Wednesday, May 7, 2014

81. Security to the Max



 
Here are the steps we took to get into the Reichstag:
 
1. Stand in line for 2 hours the morning before to get tickets.
2. Arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled ticket time to stand in another line.
3. Present passports and go through security (like an airport!)
4. Stand in a clump outside the security building to be escorted to the Reichstag.
5. Wait in small space right inside the Reichstag for the elevator.
6. Take elevator to the top floor.
7. Find the audio guide table and finally ditch your escort.
8. Spend forever on the roof of the Reichstag and listen to the audio guide talk about the mirror dome.
9. When it’s time to leave, return the audioguide and find the elevator
10. Make friends with your new elevator escort.
11. Gather in main lobby and wonder why the automatic doors aren’t automatically opening.
12. Realize that the guys inside the security booth have to manually open the door. And aren’t quick.
13. Stand in the space between the inside door and the outside door looking confused as to why you are getting trapped in this space.
14. Stare at the security booth guy until he opens the outside door and you’re free!
15 Reflect on your life for the past few hours and wonder if all the work was really worth seeing a giant dome.


It really was a lot of overkill and of course Mom and Dad were constantly pointing out inefficiencies in their system, but I still enjoyed it. The mirrors in the dome light the inside of the building, and the engineering behind it was cool to learn about. 



















We saw more of the wall later that day. Part of the wall we saw was completely covered in chewed gum. You show them Germany. The other part of the wall we checked out was the Topography of Terror museum. This section had a display set up along the wall telling stories and the history of Germany in the last 100 years.

Worn out and sunburned, we slowly made our way back home and sat down enjoying iced tea and the internet for the rest of the night.

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