Our flight is scheduled to land at Tegel at 11:35 a.m. on Sunday, 3 June. Unfortunately, given Heathrow's stringent "one carry-on" policy, we will likely have checked luggage. Assuming we can retrieve our bags by a little after 12:00 noon, is it realistic for us to get to Berlin Lehrter Hauptbahnhof for a 12:45 p.m. express train to Dresden? We need to allow time to buy tickets, but we are willing to take a taxi from Tegel to the train station to save a few minutes. If we miss the 12:45 express, the next two trains are local ones that take an hour longer to travel from Berlin to Dresden.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

It's a short taxi ride (probably 15 minutes or less without traffic) from Tegel to the Hauptbahnhof. I can't say how quickly you will get your luggage and get out, however, nor how easy and quick it is to get a taxi. I've only taken a taxi going to Tegel from that approximate location.

Are you pre-purchasing nonrefundable tickets? I would consider that too much of a risk in this case.

There is a new LGW to DRS flight on BA - if you haven't booked your tickets yet that may be an option.

If you have your flights, I agree with Will. The next express is 2 hrs later. The 2 trains in between aren't just local (1 is at least), but they also require a change. Just wait for the next express - far easier.

Thanks "WillTravel" and "J62" for your prompt postings and guidance. We already have our air tickets, so flying directly to Dresden won't work for us. However, we sincerely appreciate the advice on not buying nonrefundable train tickets in advance and waiting for the next express. Actually, with what we have read about Lehrter, we could easily spend an hour admiring its architecture while we wait for the next train.

The good thing about flying into Tegel is that the passport control is right at the exit to each plane. Baggage carousels are also individual to each arrival gate and are just beyond passport control. The bags come quickly since the plane is just outside. And you can exit from each gate also. Taxi ranks are convenient. If there ever was an airport from which you could make a close connection, it would be Tegel, at least how we experienced it.

That being said, however, I would not bank on making that train. Your plane could be late and mess up everything. Also the hauptbahnhof is huge, so a bit difficult to go through in a hurry.

Another option is to get flexible tickets, which cost more.

Right near the train station are two attractions I had in mind to visit last time, but did not. These are the Hamburger Bahnhof, which apparently has a great collection of contemporary art, including some Andy Warhol works, and the Natural History Museum.