Bundestag

Our plan for this morning was to go for a hike. We woke up to the pitter patter of raindrops- silly San Diegans, forgetting to check the weather forecast! I figured it was a nice excuse to go back to sleep.

Later in the day we went to visit the Bundestag, the German government. It is housed in a building called the Reichstag, and on top they have this glass dome thingy that you can climb up inside. When we arrived in Berlin on Monday our host suggested that this would be a fun thing to do and also clued us in to the fact that we would have to register ourselves with the Bundestag in order to do it. Apparently they had a bomb threat or something a while ago. In any case, Alan got right on that and yesterday we got a notice that we were all set to go for this afternoon. After some excitement trying to find a printer- we had to have the letter they sent us in hand to get in the door- we were all ready.

So, this afternoon, after a nice stroll around East Berlin we headed over to the Reichstag and

arrived just in time for our appointment. First they send you through something that looks kind of like airport security except you don't have to take off your shoes. Then you join a group of

other visitors and a guide takes the lot of you up to the actual Reichstag. You go through this sort of airlock door- extra security?- and then up an elevator to the dome.

The dome is this amazing construction of steel and glass. Around the outer wall spirals a walkway that you use to get to the top of it. They give you a little ear thingy to listen to as you walk and it tells you about the buildings you can see when you look out over Berlin. I probably would have enjoyed this part more if I weren't as afraid of heights as I am. But it was still pretty cool. At the top there is a hole in the roof which is supposed to ventilate the "plenary chamber" below where the parliament meets. It's pretty cool- the ceiling of the plenary chamber is also glass so you can look down as you are walking up the spiral and see into where they are doing all of the lawmaking stuff. At least, Alan said it was cool- I couldn't make myself look over the edge for love or money.

It was a cool chance to learn a little about the German government and also see a really nifty piece of contemporary German architecture. I think, actually, that it would have been awesome to do it the first or second day here because the little ear thingy did a really good job of

explaining what the different buildings around central Berlin are and a little of their history. So, in the case that any of you ever come to Berlin go to the Bundestag website and register beforehand so you can go to the dome.

Can you spot the Alan in this picture?