Berlin: Reichstag Building

One of the coolest things I have done (ever) had to be planned three days in advance because it required reservations. I wasn't sure what to expect but had read in a guide book that it was worth doing, so I was willing to go thru the hassle to visit the Reichstag Building and I am SO GLAD I did. Actually, our reservation was at 4:40pm and  we had spent that afternoon at Chatlottenburg Palace and loved it so much we considered skipping the Reichstag building to stay there longer, but thankfully we didn't. 

The Reichstag Building is the current meeting place of the German parliament, but there is a lot more history to it then that. It was originally finished in the 1890's and was used during the German Weimar Government (prior to World War 2), but was burned down in the 1930's - the fire is suspicious (as in no one is really sure who really started it) but Hitler (who had just become Chancellor of Germany) blamed it on communists and claimed it was all a plot by them to destroy Germany. He used the fire to help force thru a decree giving him (basically) unlimited power, and then used that power to arrest all his political opponents to gain a total majority. (Or at least that's what I remember from my history class about Hitler that I took as an undergrad.)

Anyway-the building is AMAZING and the view is AMAZING. And I wish I had better words to describe it, but I don't- so let's let the pictures do the talking:

picture not taken by me (I took it from Wikipedia)-there are now TONS and TONS of security and barricades in front of it, and everyone that goes in has to go thru serious security.

You get to tour the very top, the glass dome which looks like this:

looking up the dome

looking down the dome

...hard to imagine? Sorry. Just know that there is lots of glass and it's awesome! So you walk up the spiral staircase and have the best view of Berlin-

These pictures don't even begin to do it justice, but it was really amazing. It was sunset and so beautiful. Also, it's hard to explain, but the building just felt really... special. There is so much history and there was so much suffering by so many that lead to the Germany that exists today. Germany has been a unified country for a shorter time then I have been alive - it was reunified when I was 3 years old. It was a great experience and both Joseph and I loved it.

Then, walking back to our hotel we walked under the Brandenburg Gate-

which is also amazing and super historical. The Berlin Wall once ran about ten feet from this, but it was built by Fredrick the Great to represent peace... but during the Cold War was seen as a symbol of the closed off East Germany. JKF visited the gate (kindly, when he visited the Soviets hung huge banners so he couldn't see into the east) and it was where Reagan famously said:

"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" 

BUT what he said before this was..

" Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" 

 Ah I love history.