What's in Berlin...?

Well our first full day in Berlin we got the crash course on the transit system.  Turns out getting around a city is a lot harder when can not understand the language spoken or know any of the surrounding area.  Then to top it all off Berlin is not orientated in common square city blocks that we are accustomed to in America but rather in a more free form, spontaneous linkages from one major plaza to the next.  Finally at the end of the  day we got to experience some architecture...the Reichstag by Norman Foster.

The Reichstag is located in the Government plaza and houses the parliament.  Historically the Reichstag dates back to the Holy Roman Empire, until the Nazi regime order the parliament to cease as political function of the government.  The function of the parliament was restored by the end of World War II, but Reichstag was left in ruins.  The building was rebuilt to it current condition in 1999.  While Reichstag Dome is the cupola on top of the building that penetrates in to the main meeting room of parliament.  The transformation of the Reichstag is rooted in four issues: the significance of the Bundestag as a democratic forum; a commitment to public accessibility; a sensitivity to history; and a rigorous environmental agenda. Emphasizing values of clarity and transparency, the glazed cupola is a new landmark for Berlin, and a symbol of the vigor of the German democratic process.