Yesterday morning I posted on Facebook that I was off to Europe. Sorry to those of you who feel tricked, but I was really off to “EU in the US.” The EU Embassies hold an open house on the Saturday closest to Europe Day (May 9).
I’d never been in an embassy. I suppose I should have gone to a US embassy when I was traveling internationally just to get a taste of home, but it never really crossed my mind. To me, it was a place to go when you were in trouble and not a place to go hang out. Similarly, I never considered going to another country’s embassy as a way to learn about their culture. I saw it as a place where their citizens visiting this country would go when they were in trouble.
But hoping to cure my current case of the travel bug I decided to take a trip through Europe on my Saturday. I was grateful for a travel partner on this expedition. Thanks for journeying with me Jenni Button!
Our first stop was Belgium. The line stretched for blocks so we skipped it. Too bad. I imagine they had waffles. And chocolate. And beer. Sad. But it was 10 am so maybe that’s a good thing.
The next embassy was Finland. I love Scandinavia. I could live there – but it’s so cold and so far away from Pennsylvania. However, I absolutely love the design, architecture, people, and landscape. When I went to Finland I flew into Helsinki and was amazed by how green everything was. Not what I was expecting. The Finnish Embassy in the US is also “green.” LEED Gold green. They were celebrating 20 years in this building. It looked brand new. I want to live there.
They had a variety of Finnish food and drinks we could try. Everyone was wearing Angry Birds t-shirts as the game was created in Finland.
Then we were off to the British Embassy. I’ve spent very little time in the UK, but an inordinate amount of my friends are British. It’s strange. Seriously. I have A LOT of British friends. And I can’t wait to go visit them soon!
At the “UK in the US” we took a tour of the ambassador’s residence – including his dining room that sits 34! I’m not sure if 34 people would fit in my apartment.
After the UK we were off to Italy. If you’re a frequent reader you know that I love Italy. So much so that I was willing to wait 45 minutes in a rainstorm, with the couple in front of us aggressively making out (a combo of words that should not go together), and the family behind us standing uncomfortably close. The things I do for you Italy…it must be love…and pizza…and love of proper Italian pizza. Yep, they had it here. Margherita. Amazing. We missed the gelato and espresso, but it was still enough to make me wish it was 2 years ago and I was just starting my Mediterranean adventure.
I did get to see people dancing on stilts. Something I did not see while I was in Italy.
A short walk up the street got us to Denmark. I didn’t get to see much when I visited Copenhagen so hopefully I’ll go back one day. In the meantime, the kale smoothie they made me on a bicycle powered blender at the embassy was tasty!
We headed back down the street, but every embassy we passed had HUGE lines. Worse than when I was at Disney World. The line for Luxembourg wasn’t too bad and it was a country I had never been to. I knew nothing about Luxembourg when I went in, and can’t say I know more now. But it was pretty. And their dining room is smaller than the one United Kingdom has.
At this point we only had an hour left and didn’t want to spend it standing in line so we went to see the EU Delegation Headquarters. Another beautiful, modern building. Did I find a new job? Ambassador from Sweden?
A staffer gave us Euro posters. He said “It’s better than a Justin Bieber poster!” Um, how old do you think I am? I’ve kept a selection of coins from my travels and I was able to match them up with the poster – I have more Euros than I thought.
We covered a lot of ground for only spending 6 hours in Europe! It was great event and one I recommend if you’re ever in D.C. at the right time of year. Sorry if I fooled you into thinking I was hopping on a plane. But I kind of love that I lead a life where taking off for Europe on a random Saturday morning is completely feasible!
Go. Live your life.
