Out and About in Washington, DC

Our nation’s capitol is such a beautiful city.  The combination of federal buildings and monuments, as well as the vast green expanse of “the mall” is, I think, unmatched anywhere in the U.S. 

There’s so much to see.  Like the many monuments.

monument-repairs

The Washington Monument undergoing post-earthquake repairs

Even Union Station (train station) is a welcoming sight to travelers.  This is how it looked when we arrived one night.

union-sqaure-night

And our view from within, when we had dinner there prior to our departure.

union-station-dinner-view

But, it’s not all formal buildings and museums.  The quaint residential streets are also appealing.

res.-street

Of course, there’s plenty of not-so-pretty stuff to see in DC.  Like the Holocaust Museum, girders destroyed in 9-11, and pieces of the Berlin wall.

berlin-wall-west-side

We saw those last two items at the Newseum.  The picture above shows the west side of the Berlin wall.  As you can imagine, the east side was completely unmarked.

Most things in Washington are free.  If you haven’t already had a chance to do some exploring there, I hope you will.  You’ll definitely enjoy it.  And perhaps feel a renewed sense of patriotism, as well.

Ellen Lindner