Boston & DC

I know this post is a little bit late again, but this time I have a pretty valid reason! I wanted to wait until I finished my little tour of historic places on the east coast, so that I could report about it.

Boston Common

I started with Boston, a city I’ve always wanted to see. I do have a strange fascination with the Kennedy family and you certainly cannot escape that name in Boston or Cambridge, where I stayed. I only had a few days in the city so I packed as much content into them as possible. My feet hated me. But I did get to see almost everything on my list. I walked the Freedom Trail which leads you past a lot (16 to be exact) of historical attractions. The State houses (old and new), Paul Revere's House, the Benjamin Franklin statue and so on. I also spent a fair amount of time in the Boston Common, a public park established in 1634 and the Public garden right next to it. As I have already mentioned, I believe there is nothing better in the summertime than to sit in a park on the grass with a good book.

Boston Library

The next day I went out to Cambridge and explored Harvard Campus. As soon as I step on the premises I had the feeling of not really belonging there. It was just before the semester started and incoming freshmen were taking tours and getting orientated. They had gotten into Harvard. As I was walking around and taking it all in I was incredibly self-conscious about people finding out that I in fact was not attending this school, and let’s be real, could never get accepted in the first place. But Cambridge was nice nonetheless. It feels cozy and friendly!

Harvard Courtyard

After that I was off to Washington DC. After we made the trip for the GLC to DC (#GLCtoDC ;) I knew I wanted to go back and explore more. I was especially interested in the museums, I love a good museum especially when they are free!

United States Capitol Building

First up was the Smithsonian Air and Space museum. I had promised both of my little brothers to go, take lots of pictures and bring them back a trinket. And boy, did I take a lot of pictures. I loved the Air and Space museum! If you ever get the chance to go, do it, don’t think about it, just do it! They show everything from the Wright Brothers (Ohio natives by the way), and Amelia Earhart's plane to personal belongings from crewmembers of the Apollo missions. You get to see the Mars rover up close and personal and get a glimpse into what is out there in the universe. The museum shop sells astronaut ice cream, I wasn’t brave enough for that…

Actual Space suit from the Apollo mission

The next days I saw the American History museum, which covers just about anything. I now have pictures of the actual ruby slippers Judy Garland wore while filming “The Wizard of Oz”, a replica of Julia Child’s kitchen, selected dresses of all the first ladies, including Michelle Obama's Inaugural dress from 2009, the lunch counter of the Greensboro sit ins and piece of the Berlin Wall. As an American Studies major this museum is a must! But everyone else should go too. Right next to it is the Natural History museum. Again, I took way too many pictures of skeletons and brains and fossils. I could go on and on about how much fun I had in DC, but I’m sure listing all the things I saw is not very entertaining, so just trust me and go see for yourself!

Michelle Obama's dress

Now I’m back in New York for my last week in the US. I’m lucky enough that I can stay with my friend Michelle who I met at my internship. Her family had been so nice to me and has not just taken me in but also feeds me all the Russian food I can eat. They live in a completely different part of New York, Bayside in Queens. So even during my last week here I get to see a new facet of this city. A city which I’ve fallen in love with and hate at the same time! ;)

Next week will be my last entry. And get ready, knowing me, it might get emotional...

PS: You know how hard it is to narrow down your picture selection, when you took around 500 of them during a trip? Believe me, it's hard. This was the best I could do without repeating myself from the highlights I posted on social media...