Berlin, Bicycles, Bundestag blue

We love Berlin, and so should you. I love watching all of the bikes go by - beaters and lovely Dutch commuters and bikes with two front wheels and a big bucket in between to carry children and groceries. Bikes parked all over, including large clusters at the U-Bahn stops.
We started our day with a quick tram ride and walk to the Reichstadt, the official building for the German parliament. We had to register for our tour today several months ago, and have our passports checked and metal detected before we were allowed in, where a somewhat quirky guide took us in. There's lots of glass in the Reichstadt, to symbolize the transparency of government - obviously important following most of the 20th century. Some more fun facts: the eagle, seen below, is nicknamed the fat hen. Guide told us its because it's heavy; I suspect some other kind of political motive.

The seats you see there are called "Bundestag blue" as the various political parties were upset that seat colors might demonstrate favoritism to one party. The purple was neutral enough for all. Parliamentary voting is estimated by two members from different parties, rather than electronically counted. When an exact count is needed, they call for a sheep jump - I'm sorry I can't remember what she said the word was in German. They sound a bell of some kind in all of the parliamentary buildings, and members enter the parliament chamber through the door that indicates their vote (abstention, yes, no); they are counted as they enter.

Lots of other rich history in the bulding, including graffiti from Russian soldiers when they took Berlin near the end of WWII. On top of the building is a giant glass dome that you can climb, or wander the rooftop and look out over Berlin. As usual, I'm too lazy to write all of the things that we found interesting, so you should read more, or visit.

After both parents napped, we struck back out for the Berlin zoo. A nice zoo, with people smoking as they wandered the paths between exhibits. The giraffes seem to have particularly ornate digs:

And you can get alarmingly close to the lions.

National Geographic would object strongly, I suspect, to the cages...

In other "small world" news, we chatted with a family at the Reichstadt this morning, and then saw them at the zoo this afternoon. They are from Orange County...