Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie was a crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War, located at the junction of Friedrichstraße with Kochstraße.

The checkpoint was the single crossing point for foreigners and members of the Allied forces.

The name Charlie stands for the letter C in the NATO phonetic alphabet. Checkpoint Alpha was at the autobahn in West Germany at Helmstedt and Checkpoint Bravo at Dreilinden, southeast of Wannsee.

The famous Cafe Adler, located right at the checkpoint was a wonderful viewing point to look into East Berlin.

Today Checkpoint Charlie always is jammed with tourists looking at the remains of the wall that are displayed in little pieces at the "Mauer-Museum".

You also can get a pic side by side with one of the art students impersonating frontier guards and hoping for a tip.

In typical Berlin fashion, the original wooden shed was removed in 1990. It took the politicians years to realize that they had gotten rid of a very important point of interest for the tourists.

A reproduction was built, as the original already was destroyed.

Historic details about Checkpoint Charlie.: Wikipedia