Tuesday, May 17
We started today with a tour of the city! Our tour guide, Asaf, took us to the East Side Gallery. The Gallery is a 1.3 km long section of the Berlin Wall and serves as Berlin's international memorial for freedom. There are 105 colorful paintings on the wall documenting a time of change and expression. The wall represents unity and brings color to the neutral city. Afterwards, we stopped at Checkpoint Charlie, the most visited tourism spot in Berlin. It was a crossing point in the Berlin Wall and allied checkpoint. Now, tourists can take a picture with actors dressed as guardsmen in front of the guard house.
We also visited the Reichstag building which houses Germany's parliament. In 1933, the building was set on fire and was not fully restored until 1990 by Norman Foster. During our visit, our tour guide broke down the basics of the Bundestag. The Bundestag is the German constitutional and legislative body. The members are elected by the public, but the chancellor is elected by the members. Their voting process differs from the US government's. They use scannable cards while voting so their votes can be visible online to the community. The building also has balconies for the public to watch each meeting. The Reichstag building recently became the most visited parliament in the world because of their dome. Designed by Foster, it was built to symbolize the reunification of Germany and represent that the people are above the government. It also plays an important role in the building's ventilation system. It draws hot air upward, while the fans recycle energy from air. The mirrors reflect light and illuminate the building, but at night the process is reversed.
The last visit was the Berlin Cathedral. It was built in 1894, but after being severely damaged in World War II, it was not fully restored until 1993. The Cathedral is well known for its' magnificent dome. On the lower level of the church, you can find coffins that document five hundred years of Brandenburg-Prussian burial culture. It is one of the most significant royal burial places in Europe.
We started today with a tour of the city! Our tour guide, Asaf, took us to the East Side Gallery. The Gallery is a 1.3 km long section of the Berlin Wall and serves as Berlin's international memorial for freedom. There are 105 colorful paintings on the wall documenting a time of change and expression. The wall represents unity and brings color to the neutral city. Afterwards, we stopped at Checkpoint Charlie, the most visited tourism spot in Berlin. It was a crossing point in the Berlin Wall and allied checkpoint. Now, tourists can take a picture with actors dressed as guardsmen in front of the guard house.
We also visited the Reichstag building which houses Germany's parliament. In 1933, the building was set on fire and was not fully restored until 1990 by Norman Foster. During our visit, our tour guide broke down the basics of the Bundestag. The Bundestag is the German constitutional and legislative body. The members are elected by the public, but the chancellor is elected by the members. Their voting process differs from the US government's. They use scannable cards while voting so their votes can be visible online to the community. The building also has balconies for the public to watch each meeting. The Reichstag building recently became the most visited parliament in the world because of their dome. Designed by Foster, it was built to symbolize the reunification of Germany and represent that the people are above the government. It also plays an important role in the building's ventilation system. It draws hot air upward, while the fans recycle energy from air. The mirrors reflect light and illuminate the building, but at night the process is reversed.
The last visit was the Berlin Cathedral. It was built in 1894, but after being severely damaged in World War II, it was not fully restored until 1993. The Cathedral is well known for its' magnificent dome. On the lower level of the church, you can find coffins that document five hundred years of Brandenburg-Prussian burial culture. It is one of the most significant royal burial places in Europe.