Reichstag Dome 11/20/25

Today started out cold and rainy and stayed that way most of the day. We visited the German History Museum in the morning. While the main exhibits are closed for a major renovation, we were able to visit the temporary exhibits. The building itself has a long history as it started out being an armory in the 18th century, follow by a museum for the Prussian Army, then a museum for the GDR (Nazi Germany). After reunification, the German History Museum took over the collections and built a brand new building next to the old one. I lifted this photo from their website, as it was not a good day for photos in Berlin.

In the afternoon, we toured the dome atop the Reichstag building. After the Reichstag had been damaged by fire then war, it sat in a state of disrepair for many years. It was partially restored in 1950, but the dome was not rebuilt until 1993, after the reunification of Germany. It is an impressive piece of artwork and it overlooks the plenary chamber, where the German parliament meets. It is futuristic in design, and represents Germany’s move into the future and away from their Nazi history. There are two distinct spiral ramps that lead to the top of the dome, where beautiful city views can be seen on clear days. It is the second most visited landmark in Berlin, following the Brandenburg Gate. It was quite cold, as the dome is open at the top.

We had dinner at Käfer, located at the dome. If it wasn’t raining, we may have been able to get some great photos, but the food and the service were all amazing. As we walked back to the subway stop, we got some photos of the Brandenburg Gate, and a photo of the famous Ronald Reagan quote “Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate, tear down this wall.” It’s a bronze plaque on the ground next to the Brandenburg Gate. We also snapped a photo of the balcony of the Hotel Adlon, where Michael Jackson famously held his newborn baby over the railing for the crowd to see.

We’re back at a the hotel now, getting ready for another day of sightseeing tomorrow. We are considering visiting Sachsenhausen concentration camp, but we’ll see what the weather is doing in the morning.

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