Washington D.C.
It hasn’t been long since I was in Washington but after Chicago it was time for a little bit more Washington. Not back to Seattle (which is in the state Washington) but rather to one of the few places under direct control of the US government: Washington D.C., the capitol of the United States of America.
One last time I booked my accommodation on Airbnb and found a comfy little room with a host nice enough to pick me up at the airport. It was a typical townhouse conveniently located near a metro station. The metro here is decent, they even managed to implement higher prices if you travel during rush hour. When they built it they clearly studied other metros and learned a lot from their flaws.
The National Mall
Nearly everything worth visiting in Washington D.C. is located on or along the National Mall, a very long-stretched park. It has the shape of a big “T” and along its sides are Monument, Memorials, museums, and other big buildings.
The Capitol
The first thing I visited was the Capitol where the congressmen and senators do legislation stuff. Unfortunately, some construction work diminished the beauty of this building. As it turns out they already prepare for the inauguration of mister Drumpf (as his ancestors originally were called) in the next year.
The Washington Monument
In the middle thrones the (not as tall as I imagined) Washington Monument. It’s just a large obelisk that is neatly lighted after dark. Sadly, the elevators to the top are closed indefinitely for renovation. From here you can see the Capitol, the White House, and the Lincoln Memorial.
The White House
I had only an unobstructed sight of the backside of the White House. Most of the fence on the front side was cordoned off and I only got a partial view from the side. Unlike all the other buildings in D.C. the White House is smaller than expected. It’s big – but compared to its surroundings it doesn’t stand out.
The Lincoln Memorial
At the end of the third arm of the National Mall stands the Lincoln Memorial with its famous statue of the sitting Abraham Lincoln. You probably know the place from famous historic photos or films.
Arlington National Cemetery
When you walk around the Lincoln Memorial you get to a bridge that leads you outside D.C. and into Virginia. It’s an exceptional place – on one hand there are sadly around 400’000 people buried under your feet but on the other hand it’s breathtakingly beautiful.
You can tell that this site is something special to the Americans when you visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There is always a soldier guarding it. And the soldiers on guard put an astonishing amount of effort and precision in this duty. The movements and steps during the guard change were highly precise and you can see that it’s always like this. The guards have metal on the sole of their boots and this metal leaves marks on the ground from walking over it. Not only are these marks all in one line but you can even see the single steps from the boots always walking over the same positions.
Smithsonian Museums
A few of the massively huge buildings along the National Mall are museums. And all of them are for free and in the same time fantastic. I visited two of them and had a lot of fun walking around the exhibits. Have a look at a few of them in the pictures below.
Rogue One
The last time for probably a very long time I went to an IMAX cinema. The new Star Wars film premiered just recently and I had to enjoy it with the best picture and sound quality possible. Everyone that has seen the other Star Wars movies and enjoyed them must go and watch this movie – it was awesome. Some crazy people even clapped once it was over =)
