Checkpoint Charlie Alpha Bravo

The famous “Checkpoint Charlie” at the crossing between East and West Berlin. Even the name makes me think of spy thrillers, and numerous books and movies have featured the site. But this was for real. A signed warned with foreboding “You are leaving the American Sector.” My mom even crossed the border there back in the day, and said it was a very vulnerable feeling. 😳

This crossing point of the Berlin Wall was supposed to be used by foreigners, diplomats, and Allied Forces. East German citizens were not supposed to cross to the west, and this was the scene of dramatic (and fatal) escape attempts. 💀

Charlie was the third checkpoint. There were also Checkpoints Alpha & Bravo, but those faded into obscurity, while Charlie became the famous one.

Charlie had the dramatic location right at the Berlin Wall. Charlie is where the US and Soviet tanks had their tense standoff in 1961, guns trained on each other. 🪖 And this is where JFK looked into East Berlin before his famous 1963 speech “Ich bin ein Berliner.” 🇩🇪

In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell and Germany was reunified. This world-renowned crossing lost its purpose, and today Checkpoint Charlie is a popular tourist attraction. You can cross back and forth all you want, or run circles around it! 😆

Where – Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
GPS – 52.50637, 13.39056