Had meetings today and was feeling under the weather but we had tickets to see the dome of the Bundestag (German Parliament building) at seven. Afterwards we walked over to the Brandenburg Gate and ate some yummy Italian food. The architecture of Berlin is much more varied than Paris and the two sides of the city have a distinctly different look and feel even though the actual path of the wall has mostly been built over. It is a mix of traditional and modern. Graffiti art is popular and gives the whole city a ‘grittier’ feel. It was also the coldest and windiest weather I’d seen on the trip.
We stayed in East Berlin. Went to the top of an office building built essentially on top of where the wall used to be where you had a good view of the city and could really see the contrast between west and east. You can also get this view from the TV tower which is one of the tallest buildings in Europe open to the public. We didn’t go up in that as it was essentially the same view as from the office rooftop. Also had amazing Italian for lunch.
As my knowledge of recent history is sadly lacking most of the history of the division of Berlin was murky for me. Fortunately they have a nicely done timeline around the inside of the dome. The Bundestag was the seat of German government until 1933 when it was severely damaged in a fire. It suffered more damage during WWII and was left largely unused until after reunification the seat of government was moved from Bonn and into the newly restored building in 1999. The open dome with reflective cone inside allows for ventilation and light to enter the parliament chamber. Visitors can also look down and see into the chamber. There is a shade that rotates around the inner mirrored cone to prevent glare. An interesting combination of old and new like much of the city.
