My first trip to Washington

My trip to United State starts from Washington. A huge number of passengers that Lufthansa airbus unloaded were not for the small receiving terminal Washington Duller.

It took several hours the passage through all controls. After an eight-hour flight across the Atlantic (and day before was almost day of flights), waiting in queue was tedious. It was already dark, when we get the hotel.

As I came to America on a business trip, transport and hotels for me and several of my colleagues were provided by the receiving organization.

Homewood Suites Hotel was happened very modest, but clean and comfortable. No excess, no pomposity, just all the things needed. The furniture and technical equipment are of good quality, the bedclothes are snow-white, the mattress is ideal, and the service staff is not bothering. The room has kitchen and kitchen equipment. There is a free tea and coffee in the lobby at all times. The breakfast is included to the room rate (the simplest, the choice is limited). Every evening, except of evenings the hotel treats with unpretentious snacks and a glass of wine or beer. The only thing I did not like sometimes met guests with dogs. Basically I love animals, but……

By the way, I advise you immediately upon arrival in the States to acquire an adapter for the outlet for comfortable charging the phone or connecting your laptop (we walked for this purpose not one store, found out in a special store for household appliances).

Washington is a small and quiet city. Probably, it is a pleasant to walk around the streets and parks in the warm season. But my fate took me here in January. It was damp and chilly.

The next morning together with a guide, we run along for so-called National Moll, it is a large space in the historical center of the city, where the White House, the Capitol, the Washington Monument, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the Abraha Lincoln Memorial, the Botanical Garden, many parks and museums are located.

There are various concerts and exhibitions often realized. For example, while we were there, a large show of Toyota cars took place. This is an annual auto show, which is arranged by the car giant in late January - early February. On several floors of the large building conference center located all model’s samples of this manufacturer. Some people of our group also visited the large botanical garden, the Museum of Aviation and Cosmonautics and the Museum of American Indians. One could not visit everywhere in one week, especially if you are busy most of the day, and most of the museums close at five in the evening. But if you have free time, then you certainly find out interesting places as you with.

I will talk only about what I saw myself.

As I am a fan of painting, of course it is the National Gallery of Art.

Everything one wants to perceive unhurriedly, detailed - paintings, sculptures, frescoes, precious adornment.

There is something to see in the Capitol. Of course, most of the Capitol premises are closed for tourists, the government works there. But some of the old buildings are provided for all who wish to visit.

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, contains over 120 million items, placed on 853 km shelves. The internet site of the library provides online access to the catalog, digital collections, and search services and so on. There is collected enormous quantity re-digital materials samples of various types: books, printed publications, paintings, photos, film material, sound recordings. For example: there we saw the digital copies of the first colored photos which were made in the different parts of ex-Soviet Union. And the library itself is very beautiful.

Amateurs of dried up animals could visit the National Museum of National History. I do not like it, but had to walk in its rooms with our group.

What I liked there, it is a huge collection of minerals.

It should be said that most of the museums are concentrated in the city center, so you can get out of one and immediately go to another one.

There are many cafes and restaurants in the city. The kitchen is diverse, although in some places under the guise of Turkish kitchen will be served absolutely Greek dishes.

But in the Molla area, were most of the museums are located, there is mostly fast food with a limited choice. By the way, I have to grieve a tea lovers, that in the United States all around drinks with a lot of ice, even in winter. Of course you will find the tea, but the best solution in the trip will be presence of small thermos and you do not have to drink a huge hamburger with ice coke.

At the entrance to the museum, you can pass your things to the storage room, but in some museums there is simply an unguarded wardrobe, as we explained, everything is based on trust. Therefore leave your things (especially your passport!) in the hotel’s safe and go to the museums light-handed.

Yes, and if you want to buy some things, you’ll find that almost everything is made in China. Quality Turkish clothes here are expensive and it should be searched. Although local people say, that Chinese goods are very good. Maybe so, especially I did not see the local production (it seems that they have nothing to compare with). Souvenirs are also only Chinese, and I wanted to buy some souvenirs especially made in America as a gift for friends (what do they produce?).

Yes, they produce something there. In Washington are being implemented various technological solutions to improve the quality of its residents life. This is the result of the activities of the “Smart City” initiative. Local and federal government agencies, the technology community, enterprises universities, etc. work together to introduce innovations such as improved systems of food control; water distribution systems; wireless systems that simplify waste disposal; “smart counter” which simplify of finding and paying parking for drivers, which helps reduce traffic congestion and increase urban incomes.

In addition, the initiative provides cybersecurity, supports all applications in the city.

Perhaps you know that it is problematic to buy any medicine in America. One of my friends said that she barely dragged to home, because she is hypertensive, and could not get a prescription from the doctor for the medicine; they only wrote her a sedative (as calm down). If you have any health problems, take care of the medicine ahead of time, put them in your luggage. But, again, in small numbers, because it will be difficult to pass the inspection at the airport (especially we experienced this in Frankfurt am Main before flying to the States). And better be healthy.

There is Baltimore, very close to Washington, a nice town with its sights. Many Washington employees prefer to live in Baltimore and travel from there to work.

After Washington I went to the opposite side of the country, to the Pacific Ocean, I will tell you about this next time.