Temple of Liberty and around
28 Jun 2026I’ve been to many US states; however, I never happened to visit DC. Why not hop on a mid-winter weekend trip to the north? For the sake of price, I went for Spirit as Delta charged 5 times more for pretty much the same flights. Our airplane landed in BWI airport the same time first snowflakes landed on the ground. If you are heading to Washington, get ready for a shuttle bus to the BWI railway station first and then take a train. Depending on the time of the day, the entire journey from the airport to the downtown will take you more or less one hour. Most of the trains in the US are noisy and smelly, both from inside and outside.
The central Washington railway station is a great masterpiece of architecture.
If you intend to visit the Capitol building, book a guided tour. There are no other ways of getting there, unless you have a family member or friend working there. They have special passes. These tours are free and held Monday to Saturday. I booked a slot in the early afternoon, so I headed there directly from the plane. Well, well... That was not the great idea, as in general you are not supposed to bring anything bigger than a purse there and there are tons of restrictions. I will quote one of the guards when I made a comment that I have a déjà vu with a TSA security I went through a few hours earlier. "We are way better" - he said.
Once your tour starts, get ready to watch a 20-minute video about the greatest country on Earth and then the tour will start. I got lucky, as I picked Joe as a guide. He made a truly magnificent experience of what could have been an ordinary tour.
After the tour, I went to the Congress library and back through the tunnel. It helps to avoid waiting at security control outside. Joe’s tip, by the way. When I finally got outside, the sun was about to set, and I got blessed with a clean sky and warm golden hour light.
Wahingtoon has a convinient metro system. Many station share simplistic industrial design trat I truly enjoy.
I stayed just a few minutes away from the Treasury and White House, so opted for the Old Ebbitt Grill for dinner. Great place, especially if you can see a window from your seat.
The next day, I walked through the city, looking around the main landmarks: the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, etc.
The city left a pleasant impression, and there are so many more things to explore. It looks like a capital city and feels like a city for humans, which is not common nowadays.
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