Markets of all kinds and farewell to DC

 

 

Packing, check-out, and out  we were again - despite light rain this morning - for one more adventure: We still wanted to explore the Union Market District. Located in the NoMa neighborhood, this gourmet food hall (photo above, left) offers a variety of different cuisines and delicacies. Union Market is a revived mid-century produce- and meat-selling bazaar that holds food stalls, restaurants and kitchen/restaurant equipment. 

 

The building was restored and reopened in 2012, as an industrial-cool space. Another building is occupied by La Cosecha (far above),  a contemporary Latin American marketplace. The whole market area is filled with little restaurants, cafés, but also with pretty „authentic“ meat markets and whole sale stores. Though it was still a little quiet in the morning, we got a good idea about how attractive this neighborhood, which name means „North of Massachusetts Avenue“. It is situated closeby Union Station and connects with Ivy City, where a flagship REI Store and the Red Bear Brewing Company are to be found.

 

After checking out „Politics and Prose“ bookstore (pic on right side), an independen,  fantastic/chaotic/adorable used-book store founded in 1984, we went for a stroll through the NoMa district with its beautiful little row houses - contrasting to the mushrooming modern highrises! Some of the trees in front already started to bloom.

 

 

When we reached H Street (where a streetcar is running), we smelled coffee and found Sidamo (left photo), an Ethiopian coffee roastery/shop (there are more Ethiopian places around!), where we enjoyed another cup of strong and excellent coffee while watching the  owner handroasting batch by batch. Again, many new buildings around, but also some of the old features along H Street.

 

 

 

 

Next stop: Union Station (left), the second-busiest Amtrak hub in the nation with a foodcourt, shops and restaurants, tour and bike rental offerings. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's headquarters, connecting DC with cities like Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston on a frequent basis, but there are also long-distance AMTRAK services to Chicago and New Orleans. Finally (!!!) we also found a post office - which isn’t too easy anymore nowadays in big cities - and mailed a postcard to friends of us. The post office employee was stationed in Göppingen, as he proudly told us.

 Since we still had plenty of time and rain had stopped, we walked a good mile or so to get to another famous DC market, the Eastern Market (right), in the Capitol Hill neighborhood (below). The market was completed in 1873, designed by a German-born immigrant named Adolf Cluss. He also designed the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building at the Mall. 2007 the Market buildings burned down, but were rebuilt and reopened two years later. Eastern Market is one of the few historic public market buildings in Washington, DC and the only one that has retained its original public market function with butchers, fish mongers, bakeries, etc.. Though, we missed the weekend farmers and flea market there, we at least got us a delicious Pastrami Sandwich for To-go!

We took an Uber back to the hotel and got ready for our trip by foot to the metro station and from there by subway to the airport. Recently, the Silver Line was completed and now connects the city to Dulles International Airport DC - for merely $ 3,65 (regular) or 6,45 (peak time) - which is amazingly cheap considering the distance! In DC - other than in many other cities, trains and stations are clean, not overcrowded, trains frequent often and reliably. It took us about 50 min. to get to the airport (Uber would probably have taken 1/2 hour in weekday traffic). With the exception of long walking distances in the airport to get around, the usual procedures went quick and smooth. Plane (a B 777-200) departed about 30 min. late, but we each had a row of our own, it was only about 40 % full.

 

 

DC and its new waterfront

What a day! Last full day in Washington! We had an early start, left the hotel at 8 am to get to the new U.S. Park Police Horse Stables & Education Center on the Mall. We met with Lieutenant Anna Rose (in her official, military-influenced outfit), Commander of the Horse Mounted Patrol, and with a representative of the Trust for the National Mall to get a pre-view of the new facility. The Trust was working with the National Park Service on the National Mall to create this state-of-the-art, environmentally sustainable home for the U.S. Park Police Horse Mounted Patrol Unit. It’s supposed to open in June.

Horse mounted patrols are assigned to Federal Parks in Washington, DC, New York City, and San Francisco. It is one of the oldest equestrian units in the U.S., established in 1934. Horses, in addition to being attractive for display in parades, were found to be highly effective in crowd and traffic management.  Most horses are donated to the Unit and they train them themselves. What we didn't know at all was that applicants for this unit have to be dedicated and advanced  police officers, but, they don't need to be experienced riders. During a 10-week crash course they learn how to ride and handle a horse!

On the way to the new stables we already passed the Museum of African-American History (photo above) and took photos of the Lincoln Memorial in the sun. Afterwards, we walked around the Reflecting Pool (that’s where all the cherry trees bloom in spring), passing Martin L. King and F.D. Roosevelt (below), towards the monumental Jefferson Memorial, which is under renovation at the moment.

 

The International Spy Museum, our next stop, holds the largest collection of international espionage artifacts. It opened in 2002 in the Penn Quarter neighborhood, relocated and expanded with all-new exhibitions at L'Enfant Plaza in 2019. The Museum deals with the hidden world of intelligence, exploring its successes and failures, challenges, and controversies, with two packed floors of exhibitions, lots to „play“ and to read and see.
 

The Wharf opened it Phase 2 in 2022, lots of new fancy buidings (apartments, condos, hotel), a marina, attractive restaurants and a nice promenade, which really adds a new exciting aspect to DC.: an orientation towards the waterfront! Architecture is brilliant, from master planner/architect Perkins Eastman DC, I especially liked the new Pendry Hotel (photo). We had a fantastic business lunch at Mi Vida (modern Mexican cuisine), too.

Pendry Hotel (left) and The Wharf promenade

We continued our walk along the waterfront until we reached historic Fort McNair, still in military use, and into a neighborhood called Capital Riverfront. At Audi Field (soccer stadium) the river came back into view. Across the street, a second gigantic stadium: the Nationals Baseball Stadium. 

 

    

Nice riverfront promenade here, plus nearby a good brewery, famous for their hazy New England IPAs: the Bluejacket Brewery. Walked back passing a third stadium, the "Capital One Arena" (hockey), through Chinatown and called it a day then.







 


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The National Mall, the Smithonian Institution and neighborhoods in DC

Gray skies this Monday morning, and, not too warm neither. After check-out of our gorgeous Willard-Intercontinental Hotel and our move by Uber to the Embassy Suites nearby, we took metro to get to the National Mall.


The National Mall - Washington's heart - is nicknamed “America’s front yard” and is full of monuments, memorials and museums, and, best it: they are all for free! Museums are part of the Smithsonian Institution, there are 17 museums and galleries in D.C., most of them along or nearby the Mall. From the origins of man at the Natural History Museum to Art Museums of different kinds and the Air & Space Museum, there is something for everybody!

We checked out The Arts and Industries Building (right, above) - the second oldest building, opened in 1881 as the country’s first U.S. National Museum, but it is, unfortunately, right now closed again.

Our first visit this morning was at the Air & Space Museum. It is currently undergoing a profound renovation, but part of the galleries were reopened recently, and lines were long and time-frame tickets necessary. New and attractive: the "America by Air" exhibition, about passenger air traffic in the U.S., or the Wright Bros. section, but there is much more – see photos below, please!

For  art museums we only went to the National Gallery of Art this time, with its modern East Wing (photo) and its original West Wing, connected by a new fancy, artistic underpass (pic). The masterworks highlighted here represent sculptures, decorative arts, prints, drawings, photographs, and paintings - a lot, but we focused on Modern American Art. 

 

 

 

Next Stop: The American History Museum, one of our favorites: From the  original Star-Spangled Banner Flag to First Ladies,  from Julia Childs - the famous TV chef - to food in America, from "Presente! Latin History" to American Entertainment - both rather new exhibitions  - all was highly instructive and interesting!

 

 

After having spent over four hours in museums (we are museums freaks for sure!), we got tired (and hungry and, though there would have been plenty food vendors along the mall (photo left), we decided to take the subway out to U Street corridor. This neighborhood was once  the heart of Black culture in America, with a vivid music and nightlife scene. It was the birthplace of jazz musician Duke Ellington (on mural below). Eventually, too. 

 

 

For the first time, we had the famous half-smoke sausages and chili at Ben's Chili Bowl (photos left and above), and, checked out "Little Ethiopia" nearby and Kramers Books, and, we admired the murals in the neighborhood (below). 

 

Lincoln Theater (above) closeby Ben's Chili Bowl.

Continuing on, we passed by Embassies at Embassy Row around Dupont Circle and, just before we reached our Embassy Suites Hotel, we noticed this fancy, unique Art-déco building (left photo): the former Greyhound terminal. This classic art deco landmark with a streamlined  look opened with a big party in 1940 was shut down in the 80ies. By the way: in 2022 Greyhound was acquired by the Munich Flixbus company, and, currently the building is occupied by a Furniture Rental company and offices.

Our day ended excellently with dinner at famous Old Ebbit Grill, the "Oldest Saloon in Washington", founded in 1856 as a boarding house. In the course of time the restaurant has a long guest list of the "Who's Who of American History", Presidents, stars and other famous people were and are eating here. The restaurant was packed on a Monday and we had fresh oysters (photo), clam chowder, steak frites and rockfish (photo) - all of the above delicious!

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