Thursday Part III: More Buildings.

[sister_luck]

The big Reichstag in its full glory. Norman Foster's dome nicely counteracts the harshness of the original architecture.



Pictured with another Berlin landmark:



There are also new buildings, all part of the "Band des Bundes", an ensemble of buildings connected to the German parliament and government. This one is the Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus which is home to our parliament's library:



It's on the Eastern part of the Spree and is connected to another parliamentary building by a lofty bridge where there was some work to be done:



What a job!



In the foreground of this picture you can see a small memorial for some of the people who died trying to get from the East to the West.



More architectural detail:



While the MELH and its companion the Paul-Löbe-Haus aren't exactly shining examples of modern architecture, the Kanzleramt is definitely the most disliked of the new buildings. Here you can see it from the steps of the Reichstag:



It's been dubbed the Chancellor's Washing Machine.

This is the view of the front. Notice the shaped grass.



But there are not only parliamentary buildings around. Hmm, what could this be?



Sadly, the chamois was gone from its roof on Friday. (I think it meant to advertise holidays in Graubünden.)

And because I just adore its name, here comes the Pregnant Oyster, a concert hall for the cultures of the world. We ended up having a drink in the beergarden attached to its cafeteria.