Berlin and passed through Checkpoint Charlie.

They had talked about Charlie's Beach which was a block of sand right in the middle of Berlin in sight of Checkpoint Charlie (need I say on the West side?). On it were honky tonk bars, movie shows to entertain the GIs, and lots of "friendly" ladies to "keep them company." Just a good ol' place for GIs to chillax. Here was today's version of Charlie's beach. I'm sure not nearly as exciting as the original, but in good spirit.

Along the outside wall of the "beach" was a pictorial display of the history of Checkpoint Charlie. This was the best known border-crossing between the East and West in the Cold War days. In one online article (www.berlin.de/orte/sehenswuerdigkeiten/checkpoint-charlie/index.en.php?lang=en), it says this crossing signified the border between East and West, Capitalism and Communism, freedom and confinement.

Diplomats, journalists, and non-German citizens could cross here with some vetting and on one-day visas. This was also the location in 1961 of a U.S. vs Soviet military tank standoff. Thankfully this did not result in the start of World War III.

A reproduction of the original signs and barrack stands at the checkpoint location. Official looking personnel are "on guard" nearby. Now, of course, anyone can freely pass by either way without permission or repercussion. In spite of that, dozens of people lined up to have their passports "reviewed" and stamped as if they were passing through a real-life border.

Today I read that this is actually illegal and invalidates one's U.S. passport. In this situation a non-official government representative is "defacing" it. I'm glad we did not pay the two Euros to have this "illegal" memento as many seem to be doing. Below are photos of the US side of CC, CC itself, and from the east side of CC.

Nearby there is also the Checkpoint Charlie Museum which is said to have the best records of the people that perished trying to escape from East to West. There is also documentation of the successful escapes and apparatus used in those escapes.

We did not stop, but continued our trek onward, following a map to our next destination--the East Side Berlin Wall Gallery.