Capital C

I recently made a trip to Silver Spring, Maryland, and the Nations capital, Washington DC.

Silver Spring reminded me of the areas surrounding Hanover, back in Germany. Smaller suburbs, far enough from the big city, away from the hustle and bustle, but at the same time close enough to get there anytime you want.

We flew on a Wednesday, so Thursday was just a relaxing day for me to explore Silver Spring. I stopped at some stores, had coffee in downtown, looked for a place to have dinner and then ventured to the cute little neighborhoods. Smaller homes, European style, and I LOVED the front yards!! Spring is such a great time for a trip to DC - colorful, the trees and bushes looked so pretty!

Friday I checked out the metro system - it was super easy. I hopped on the red line and nine stops later I found myself in DC Metro Center.  

From there I walked down 12th St and was at the Washington Mall. Again, easy to find. Where would I go first? Turn right, towards the Lincoln Memorial, or left and see the museums? I headed towards Lincoln, just because it was nicer to walk between the trees, in the shade.

The Washington Monument on my way

I noticed a big crowd near one of the memorials. What was going on? And what was that noise?

It was the 70th anniversary of VE-Day, and the planes I saw flew in honor of the Veterans who had risked their lives at that time. A once in a lifetime sight. I was thinking of my husband who could not see it. He has been to air shows since he was little, and that he would have liked a lot.

Unfortunately, the battery in my camera died after a few shots. Bad luck, but then I met Ken, and he told me I could see all of it on this website: http://ww2flyover.org/  He was a real nice guy, an older gentleman, and he knew quite a bit. We started talking, and talking, and ... well, it was 4pm when I eventually headed to the Lincoln Memorial.

I wanted to meet up with Volker for dinner around 6pm, so there was no time to see anything else that day. I passed the Vietnam Memorial and the reflecting pool, back to the Metro station.

Saturday we moved to a different hotel, this time near Foggy Bottom metro station, walking distance to the mall.

Volker was with me that day, and guess what he wanted to see first?

The Albert Einstein Memorial, of course! Being a physicist ....

The Vietnam Memorial was next. Pat, if you read this, I did look up your cousin's name.

 ... sad ...
A family of geese cheered us up. Cute little chicks :)

Next on our list was this address:

Why? Because you haven't been to DC if you didn't see the White House

Walking along the Botanical Garden and visiting the Native American Museum was next on my wishlist

The Capitol and a view towards the Washington Monument

It was quite exhausting to walk in full sun all the time, so I was glad when we found some shade on our way back to the hotel. And look, I picked the right spot. Have you ever seen an albino squirrel? 

Sunday was our last day. We had a few hours before heading to the airport, so we went to the sculpture garden and visited the Natural History Museum.

 optical illusion

alien?

silver tree

and this is ... ??? Looks like ...  Oh, I know, Dja Dja Bings!!! Of course it wasn't, but there are similarities.

The museum was great, as expected. I love that you can go anytime and don't have to pay for it. Makes me wanna go there more often. 

Minerals and gems

The Malachite looks like a fish, don't you think? 

And if you ever wanted to know what mining products are being used in a car ...

 fluorescent, glowing in the dark

 Fun fact: Did you know ...???

Our friends moved to CA last year and have had a few quakes since. 

LA had two earthquakes not long ago, and as you can see, there have been many little ones around that area within two weeks.

After waking up in the middle of the night, our friends told me that such an emergency kit is now on their shopping list.

 I hope they will never need it!

Four days flew by way too fast. I really enjoyed every second of it.