Parliment

Touring the Parliment building was really cool. First of all, something to realize about the buildings on the Ringstrasse: they were built during the revival period. So that means that the style of the building reflects it's purpose. So, the Parliment building is built after the Greek style which hearkens (yes, I just used hearkens. I think it's the best fitting word) back to the democratic roots of Greek society. I'm such an art history student sometimes. The building is absolutely beautiful. It was destroyed quite a bit during the War, but it's been restored mostly to it's previous condition except for some rooms which were built in a more modern style. The Austrian parliment is made up of two houses, the Nationalrat, and the Bundesrat. We got to tour both of their chambers. What I found most interesting was the history of some of the chambers. The Austrian Empire was very divided nationally. It's territory extended over large parts of Hungary and what is now the Czech Republic, and then of course many Germanic peoples. So, there was always conflict over legislation. And if one group didn't like what the other was saying, then they would bang the flaps of their desks loudly so that the person speaking couldn't be heard. I just think it's funny that maybe people find politics very dry and boring. But in actuality, it isn't at all.