Washington, D.C. — a city of monuments

On August 11, 2017, after New York and Philadelphia, we made it to the capital of the USA and took a picture in front of the White House.

Pavel and Alexandra in sunglasses take a selfie by the fence; beyond the lawn and red flowers is the White House — The White House behind us, August 2017

A city of monuments

Washington is a city of monuments. There are a great many of them here, and they are quite impressive: Americans know a thing or two about monuments.

The Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial stand on the National Mall, and halfway between them is the World War II Memorial. The Washington Monument itself is a tall obelisk; until the Eiffel Tower was built, it was the tallest structure in the world.

The Lincoln Memorial is one of the most popular in the city. In movies, people usually come here to reflect on politics. And the Washington Monument is right across from it.

Tourists on the wide steps in front of the colonnade of the Lincoln Memorial under heavy clouds — The Lincoln Memorial, August 2017

The white marble statue of the seated Lincoln seen from below, with an inscription carved on the wall above it — Lincoln in his memorial

The Korean War Veterans Memorial looks impressive too. We also saw the memorial to Martin Luther King Jr., who fought for the rights of Black people.

The figure of Martin Luther King Jr. with arms crossed, carved into a light-colored block of stone, two more rocks behind it and an overcast sky — The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, August 2017

Pavel and Alexandra take a selfie with their eyes wide open in front of the stone figure of King — The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, August 2017

We also saw the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, where the president sits together with his dog, and the Jefferson Memorial.

The dark bronze statue of Jefferson on a tall pedestal under a coffered dome, with visitors sitting by the walls — Inside the Jefferson Memorial

The Capitol and the Pentagon

One of the main buildings in the city is the Capitol.

Pavel and Alexandra take a selfie on the lawn, their hands forming a little roof over their heads around the dome of the Capitol — The Capitol, August 2017

Across from it stands a beautiful building. At the time we didn't know what it was; it turned out to be the oldest building of the Library of Congress.

We saw the Pentagon too — the very building whose database, if you believe the movies, is very poorly protected. Next to it is the memorial to those killed in the September 11 attack, when a plane crashed into the Pentagon. The memorial is a field of benches, and each one is engraved with the name of one of the victims.

That was the end of the memorials we managed to see. From Washington we headed to the ocean, to the resort town of Myrtle Beach.