Berlin and London

5 Summer Days in Berlin and London

Unter den Linden ("under the linden trees") is a boulevard in the center of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is named for its linden (lime in British English) trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall between two carriageways. Unter den Linden runs eastwest from the Brandenburg Gate to the former site of the imperial palace (Berliner Stadtschloss) where the Palast der Republik used to be; it was demolished 2006-08. The boulevard crosses the River Spree and continues as Karl-Liebknecht-Straße. Major northsouth streets crossing Unter den Linden are Friedrichstraße and Wilhelmstraße.
The Reichstag building in Berlin was constructed to house the Reichstag, the first parliament of the German Empire. It was opened in 1894 and housed the Reichstag until 1933, when it was severely damaged in a fire supposedly set by Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe, who was later beheaded for the crime. That verdict has been a subject of controversy over the years.[1] The National Socialist German Workers Party used this event as casus belli to begin a purge of traitors in Berlin and to ban the Communist Party of Germany.