A few years ago Mark heard about a really cool event in DC. On the first Saturday of the month of May the International embassies in Washington DC hold open houses. The following week the countries in the EU have open houses. They are free and open to the public. We have wanted to go for at least 2 years but it just hasn't worked out. This year things worked out and we were able to attend the open houses on EU Passport day. It was a really fun event. We did have to walk around a lot in fairly warm weather and there were some long lines but we had a great time and plan on going again next year. Earlier in the week we read a few articles about the event, consulted maps to find which ones were close to each other and made a plan. The Belgium Embassy was ranked as one of the best ones to attend so we decided we would go there first. Finland is right next to Belgium so we planned on checking them out too. We noticed that Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Holland were all right next to each as well so we planned to go to Belgium and Finland and then head over to the last three.
The doors opened at 10:00 and the line for Belgium was incredibly long. We decided I would wait in line for Belgium while Mark took Jared and Lydia to Finland. They had a great time in Finland. They had fish on crackers to taste (Mark tried it Jared and Lydia did not) and some Finnish cheese, paint to draw a Finnish flag on you, a balloon artist, and a photo booth. I met some very nice people from North Carolina and enjoyed talking to them (they are big UVA fans). Lydia was getting antsy so she and I decided to take a little walk and as we did a policeman with a K-9 dog said to me, "come with me you can go to the front of the line." I was so surprised and slightly confused. I called Mark and told him to come meet us really quick so he and Jared could skip the line too. I didn't feel too bad about this as I had already waited in line for an hour and 20 minutes. It was such a lifesaver. We got into the embassy and were treated to all kinds of swag specifically lots of Belgium chocolate. After getting the Finnish flag Jared and Lydia made a goal to get flags from each embassy so when they saw the woman with the stamp for the Belgium flag they were excited. They handed out bags, chocolates, free beer, flags, and Smurf paraphernalia because the creator of Smurfs is apparently from Belgium. In the courtyard they had more alcohol (a large reason why this embassy was so popular) waffles, a soccer game going and screens with Belgian music. It was well worth the wait.
After leaving Belgium we walked back to our car so we could head over to the other embassies. We had parked at the National Cathedral which was close but still a decent walk. It was getting pretty warm but Jared and Lydia did pretty well. The embassies are located in a really nice neighborhood. There were lots of pretty houses which happily all looked different from each other and had beautiful landscaping and mature trees. It was so different from where we normally are in DC. Even though it was hot and a long walk it was a pretty place for a walk. I would love to go there another time. Maybe even take bikes.
Mark found a place to park and then we walked over to the Czech Republic. They had lots of traditional food for sale but we skipped it this time and enjoyed the live traditional music. Jared, Mark and Lydia got their flags on their arms and then spent a few minutes in the bounce house. Next to the bounce house were the reigning Czech/Slovak queen from Kansas and the 2nd runner up to the Ms. Czech/Slovak US. It was fun to talk to them. The 2nd runner up is actually a middle and high school history teacher so she and Mark enjoyed sharing stories.
After the Czech Republic we headed over to Hungary which was thankfully just around the corner. They had lots of music and food and some fun kids activities. Jared colored a Hungarian flag while Lydia watched a Hungarian cartoon. I had read that they had dogs there so we went in search of them and found the funniest looking dog. We are not dog people, but Jared was mesmerized by this one dog. Its called a Komondor. He loved it so much.
I love his face in these pictures, so much.
Our last stop of the day was Holland. It was not as close as we thought and we were all so hot and tired by the time we got there. It also had a long line but it was definitely worth the wait. It wasn't quite as long as Belgium but still long and at the end of a tiring day. They had fun bags and in the bag were water bottles for which we were all so grateful. Once inside we tried some cheese from Holland, it was delicious and some of their poffertjes or miniature pancakes. Their actual embassy was probably the nicest one we visited. They had a fun painting activity and a "on location" photo op.
It turned out to be a really fun outing. I was talking to a friend about it and she commented on how I was a really good mom and that I alway found the coolest things to do. (It was the day before Mothers day after all) I replied "yes, I am really good at making my kids walk all over the place and stand in long lines." But it really was worth it. We are looking forward to going again next year. The family I chatted with while waiting to get into Belgium had gone last year and gave some tips of places to avoid and places to stop by. Next year it looks like we will be stopping by Germany for sure. Besides going in buildings you normally can't, learning little facts about places all over the world, and fun samples it was fun to be around other people who are interested in the world out there and being wiling to travel and go new places. It was fun to try out things and visit with people. And since we were driving back from DC we of course stopped at Moo Thru, always a good way to end a day in DC on a high note. We do love living out here.
DC driving, but it shows most their "flags" (on his arm)
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