German parliament
A visit to the powerhouse control centre… Today a really nice person invited me along as a guest to the German parliament. Up until now I’ve tended to avoid having to queue up for a visit and now suddenly I was getting my own private guided tour. Not only would it take me into the depths of the entire complex of buildings but I would get to see areas that were normally out of bounds to the average visitor. Most people think that the Reichstag building, with its huge dome, is parliament per se, but it is spread across far more buildings and floors than meets the eye, across bridges and along miles and miles of underground tunnels. My feet are still aching! Up, down, across, I’d say you need a navigation system to find your way around here. In the building itself there was an eerie kind of silence that was only broken by the occasional group of visitors. Even if you were under the impression that the comings and goings inside the building would be very hectic, you’ll probably soon be proven wrong. Arguably, there was no parliamentary session scheduled for this week. Even so, I was told that it was generally this quiet. As for the architecture and history, I’m not even going to go there. However let it be said that one cannot help being impressed by the building itself, with works of art on exhibit everywhere. Less impressive however was the building’s air conditioning and acoustics. So much space seems to have been wasted on passages and hallways, while the offices themselves seem to be small and on top of one another like a beehive. Having said this, from my opinion what does seem to be a success story is the merging of the old with the new. The view of the River Spree is fantastic and the Käfer Cafetaria serves really delicious food at reasonable prices (for example a catfish fillet for 5,90 €). Unfortunately this is not open to visitors, who will have to frequent the rooftop Käfer Restaurant, which is considerably more expensive. From up here you will experience a magnificent view of the Berlin cityscape…

For me this is Berlin’s must see attraction, the original building is impressive enough, but Sir Norman Foster’s glass dome is an exceptional addition. For visitors with very small children make sure you use the side entrance which allows families to fast-track the usually long queues.

Walking around the top of the Reichstag offers fantastic views over the centre of Berlin. Our children love the mirrored centre of the dome, making it one of those rare attractions that appeal to all the family.

Coming from Edinburgh home the monstrously overpriced Scottish parliament situated in the shadow of the beautiful Old Royal High School a visit to the Reichstag can be a bittersweet vision of what could have been.