Update: thanks Mark for the soundtrack

I’ve been slacking off on the blog front, I know.
The truth is that the last few months my life has been pretty much dominated by the fact that I was going to speak at a few conferences, which is still a pretty big deal for me. That and some deadlines have kept my mind otherwise occupied.

But I’m on holiday (yay), so it’s time to pick up the thread !
Last week I came to Baltimore for Railsconf. Baltimore, Maryland is a sizable city about 100km away from Washington. It used to be one of the most important ports of the US, and a large naval base. It has the largest colored population of all US cities.

I was staying downtown, where the conference was also taking place, in a district of mostly uninspired high rises. My first impression was not very favorable – downtown Baltimore seeming fairly lacking in personality.

I visited a fairly crazy museum: American Visionary Art, which displays art by people who 1. have had no training 2. have a screw loose in one of many ways. In a strange way, when they have religious vision, or in a good way, when they’re freedom activists, or in a conventional ways, when they make giant pink poodles or steam liners made out of tooth picks. There was an excellent little collection of automata and I had a great time pushing the buttons to see them in motion.

My first perception of Baltimore changed when locals took us out of that center and to midtown, where you have elegant old brick houses, and an active night life.
The same goes to Fell’s point, which is a picturesque (to the point of theme park-ness) little square with bars and shops. The houses here were small brick houses, with the feel of an old worker’s neighborhood. Those places (and the very decent foods and beers) changed my perception somewhat.

Still, the city gives an impression of fragility. 2 streets away from Fell’s point, you arrive in a wasteland of abandoned warehouses. People told me expressly not to wander off, to make sure I knew where I was going.
Even in the more affluent neighborhoods, many people, predominantly black, idle about, eyes vacant. An impression of apathy. One of my fellow conference goers told me that he saw many crack addicts (since I don’t know the signs, I can only believe him).

So yes, mixed impressions from Baltimore. The weather was hot and muggy for a few days, then a storm cleared up the air and it was fresher for a few days.

After Railsconf I took the train to Washington. Washington, the seat of power – the center (‘The Mall’) all done in neoclassicist style, clearly wanted to style itself the new Rome. As tasteful and understated as those things usually are, propaganda made out of steel and concrete.

Still, you have to admire the fact that they made a number of monumental museums right there between the Capitol and the White House, free for all. Not only is that great by itself, but it’s also an expression of the will to share the plenty with everyone.

The weather stayed very hot my whole stay – constant sweating and diving into coffee shops along the way for a breath of cooled air and frappuccino’s, smoothies of ice coffees to lower the body temperature.

I walked around the Mall the first day – it’s monumental, and it honestly takes an hour to walk it end to end. At night I joined up with the only other Belgians I met at Railsconf for a meal.

The next day I saw some of the Natural History Museum, fossils, dinosaurs and meteors !
I joined with the other Belgians to see the Flight and Space Museum, which is a little child’s dream, full of restored planes and rockets from all stages of human flight. We even did a round on the flight simulator, which was fun, though it made me understand why fighter jet pilots need to be realy fit – 3 minutes being shaken and turned upside down takes some energy out of you, and that’s without the stress of a real mission.

After that I walked off to Dupont Circle, which is another neighborhood, completely different from the stately downtown. Its a leafy residential neighborhood, with a distinct aura of hipness.

Then I joined a friend at a barbeque of one of his friends in GeorgeTown. Georgetown is also very much on the hip end of the spectrum, lots of shops and activity on saturday night, everything in fake old brick houses.

The crowd at the barbecue was quite cosmopolitan – you realize that Washington really is a pole of attraction. There were people working with NASA, World Bank, WHO, NATO, but all very clearly in their off time and having fun. Nice crowd.

Next day I walked all over Washington, visiting Chinatown, seeing the National Portrait Gallery (nice, funny how art can sometimes cheer you up), walked again to Dupont Circle where I had coffee with my friend.

Washington’s metro and I didn’t gel at all. Washington has the subway of the future – grey, clean, uniform. And very low light, it’s a bit as if you’re walking in a boring black and white nightmare. London and New York’s subways are more my cup of tea, hubristic, chaotic, slightly dirty concrete and tile.

After that I continued my sweaty walk up Embassy Row, where most embassies are located. This was yet another category of neighborhood, mansions with leafy gardens emulating many different styles, dog walkers, joggers.

I ended the day by going to Ben’s Chilli Bowl, in a more popular neighborhood – an old-fashioned fast food with a loud and cheerful crowd, and good chili.

I noticed back at home that not only had I a nice collection of blisters, but the top skin of my feet was burned raw red. Oh well.

Today, I’m on my way to New York for a few days. As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in a comfy, air conditioned Amtrak train. I’m looking forward to seeing New York again – it’s been a long while.