Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Germany's old-meets-new parliament building comes with powerful architectural
symbolism. It's free to enter, open long hours, and designed for German citizens to climb
its long spiral ramp to the very top and literally look down (through a glass ceiling) over
the shoulders of their legislators to see what's on their desks. The Germans, who feel
they've been manipulated by too many self-serving politicians over the last century, are
determined to keep a closer eye on their leaders from now on.
The new glass dome atop Germany's parliament building comes with a point.
Spiraling slowly up the ramp to the top of the dome during that festive opening week,
I was surrounded by teary-eyed Germans. Now, anytime you're surrounded by teary-eyed
Germans… something exceptional is going on. Most of those teary eyes were old enough
to remember the difficult times after World War II, when their city lay in rubble. For these
people, the opening of this grand building was the symbolic closing of a difficult chapter
in the history of a great nation. No more division. No more fascism. No more commun-
ism. They had a united government and were entering a new century with a new capitol
filled with hope and optimism.
