It wasn't the weather though. The skies stayed clear despite warnings of thunderstorms, and the temperature was a beautiful 70 degrees F. Yes, there was quite a bit of wind, but it was a terrific day for walking. No, it turns out that there were just some solid logistical challenges. The embassies were further apart, meaning more walking between stops. (There were shuttles, but we didn't use them.) We all enjoyed that part, but it does prohibit the kind of quick hopping that we were able to do last week. It also seemed to me that more people were about for the open house this week, and that they got started earlier than last week. This was really the issue, as the lines at the embassies were considerably longer and crazier.
In the end, we visited 7 embassies and the EU delegation. And honestly, we went constantly the whole time, with just a quick 1/2 hour break for lunch. There were some interesting differences with last week too, which I'll try to cover in the narrative below. But for now, let's go to Europe!
We opted to meet at the Estonian Embassy to start off. It wasn't far from a stop on our bus and Wendy could walk there. And, it was on both of our lists. I remember when Estonia bought this building, and I've been eager to see it for these many years. In addition, a friend of my cousin's is Estonian and once had told me that it really is a lovely building.
It IS a lovely building! I was not at all disappointed. And, I liked some of the eco-friendly clothing by featured designer Reet Aus.
We then headed up the street to Bulgaria, where I was headed for my friend and former colleague Kristi, who spent two years there with the Peace Corps, and loved it.
It was interesting to us to see all the Russian again, although it wasn't QUITE Russian, using some interesting symbols that we weren't used to. Still, they were gracious hosts, pouring Bulgarian wine and with some pastries. We drank the wine; Wendy ate the pastry.
We then started to walk up Massachusetts Avenue, this section of which is commonly known as Embassy Row. Wendy really wanted to visit Greece and Ireland. I wanted to visit Portugal and Luxembourg. The lines, however, were INSANE! At 11 in the morning. So we decided to walk up to Finland (not quite a mile away). On the way, we also passed the Netherlands (lines too, and I'd been there before), and the United Kingdom. They seemed to be having a huge fair. I've also been there before, and must say that they have one of the most amazing gardens I've seen in the city.
Finland is the first LEED certified green embassy in the U.S. It was environmentally-friendly when it was built, but they've done a lot of work in the last couple of years to achieve certification. It is a stunning building, built into the landscape and making wonderful use of the surrounding woods (part of Rock Creek Park).
Inside, lots of natural wood and shapes. This beautiful lady was sharing Finnish song and music. They also had a kids' corner with Moomin animation, had a display of mythology from the Kalevala to the Lord of the Rings, and one of the largest arrangements of traditional foods I've ever seen at an event like this. (No, we didn't eat here, but we could have made a meal of it, honestly.)
We then turned down the side street to go to Belgium. I loved Belgium when we were there two years ago, and they had an exhibition about their Antarctic research station that I wanted to see. And lace making! However, in the door, I turned the wrong way and ended up in the line to go upstairs, and found that there was really no way for me to get back to the lace making area without re-starting the trip, so I missed it. However, think Belgian food and generosity, and I forgot my disappointment quickly! We got waffles, chocolate, juice, and beer. Yes I got framboise lambic at the Belgian Embassy! All was good.
A funny part of town, but no mistaking that this is an Embassy once you find it. And, many of the offices actually look out to the National Cathedral, which is pretty spectacular.
This is the Ambassador's office. Not bad, eh? Actually, they opened up the entire hallway leading to his office, keeping several doors open, so that people could actually view staff offices. Not something embassies often do, but it was very cool.
And the exhibit? It actually was a film. I had no idea how long it was, we came in part-way through, and I felt badly making Greg and Wendy sit through it, so off we went again. As we turned back down the street, the line for Finland was now close to a block long. I sincerely hoped that everyone was moving north as we were moving south, and that we'd be in good shape as we got back toward Dupont Circle.
Silly me! The line outside the British Embassy was nearly two blocks long. Yes, it looked like all inside were having fun, but still. So we kept going, as down the next side street were Italy and Denmark, both of which sounded like fun too. We opted to go to Denmark first, as it was further along the street.
As it turns out, Denmark is at the end of the street. And they've been there for 50 years! It's an amazing compound, both chancery and residence. And they too were set up for a little fair. Kids could build with Lego or do a bicycle obstacle course. (Yes, I tried to get Greg to do it, but he declined.) However, they offered a quiz, so of course I jumped at that! No idea if I won, but if I get a small package of Legos in the mail this week, we'll know that I did!
The Danes had a bake sale out here too, and a booth for their military. I'm sure most people don't think about the Danish military, but they've actually been long-term allies of ours in Afghanistan, and are doing a great deal of work there now building schools.
Italy, however, was not to be either. The line for them now extended down the entire street, back to Massachusetts. Good thing I'd been to the Netherlands and the U.K. before, because I was striking out on every other nationality in my background! (Austria and Germany were in parts of the city away from our focus this trip, and we gave up on Ireland and Italy because of the lines.) But, everyone was hungry at this point, so we kept going back toward the Circle.
On the way, however, we crossed in front of Latvia where they were doing some folk dancing. The line here wasn't long, and I heard someone make a comment about the building, so in we went! I can't even say how glad I am that we did.
The dress of the dancers was beautiful! But the building!! Oh, if I could live here....
The Latvians haven't been here long, just a few years. But clearly, this building was never used as a residence, rather as some sort of club. Wendy learned that several Presidents had visited in the past, giving credence to Greg's club theory. It was seriously beautiful. And once again, you'd never know from the outside.
As we kept on, we passed Romania, which also had no line. I would have gone, but I thought the others were ready to mutiny from hunger if I made such a suggestion. So we passed the ridiculously long lines (STILL!) for Ireland, Greece, and Portugal, and went to Moby Dick's for middle eastern lunch. Then, happy again, we headed off to visit the two keys on our list for the other half of the route, with the remaining 90 minutes of the scheduled day.
First stop, the brand-new EU delegation headquarters for the U.S. This is their parliamentary liaison office, and opened April 29. They actually had a ton of EU information and were buzzing with activity. They had a quiz too! But I didn't finish this one.
I did, however, really like this wall of the country flags. And we did learn a lot here!
But time was ticking and it was now 3:15. So we made our way down the street to Spain.
Sadly, they were shutting down, with all the food and drink gone, and it clearly having been a long day. But, it was great to see how they've taken three row houses and turned them into their building. They moved here a couple of years ago.
We left Spain at 3:45, and knew that we weren't going to make it anywhere else in the next 15 minutes. So while we didn't see as much as we'd wanted, we did have a great day!
I also found it very interesting, in addition to the issue of the crowds, some of the other distinctions from last week. I attribute most of it to the relative difference of the EU countries in terms of wealth and savvy. For instance, nearly all of the EU countries had food and drink. Many had great amounts of literature, glossy, focused on different areas (commerce vs. tourism vs. education). Many had bags and other give-aways. None of this is cheap. And all of it relates to having a long history of diplomatic relations, educated and professional resources, etc.
That said, I actually enjoyed some of the embassies last week more. They seemed more intimate, more personal. Many of the embassies last week shared their culture, not just a brochure or a panel. I suppose that for some, it's all about the swag and the boasting rights of what you ate and drank. For me, it's about the feel, the sense of family and community, the culture. Either way, I definitely benefitted from and greatly enjoyed these two days, and am so fortunate to live in a place like Washington where, to some extent, this IS normal.
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