How many national parliaments (the buildings) have you visited?

[wakejagr@hachyderm.io]

@Pepijn

I was born in the United States, and grew up on the east coast. I've been to Washington, DC, but never to the capital building or the white house.

When I visited a girlfriend who lived in Ottawa, she took me to the national parliament buildings there. Later, we married, lived in Ottawa and often took out of town visitors to the capital complex.

Now we live in the US again, within a day's drive of DC, but I still have not been to the US Capital building or the White House.

So, interestingly enough, I fit your guess, with the addendum that I have visited another country's parliament buildings, but not my own.

[colinrosenthal@babka.social]

@Pepijn I think the only one I’ve been inside is Stortinget in Oslo.

[wnd@fosstodon.org]

@Pepijn I have counted the EU parliament as one. Are the Welsh Senedd and Holyrood in Scotland "national parliaments?

By visited do you mean "go through security to the visitors gallery", "gone to the shop/café" or "gone to the physical location"?

[warpinwolf@mastodon.egroc.de]

@Pepijn inside the building or just passing by on the outside?

[marjolica@social.linux.pizza]

@Pepijn I answered positively but and took it to mean more widely: I've been quite frequently to Portcullis House to see my MP, but not the building on the other side of the road where they gather to pass legislation ('Palace of Westminster').

[cloudedjudge@hachyderm.io]

@Pepijn I've visited the Reichstag and the New Zealand parlement. Never bin into any of the many parlement buildings my own country has.

[kalisz79@mastodon.com.pl]

@mertzigzag I know whom to ask; please let me reach out to my colleague there.
@Pepijn

[kalisz79@mastodon.com.pl]

@mertzigzag Just checked directly with my colleague who works there - unfortunately it is as you wrote, groups only. So the only option for the non-Polish speaking visitor is to join some organized group.
@Pepijn

[kalisz79@mastodon.com.pl]

@mertzigzag another option is visiting Sejm during some open events (such as "Museums night" or movie shows) - usually you can meet someone helpful and English-speaking there. Not a full tour, but always some option...
@Pepijn

[thepolishdispatch@mstdn.social]

@Pepijn How do you define "a visit"? For instance I have been in front of US Capitol, but I was not inside. I walked past Westminster Palace, but I was not inside. I saw French Parliament building from a walking distance. Similarly, I might have seen German Reichstag, but it was over 25 years ago and my memory could be failing me about it. Anyway, I voted 0.

[duckwhistle@mastodon.org.uk]

@Pepijn @alexisbushnell
A lot of people I know never even went on school trips to London, let alone Wesminster. And I grew up / live only 40-50 miles away.

[recoveredexpert@mastodon.social]

@Pepijn @fanf your text doesn’t mention any geographic area, but one of the hash tags said Europe.

Also, what exactly is “national parliament” in this context? To use European and German cases: europ. Parliament? (federal) German Bundestag? State parliaments in German states like those in Bavaria, Baden Württemberg, Saxonia, and so on.

A lot of people use “national” in different ways. Hence me asking.

[tenkoman@sueden.social]

@Pepijn Westminster (UK), Reichstagsgebäude (Germany), Max (Bavaria)* (insert the joke about Bavaria being the Texas of Germany here) --- one day I really want to visit Straßburg.

[kanamauna@sauropods.win]

@Pepijn @fgraver

Forgive my ignorance, but what sovereignty do these countries possess that Canadian provinces and US states don’t have? As an outsider, it appears they have far less.

[mertzigzag@urbanists.social]

@kalisz79 Thank you for looking into it! I was looking at the calendar as well and unfortunately it seems all my days in Warsaw line up with when the Sejm is in session, so it wouldn't be open to the public anyway. I guess that gives me a reason to come back again to Warsaw another time.

[zappes@mastodon.online]

@Pepijn I've walked past some of these buildings but never actually entered one. I hope that I cast the appropriate vote when clicking "0".

[lopta@mastodon.social]

@petealexharris @Pepijn I think this is the first time I've seen the outside.

[vickforcella@mastodon.derg.nz]

@Pepijn I have been in the Houses of Parlement, London, twice. House of Lords.
I have been outside Berlin, but at that time the gov was in Bonn.
I have been outside De Binnenhof, The Hague, as a child, same trip Madurodam.