We have always loved visiting cathedrals at many cities around the world: Paris, Dublin, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, the Vatican, Florence, Venice. For some reasons, we have seen the National Cathedral in Washington, DC multiple times for the last 25 years or so but have never visited it. This time, we decided to stop by and visit our National Cathedral.
It was a perfect day, sunny and warm after a downpour in the morning (when we went to visit the National Museum of African American History). It was on a Sunday and there were very few visitors at the National Cathedral (it was also off season for tourists). We parked right next to the Bishop’s garden with very few cars at this time of the year. There was a self-guided tour pamphlet. The Bishop’s garden was planned by the landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. along with the wife of the first dean of the National Cathedral. There were herb gardens, rose garden, manicured lawns, perennial borders and with benches along the walk for visitors to sit and enjoy the beautiful landscape. There was one tree that was 100 years old! It was gorgeous and I really enjoyed walking in that garden with the sun shining and beautiful blue skies. However, we had to go inside to see the cathedral.
There was no tour guide on Sunday. The greeters at the entrance were extremely gracious and provided us with plenty of self-guided pamphlets for the cathedral stained glass windows, for the cathedral exterior and the fanciful carvings of gargoyles and grotesques. That was something that any visitor can expect of any guide or greeter at most American national museums: they are absolutely pleasant and helpful. I have visited other museums in other countries. People were nice most of the time but only in the US, the guides just made you feel so welcome! They may be volunteer or paid employees but it doesn’t matter: they love sharing their knowledge and showing you their areas of interest, just like welcome you to their homes! That really started my visit out on a great note.
I have visited cathedrals and marveled at all the beautiful stained glass windows. I have to admit the stained glass windows in the National Cathedral rank right up there with all the famous stained glass windows in the other countries. There are more than 200 stained glass windows in the National Cathedral. There are very specific guidelines to follow to have a stained glass window included in the National Cathedral: for example, it has to illuminate the cathedral in daylight; it has to be sincere, vital, strong, and legible; and it has to consider the viewers’ distance from the window. The pamphlet only listed the 10 biggest ones. My favorites are : “Creation” or “West Rose” on the West facade of the cathedral (26-in in diameter with more than 10,500 pieces of glass); “Scientists and Technicians” or the “Space Window” with a piece of moon rock set into the center of the top and showed a view of deep space filled with planets and the trajectory of a manned spaceship; the “Last Judgment” or “North Rose” which was the oldest and largest of the cathedral’s rose windows.
The day we visited there was a choir practice for an event to commemorate the History of African-Americans. The event was in the evening and we couldn’t stay. I sat in the pews and listened to these amazing voices and choirs singing “Amazing Grace” and other hymns.
We took the elevators to the observation floor and walked all around to have an incredible view of Washingon DC from all sides. We walked around the cathedral looking at the gargoyles, admiring the beautiful gardens and the houses. With the sunlight catching on the rooftops, some walkways looked like a countryside walk in Provence, France.
It was a great visit that we enjoyed tremendously. I have since had the occasion to recommend this amazing national monument to many friends who plan to take their kids to Washington DC during school breaks.
