.....Hannis Blog.....: Washington, D.C.

Fortunately the Metro started working just in time after if was shut down due to Hurricane Irene. And after we figured out all crosses I made in my Lonely Planet, we could take the bus from Chinatown NYC to Chinatown DC. The bus was very modern and the ride comfy - no need to take the greyhound or the train ;-)

The first thing (after apartment and lunch) we did in Washington was strolling along the Mall of course. And the first bunch of people that caught our glance were joggers. The next days an uncountable number of them crossed our way. In contrast to New York City Washington was so neat, so white and had only five store buildings - and you could put a sign for architectural heritag on every other on of them. In addition it was even hotter than in NYC - you always forget that you are more south than Naples.
Getting to the Washington Monument, we saw the crack from the earthquake and wondered why the state monument looks like a penitent (as the ones walking the semana santa in Sevilla) instead of something more elaborate...
The next discovery was that the Philippines were made to one of the states in the WWII. memorial (the same as the colony Guam).
When we reached the reflecting pool, we only found a huge pool of mud (or as some people would say: duck shit). The view would be so cool, but we could only enjoy the view inside the Lincoln Monument.
To finish our roundtrip through the city we went to the White House and almost missed it. You could only follow the map, because at the moment you can actually see it, you are only ten meters away.
Washington at sunset really gets romantic and as we headed back home we stopped by the beatiful lighted Capitol.

Aus Washington, D.C. 2011

On the next day we went to Arlington. It was a beautiful day and despite the trees that Matt told us about there was so much space without any shadow so we almost melted away while visiting the graveyard of John F. Kennedy, Arlington House, the war monuments including the monument of the unnamed soldier and a lot more small and big white graves. During the nice walk you can see the Pentagon, the Potomac River and some parts of the Mall from above.

Aus Washington, D.C. 2011

Back downtown Washington we starte from Union Station (and finally Taco Bell for Helen) to the tour inside the Capitol and the Library of Congress. Our tourguide was quite crazy but knew a lot to tell about murals painted by three artist, presidential statues and the gifts/famous people of every state. In the Library of Congress which is connected to the Capitol via an underground tunnel (I suppose that not only these two buildings are connected underground...), we found an original copy of the Gutenberg Bible among other things.
Getting a view over the city, we went to the old post tower, got some ice cream and paid a visit to the front side of the White House.

Aus Washington, D.C. 2011

For our third day in Washington, we planned a Smithsonian Museum tour. Starting at the Air and Space Museum with the Apollo spacecraft, the inside of a boing 747, Emilia Erhartds aircraft. After that we spend even more time in the Natural History Museum among the T-Rex, the Hope diamant, the giant squid, from insects to mammals. In the forensic department they showed how scientists discover crimes or analyzed living habits of former cultures. You could even watch paleontologists cleaning fossils and bones - and of course we could not let pass the chance to have a picture as neanderthaler ;-)