A Government Reborn

German government has obviously had its ups and downs throughout history. We've been learning more about the Nazi's, the Soviet communists, and all the other kinds of repression that have happened in this city over the years. What I've found interesting is that now Berlin has a government that stands for the people.

The first hint of this was seen on the bike tour when we stopped by Parliament. The ceiling is made of glass which is representative of the idea that now the German people will always be above the government and the government itself will be as transparent as glass, leaving behind things like the secret police and the fascism of the past.

My group is doing our project on skateboard culture and yesterday we went to an old abandoned airport named Alt Tempelhof. It was actually built by Hitler, but deemed to small to properly land a plane. Instead of tearing it down and destroying the memory it was turned into a recreational space for the people. There is a plaza skatepark, places to roller blade and bike, vast grass areas, a dog park, and more. Whats interesting is the government actually fought and voted on keeping this area rather than the people putting up a huge fight. While walking through my group was making jokes that they could fit 4 Walmarts in the area, many places in the states would tear down the area and make a huge parking lot or shopping mall, especially if it was built by an infamous dictator. But the German government really seems to be reborn into being this group that looks for new creative means of entertainment and activity for their people.