Marco and I went to the US for the last two weeks for Thanksgiving. We spent a week in Washington, DC being tourists (a lot of sightseeing) and a week in Indianapolis being lazy (a lot of coffee and relaxation).
We stayed in Arlington, VA (at a Holiday Inn hotel) just over the Potomac river. We chose it because it was only one stop from DC and it was on one of the main metro lines. In fact, three different metro lines could get us into DC and beyond so we rarely had to wait long.
A view from Vantage Point – the restaurant on the 17th floor of the hotel. You can see DC across the Potomac river.
Here’s a shot of the Arlington National Cemetery – just the rows and rows of graves you’ll see:
Something unexpected – there is actually a gift from the Netherlands to the US in the cemetery for the US’s aid during World War II. It is near the Iwo Jima memorial. The gift is called ‘Netherlands Carillon’, a set of 50 bells (Wikipedia: English | Dutch). Unfortunately a recent Washington Post article states that it has fallen into disrepair – during the summer the bells are played by a live person, but outside of the summer hours the concerts are done by computer. There has been an issue which prevents the automated concerts from happening. There is no word yet on when it will be fixed…
And a piece of labradorite held at Smithsonian’s Natural History museum:
What can I say. I am a sucker for blue.
Didn’t you know that?
It is sad that a gift of the Netherlands to the USA, wholehartingly given by the Dutch, is not properly taken care of. At least the Dutch do a better job for those berried in the American Military Cemetery in Margraten, Province Limburg.
http://www.fallennotforgotten.nl/
No, I hadn’t known it existed until this trip. The previous time I was in DC we didn’t make it over to the memorial for Iwo Jima, which is the logical way most people probably stumble on this structure. Thanks for the link!