Brasília

Looking down the "fuselage" of Brasília, Brazil's planned capital. The layout of the city was supposed to resemble a cross, but the topography forced the shape into more of an airplane with swept wings after they diverted the two rivers seen in the top corners to form Lake Paranoá for increased humidity. All federal buildings are along this strip.

The buildings of the government's three branches are found in the "cockpit". Pictured is the legislative building. The half-dome on the left houses the Senate (upper house), the one on the right the Chamber of Deputies (lower house); together, they become one Congress. (Cheesy!) Offices are in the towers.

Brasília was designed by the modernist Oscar Niemeyer (helped design the UN headquarters in NY). The building that looks like a crown is the Cathedral of Brasília with its Eucharistic bell tower and baptistery. The dome on the right is the National Museum of the Republic. I felt like I was in a Jetsons episode.

The residential areas are in the "wings". The apartment on the left is where I stayed. There are 120 blocks in the city that each have apartments like these; every four blocks makes a neighborhood with its own school, church, and commercial area. The designers thought this layout would foster community and prevent traffic because residents would spend most of their time in their neighborhoods. The locals told me it doesn't do either.

The JK Memorial for Juscelino Kubitschek, the president who ordered Brasília be constructed in only five years from 1956 to 1961. The entire city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Locals discouraged me from visiting the capital because of the strange architecture and "lack of culture", but I found it interesting and am glad I went.