Washington

On Thursday (November 30th, 2023) we continued from Buffalo to Washington. Since there are no great sights along the way, we decided to drive the route in one day and then spend a full day more in Washington. We spent the first night in a hotel a little outside because we had taken on a short-term house sit for the weekend.

On Friday after breakfast we took the subway to downtown Washington. Unfortunately, the weather was mixed and we were unable to use the planned viewing points. Instead we looked at the well-known sights. The historic buildings and large parts of the administrative buildings, such as the FBI's Hoover Building, are all within walking distance in the city center.

Of course we started our sightseeing tour with the White House. In contrast to the TV pictures, where it looks very impressive, we were a little disappointed because it looks quite small. Maybe this impression only arose because we saw the complete opposite of buildings in New York. In addition to the White House, we also looked at the Lincoln Monument, the Washington Monument and the National Mall with the Capitol. The “National Mall” is a long park bordered by the Lincoln Monument and the Capitol. The mall is flanked by the individual museums of the famous Smithsonian Institute. The dimensions of this complex in connection with the Capitol impressed us much more than the presidential residence.

In the afternoon we drove to Ryan's to look after his two dogs and the apartment until Sunday. The dogs are extremely well behaved and very easy to care for. Walking and feeding twice a day is enough. The apartment is on the ninth floor of a new apartment building that has a fitness studio, a roof terrace, a pool and much more.

Madlin decided to take a break from the road trip and enjoy the amenities of the apartment. Christian really wanted to visit the city's museums and so drove into the city alone.

The museums that are part of the Smithsonian are all free to visit and have the largest collection of artifacts in the USA. The highlights of the day were the Museum of American History, the Air and Space Museum and the Natural History Museum. The film “Night at the Museum” also takes place in this museum, but the exhibition rooms are much more modern today and only the rotunda can be recognized in the film. At the end of the day we went to the tower of the old post office building, from which you have a great view over Washington.

Tomorrow we'll go for a short walk with the two dogs at lunchtime before we head to Philadelphia with a stopover in Baltimore.