• 001 - the logo.jpg
  • 002 - Hiroshima sunset.jpg
  • 003 - Auschwitz-Birkenau ramp.jpg
  • 004 - Chernobyl contamination.jpg
  • 005 - Darvaza flaming gas crater.jpg
  • 006 - Berlin Wall madness.jpg
  • 007 - Bulgaria - monument at the bottom of Buzludzhy park hill.jpg
  • 008 - Ijen crater.jpg
  • 009 - Aralsk, Kazakhstan.jpg
  • 010 - Paris catacombs.jpg
  • 011 - Krakatoa.jpg
  • 012 - Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, Hanoi.jpg
  • 013 - Uyuni.jpg
  • 014 - DMZ Vietnam.jpg
  • 015 - Colditz Kopie.jpg
  • 016 - Glasgow Necropolis.jpg
  • 017 - Hashima ghost island.jpg
  • 018 - Kazakhstan.jpg
  • 019 - Arlington.jpg
  • 020 - Karosta prison.jpg
  • 021 - Kamikaze.jpg
  • 022 - Chacabuco ghost town.jpg
  • 023 - Eagle's Nest, Obersalzberg, Berchtesgaden.jpg
  • 024 - Kursk.jpg
  • 025 - Bran castle, Carpathia, Romania.jpg
  • 026 - Bestattungsmuseum Wien.jpg
  • 027 - Pripyat near Chernobyl.jpg
  • 028 - Sedlec ossuary, Czech Republic.jpg
  • 029 - Pyramida Lenin.jpg
  • 030 - Falklands.jpg
  • 031 - Majdanek.jpg
  • 032 - Soufriere volcano, Montserrat.jpg
  • 033 - moai on Easter Island.jpg
  • 034 - Sidoarjo.jpg
  • 035 - Hötensleben.jpg
  • 036 - Natzweiler.jpg
  • 037 - Polygon, Semipalatinsk test site, Kazakhstan.jpg
  • 038 - Srebrenica.jpg
  • 039 - Liepaja, Latvia.jpg
  • 040 - Vemork hydroelectric power plant building, Norway.jpg
  • 041 - Enola Gay.jpg
  • 042 - Pentagon 9-11 memorial.jpg
  • 043 - Robben Island prison, South Africa.jpg
  • 044 - Tollund man.jpg
  • 045 - Marienthal tunnel.jpg
  • 046 - Aso, Japan.jpg
  • 047 - Labrador battery Singapore.jpg
  • 048 - Artyom island, Absheron, Azerbaijan.jpg
  • 049 - Treblinka.jpg
  • 050 - Titan II silo.jpg
  • 051 - dosemetering doll, Chernobyl.jpg
  • 052 - Holocaust memorial, Berlin.jpg
  • 053 - Komodo dragon.jpg
  • 054 - cemeterio general, Santiago de Chile.jpg
  • 055 - Tuol Sleng, Phnom Phen, Cambodia.jpg
  • 056 - West Virginia penitentiary.jpg
  • 057 - ovens, Dachau.jpg
  • 058 - Derry, Northern Ireland.jpg
  • 059 - Bulgaria - Buzludzha - workers of all countries unite.jpg
  • 060 - Sachsenhausen.jpg
  • 061 - Tiraspol dom sovietov.jpg
  • 062 - modern-day Pompeii - Plymouth, Montserrat.jpg
  • 063 - Pico de Fogo.jpg
  • 064 - Trinity Day.jpg
  • 065 - Zwentendorf control room.jpg
  • 066 - Wolfschanze.jpg
  • 067 - Hiroshima by night.jpg
  • 068 - mass games, North Korea.jpg
  • 069 - Harrisburg.jpg
  • 070 - Nuremberg.jpg
  • 071 - Mostar.jpg
  • 072 - Tu-22, Riga aviation museum.jpg
  • 073 - Gallipoli, Lone Pine.jpg
  • 074 - Auschwitz-Birkenau - fence.jpg
  • 075 - Darvaza flaming gas crater.jpg
  • 076 - Atatürk Mausoleum, Ankara.jpg
  • 077 - Banda Aceh boats.jpg
  • 078 - AMARG.jpg
  • 079 - Chacabuco ruins.jpg
  • 080 - Bucharest.jpg
  • 081 - Bernauer Straße.jpg
  • 082 - Death Railway, Thailand.jpg
  • 083 - Mandor killing fields.jpg
  • 084 - Kozloduy.jpg
  • 085 - Jerusalem.jpg
  • 086 - Latin Bridge, Sarajevo.jpg
  • 087 - Panmunjom, DMZ, Korea.jpg
  • 088 - Ijen blue flames.jpg
  • 089 - Derry reconsilliation monument.jpg
  • 090 - Ebensee.jpg
  • 091 - Mödlareuth barbed wire.jpg
  • 092 - skull heaps in Sedlec ossuary, Czech Republic.jpg
  • 093 - Nikel.jpg
  • 094 - Fukushima-Daiichi NPP.jpg
  • 095 - Tital launch control centre.jpg
  • 096 - Dallas Dealy Plaza and Sixth Floor Museum.jpg
  • 097 - Auschwitz I.jpg
  • 098 - Stalin and Lenin, Tirana, Albania.jpg
  • 099 - Malta, Fort St Elmo.jpg
  • 100 - Peenemünde.jpg
  • 101 - Tarrafal.jpg
  • 102 - Kilmainham prison, Dublin.jpg
  • 103 - North Korea.jpg
  • 104 - Mittelbau-Dora.jpg
  • 105 - St Helena.jpg
  • 106 - Stutthof, Poland.jpg
  • 107 - Merapi destruction.jpg
  • 108 - Chueung Ek killing fields, Cambodia.jpg
  • 109 - Marienborn former GDR border.jpg
  • 110 - Mig and star, Kazakhstan.jpg
  • 111 - Nagasaki WWII tunnels.jpg
  • 112 - Hellfire Pass, Thailand.jpg
  • 113 - Kiev.jpg
  • 114 - Grutas Park, Lithuania.jpg
  • 115 - Zwentendorf reactor core.jpg
  • 116 - two occupations, Tallinn.jpg
  • 117 - Trunyan burial site.jpg
  • 118 - Ushuaia prison.jpg
  • 119 - Buchenwald.jpg
  • 120 - Marienthal with ghost.jpg
  • 121 - Murmansk harbour - with an aircraft carrier.jpg
  • 122 - Berlin Olympiastadion.JPG
  • 123 - Bastille Day, Paris.jpg
  • 124 - Spassk.jpg
  • 125 - Theresienstadt.jpg
  • 126 - B-52s.jpg
  • 127 - Bledug Kuwu.jpg
  • 128 - Friedhof der Namenlosen, Vienna.jpg
  • 129 - Auschwitz-Birkenau barracks.jpg
  • 130 - mummies, Bolivia.jpg
  • 131 - Barringer meteor crater.jpg
  • 132 - Murambi, Rwanda.jpg
  • 133 - NTS.jpg
  • 134 - Mauthausen Soviet monument.jpg
  • 135 - pullution, Kazakhstan.JPG
  • 136 - palm oil madness.jpg
  • 137 - Berlin socialist realism.jpg
  • 138 - Okawa school building ruin.jpg
  • 139 - Pawiak, Warsaw.jpg
  • 140 - flying death, military museum Dresden.JPG
  • 141 - KGB gear.JPG
  • 142 - KZ jacket.JPG
  • 143 - ex-USSR.JPG
  • 144 - Indonesia fruit bats.JPG
  • 145 - Alcatraz.JPG
  • 146 - Chernobyl Museum, Kiev, Ukraine.JPG
  • 147 - Halemaumau lava lake glow, Hawaii.JPG
  • 148 - Rosinenbomber at Tempelhof, Berlin.jpg
  • 149 - Verdun, France.JPG
  • 150 - hospital, Vukovar, Croatia.JPG
  • 151 - the original tomb of Napoleon, St Helena.JPG
  • 152 - Buchenwald, Germany.JPG
  • 153 - Bhopal.JPG
  • 154 - Groß-Rosen, Poland.jpg
  • 155 - at Monino, Russia.jpg
  • 156 - blinking Komodo.jpg
  • 157 - inside Chernobyl NPP.JPG
  • 158 - Mount St Helens, USA.JPG
  • 159 - Maly Trostenec, Minsk, Belarus.jpg
  • 160 - Vucedol skulls, Croatia.JPG
  • 161 - colourful WW1 shells.JPG
  • 162 - Zeljava airbase in Croatia.JPG
  • 163 - rusting wrecks, Chernobyl.JPG
  • 164 - San Bernadine alle Ossa, Milan, Italy.jpg
  • 165 - USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.JPG
  • 166 - Brest Fortress, Belarus.JPG
  • 167 - thousands of bats, Dom Rep.JPG
  • 168 - Hohenschönhausen, Berlin.JPG
  • 169 - Perm-36 gulag site.JPG
  • 170 - Jasenovac, Croatia.JPG
  • 171 - Beelitz Heilstätten.JPG
  • 172 - Kremlin, Moscow.jpg
  • 173 - old arms factory, Dubnica.JPG
  • 174 - Pervomaisc ICBM base, more  missiles, including an SS-18 Satan.jpg
  • 175 - Cellular Jail, Port Blair.jpg
  • 177 - control room, Chernobyl NPP.JPG
  • 178 - Podgorica, Montenegro, small arms and light weapons sculpture.jpg
  • 179 - Vught.jpg
  • 180 - Japanese cave East Timor.jpg
  • 181 - Ani.jpg
  • 182 - Indonesia wildfire.jpg
  • 183 - Chacabuco big sky.jpg
  • 184 - Bunker Valentin, Germany.JPG
  • 185 - Lest we Forget, Ypres.JPG
  • 186 - the logo again.jpg

Washington D.C.

  
  - darkometer rating:  3 -
 
The capital of the USA and as such the power centre of the world's most powerful nation. It's all here: the White House, the Capitol, the Washington Monument, etc. all immediately recognizable icons of the US.
 
For the dark tourist that may already constitute a certain darkish attraction, but there are also quite a few specific sites that one shouldn't miss in D.C. 

>What there is to see

>Location

>Access and costs

>Time required

>Combinations with other dark destinations

>Combinations with non-dark destinations

>Photos

 
What there is to see: As befits the capital city of such a powerful nation, there's not only a huge amount in general for the visitor to do in D.C., but this also includes a range of sights of particular interest for the dark tourist. The prime ones listed below are all given their own separate entries: 
 
 
 - the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (and others on the National Mall)
 
  (- the Newseum  - now sadly closed down)
  
 
You might argue that the sites of American power, such as the White House or the Capitol also have a certain dark appeal. Whether or not you agree, it is of course only natural that you have to go and see them when you're in downtown Washington in any case. The Capitol and the Washington Monument are pretty unavoidable anyway, as you can see them from almost anywhere where there is a clear view.
 
One place which may be of special interest to some dark tourists, but which isn't covered in detail on these pages (as I haven't been to it yet), is the International Spy Museum at 800 F street NW, between 8th and 9th Street, opening hours: daily 9 a.m. to between 6 and 8 p.m. – regular admission fee to the permanent collection: 19.95 USD. There are also all sorts of extra programmes for additional fees, such as: "interactive", part "re-enacted", part tutored mock recruiting "experiences"; or guided city tours of sites related to the topic of espionage. For those who are into such things there's certainly plenty on offer here.  
 
 
Location: near the north-eastern coast of the USA (near the Chesapeake Bay) on the Potomac River, wedged in between Virginia to the west and Maryland to the east, ca. 230 miles (370 km) south of New York and 140 miles (225 km) south of Philadelphia.
 
Google maps locator: [38.89,-77.01]
  
 
Access and costs: easily reached, varying costs-wise between free and fairly pricey.
 
Details: getting to Washington D.C. could hardly be easier – as the capital city of the USA access is naturally excellent by all manner of transport links, not just roads but also including good rail connections (going to/departing from Union Station – check amtrak.com for connections).
 
The city is served by as many as three airports: Dulles International Airport brings in most overseas visitors, the (Ronald Reagan) National Airport is the domestic hub, some airlines, esp. budget ones also use Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) to the north of D.C. – getting to downtown from the National Airport is quick and easy by Metrorail (yellow and blue lines). Dulles is further out and trickier to transfer from/to: there's a Metrobus (line 5A) to Rosslyn and L'Enfant Plaza, which provides the cheapest option (ca. 3 USD), but takes a long time (ca. one hour – and it doesn't provide much luggage space). Alternatively there are various shuttle services (Washington Flyer coach to West Falls Metro station; or SuperShuttle for point-to-point transfers in vans for up to seven people) – and of course taxis as the most expensive option (ca. 60 USD). There are special Metrobus shuttle buses between Greenbelt Metrorail station (northern terminus of the green line) and BWI.
 
To get around within the city, the Metrorail network offers the best connections and fares are fair (for several days it's best to get a rechargeable electronic farecard). Lines cover most areas of the city (except Georgetown) and are colour-coded for easy orientation. The yellow and blue lines will be the most useful for tourists. There are also buses, but these will rarely be necessary for the average tourist. Much of the downtown area is also perfectly walkable. Driving within the city is not recommended.
 
Accommodation options are plentiful – and need not be quite as pricey as in New York. Subsistence costs in general depend on your level of demand – you can get by quite affordably but there are also many pricier temptations in the city's varied restaurant scene.
 
What sets Washington apart from most other places in the US is the fact that so many of its huge range of excellent museums and sights are free.   
 
 
Time required: To see all the places described in detail here you'll need at least three (very) full days, longer if you'd rather do things at a more leisurely pace. If you also want to see the non-dark sights of Washington, of which there are overwhelmingly many, you can easily add another week or even longer.
 
 
Combinations with other dark destinations: From Washington you can fairly easily get to Philadelphia (ca. two hours drive away) and/or New York City (ca. four hours' drive), both cities that offer the dark tourist a lot too. Also within doable driving distance are the Greenbrier or the Hindenburg crash site at Lakehurst.
 
For dark sites requiring longer travel times see under USA in general.  
 
 
Combinations with non-dark destinations: Washington D.C. is chock-full of other attractions that can keep visitors busy for days (if not weeks). And the good news is: much of it is totally free, including many of the city's world-famous museums under the Smithsonian umbrella. Out of these, the Air & Space Museum on the National Mall is the most popular (allegedly even the most popular museum in the world!) – so expect long queues. Also noteworthy are: the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of American History, the National Gallery of Arts and the National Museum of the American Indian. In addition there are countless further smaller museums and art galleries.
 
Also part of the Smithsonian is Washington's National Zoo (hence also free – very unusual for a zoo!), which, however, cannot quite compete with some of the USA's larger zoos, such as the Bronx Zoo in New York or the world-famous San Diego Zoo.
 
And there are all those monuments that Washington is famous for: apart from the ones described in the entry for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, there are the monuments dedicated to various past presidents, most notably, apart from the Washington Monument that dominates the skyline, the huge Lincoln Memorial at the western end of the National Mall, the Jefferson Memorial to the south and the more unconventional FD Roosevelt Memorial between the Potomac and the Tidal Basin.
 
Especially thanks to the dominant strip of the National Mall, Washington is also a very open and green city. In spring, part of this turns pink – when it's the season for Washington's famous cherry blossom, second in importance only to Japan's, especially Tokyo's craze about cherry blossoms.
 
The Washington cityscape and its skyline are quite different from most other bigger cities in the US also due to the fact that there are no skyscrapers – so that the Capitol and the Washington Monument can continue to dominate the city's appearance. Some of the residential areas, in particular to the north-west of the centre, have an almost European feel to them.
 
Finally, the culinary scene of Washington is nothing short of exhilarating, especially if you, like me, are into trying various more or less exotic ethnic cuisines. On my visit in March 2010 I was able to sample as many as eight different national cuisines in just four days. And out of these, Ethiopian (for which Washington is renowned), Ghanaian and Burmese stood out the most. For fans of culinary variation, the food court of the National Museum of the American Indian is a special treat, as it offers native American snacks from all corners of the US and beyond (stretching into South America too). Not cheap but what a fantastically varied choice!
 
 
 
  • Washington DC - 01 - The White HouseWashington DC - 01 - The White House
  • Washington DC - 02 - The CapitolWashington DC - 02 - The Capitol
  • Washington DC - 03 - government helicopterWashington DC - 03 - government helicopter
  • Washington DC - 04 - Lincoln Memorial and Washington MonumentWashington DC - 04 - Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument
  • Washington DC - 05 - Watergate complex and JFK centerWashington DC - 05 - Watergate complex and JFK center
  • Washington DC - 06 - Spy MuseumWashington DC - 06 - Spy Museum
  • Washington DC - 07 - so many museumsWashington DC - 07 - so many museums
  • Washington DC - 08 - they love cherry blossoms almost as much as in JapanWashington DC - 08 - they love cherry blossoms almost as much as in Japan
  • Washington DC - 09 -you wonder what happened to the contents of this buggyWashington DC - 09 -you wonder what happened to the contents of this buggy
  • Washington DC - 10 - residential streetWashington DC - 10 - residential street
  • Washington DC - 11 - Civil War to Civil Rights heritage walkWashington DC - 11 - Civil War to Civil Rights heritage walk
  • Washington DCWashington DC
  
  
  
  
  
 

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