Inauguration

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It takes more than one day to put together all the impressions from the Inauguration Day. My impressions of the magnitude of the very important date combined with the first impressions of this big city and huge crowds of people.

The weather was extremely cold for standing around and the particular setting did not help. Blockades were everywhere, security checks and not every place was opened for people to get warm. We were at the street, trying to get the good spot to see the parade, but then decided to get to the National Archives for two reasons. One of them was to get warm, but the other was to try to see the inauguration moment live on TV. Those "jumbotrons" that were announced were nowhere to be found, and our decision was eventually right. We grabbed last three seats in the theater of the National Archives, saw the very moment of the inauguration, went back out and witnessed the parade beginning and president's car passing by slowly.

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The only problem in our strategy was not really in our control - who would've known that the new president would get out of the car and walk around? That actually happened just several hundred yards from our location and we feel sorry we did not witness that. Nevertheless, it was an out of space experience for us. We were part of the history.

If it weren't for the hand warmers, most of us would not be able to walk or stand there for hours. The parade was magnificent, but it was too late for us to enjoy it. Regardless of several layers of clothes and good shoes and socks, hats and gloves, the cold weather has had its impact on us. It took us more than two hours to regain back to some level of humanity.