National Museum of Natural History: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

NBNatasha Belyaevasolnyshko_1994 · Nov 30, 2015Read

Washington in five words: heat, art, free, silence, and running. That is exactly how I remember it. National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden All students coming to the States for the summer can be roughly divided into two categories. The first are those who earn money for crazy trips around the country; the second are those who slave away at three (I'm exaggerating) jobs without days off to take all their earnings home. My Czech friend Michael and I were somewhere in the middle. Neither here nor there. We worked 14 hours a day and dreamed of getting away somewhere, but it just didn't work out: either our days off didn't coincide, or the weather spoiled the fun, or we just wanted to sleep in. In August, realizing that if we waited any longer, our dreams would go down the drain, we decided to act. Where to go? "W" - Washington - it's close, interesting, and budget-friendly. Still the same National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden After going through dozens of possible "how to get there" options, we settled on E-Point. 60 dollars round trip – at 9:30 AM you are at your destination, at 10 PM you are back in the center of our native Bethany – perfect. The first thing we noticed upon arrival was how quiet it was all around. I was prepared to see colorful crowds of people rushing everywhere as soon as I got off the bus, but in the end, the only semblance of a crowd that caught my eye was a group of toddlers that an attendant was vainly trying to get to move in the right direction. People, where are you? Going to Washington for 1 day is a bit of a stretch. We rushed around the National Mall, trying, as they say, to grasp the ungraspable. The phrase of the day became "come on, faster, we still need to make it there." National Museum of Natural History, National Air and Space Museum (must see!), Smithsonian American Art Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Capitol, White House, National World War II Memorial – we ran through all of this as fast as we could. Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum At the National Museum of Natural History, I spent a long time reading the information on the billboards dedicated to the ocean and the origin of life on Earth - tired of waiting, Michael came up with a great thing: "Listen, do like the Chinese: take photos of everything, and you'll read it at home, come on!" I admit, for lack of another choice, I did just that later on. It's embarrassing, but what can you do. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Most of the time was spent at the National Gallery of Art. Expecting to run through it in an hour, once we got inside, we immediately realized that we would fail this mission, gave up on everything, and began to slowly move from hall to hall with our mouths open. Monet, Van Gogh, Da Vinci, and Warhol – could I have even dreamed of this? At five in the evening, we felt as if we had walked a hundred kilometers in the desert – we wanted to lie down on the grass somewhere and not move. And we also wanted to eat. By the way, about food. For a whole hour, we wandered around the National Mall, trying, as it turned out, absolutely in vain, to find at least one working stall with burgers and hot dogs. Five o'clock is the approximate closing time for all the Mall's attractions, and "food," as I realized, works on the same schedule. We sadly remembered how in the morning, to lighten the weight of our backpacks, we stuffed the leftovers of our packed lunch into ourselves – fools! Who knew. My advice to those who are going to visit Wash – go to the city for a couple of days. Without thinking. It's worth it. And plan in advance what exactly you want to see, because the number of museums collected within this place can drive you crazy. There is an outlet here for absolutely everyone, whether you are a creative soul or a fan of ancient history. And yes, no skyscrapers or shocking buildings – all Washington buildings are elegantly strict, as if to say, look, I'm neo-Got

НКНаталия Карпенкоmoscowmain_788129278804 · Oct 30, 2012Read

Another stop on my travel has passed. I spent the last 2 days in DC. It's even quieter and calmer here than in Boston))) The trip here was awful though - the bus was such a freezer all night that not even my jeans, sneakers, t-shirt, jacket, and a towel on top could save me. Actually, these Americans really love to turn every room into a freezer) That freezer in the US Embassy in Moscow (anyone who's been there knows what I mean)) is just the tip of the iceberg) Americans are just obsessed with the cold. At first, while staying at Greg's or Rich's, I was just freezing. Public transport also constantly blasts the AC - in trains, buses... And they are also obsessed with ice water) nobody here drinks water, juice, soda, etc. at room temperature. It must be with ice, and every American has ice in their freezer for drinks)) Well, that was a lyrical digression, now I'll tell you about my adventures) I arrived, my couchsurfer met me at the station in a black BMW and drove me to his house. At first, I was very afraid to go to him because he was Turkish and there were only a couple of reviews about him. I only went because there were no other housing options. But in the end, he turned out to be my best host ever)) I called my travel companion and we went for a walk) On the first day, we explored the National Museum of Natural History (where they filmed Night at the Museum, yup)) It's so cool! Then we went to a couple more museums and walked around the center. On the second day, we went for a walk, first had breakfast on a bench with yogurts and a salad that his gay hosts gave him)) But strangely enough, they turned out to be good guys))) We walked around more museums and the botanical garden... It's so great that it's all free, right?) The only thing that spoiled the mood a little was the rain. But we found the positive in that too - we left one museum, ran through the rain, and entered the same museum, just wet)) hahaha, well that happened by accident, we just thought there was no entrance where the exit was, but we needed to enter.. So we ran to the entrance, and then it turned out we could have entered from the exit side) But we ran in the downpour and had fun)) After that, we didn't care about the rain, we walked right through it) And we even found some kind of vent blowing warm air, climbed onto it, and started drying off))) Then we went up to some observation thing to see the city from above. And then we even grabbed a couple of souvenirs)) This morning I met up with Yulia, that same girl from Russia who has lived most of her life in America. I was very happy to see her)) we still spoke English because her Russian isn't that good) Today a plane to sunny Miami awaits me and I'll be there today))) Wow, I can't believe my luck)) The travel continues...