Monday, May 5, 2008

Embassies of Washington

This first embassy is a shout out to Lara, an Austrian expat living in Romania, and the bloggers of Vienna Daily Photo. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, I lived in Austria for nearly 20 months. I fell head-over-heels in love with it and if I could find a job there, I'd move back. It's one of the most beautiful and oft-overlooked countries in Europe!


Embassy Location: 3524 International Place NW
Heinz Fischer, President
Alfred Gusenbauer, Chancellor
Eva Nowotny, Ambassador
Geographical Location: Europe
Capital: Vienna
Population: 8.31 million
Primary Industries: Agriculture, wine, chemicals, iron and steel, oil, law and banking, and tourism

Residence of the Ambassador of the Republic of Austria

The Austrian Embassy is located off of Connecticut Avenue on International Court. The ambassador's residence is at 2419 Wyoming Avenue NW, which is actually closer to Massachusetts Avenue and Embassy Row. This quiet Kalorama neighborhood is home to several smaller embassies and many diplomatic residences.

This past Saturday was the opening of the annual Passport DC event, where embassies open their doors to the public and let visitors see inside. I'd forgotten about it until a friend called and asked if I wanted to go. The weekend's hosts were the EU nations. Unfortunately, we arrived at the Embassy of Austria, (which is not conveniently located on Embassy Row!) just as they were closing. Despite my harried pleadings in my rusty German, they wouldn't relent and let us in. (Actually, that's not entirely true. The older diplomat at the door was going to let us in when I mentioned I'd lived in Vienna, but his younger colleague was having none of it. I think the younger guy thought I meant I'd lived in Vienna, Virginia. Oh well.) Servus in Österreich!



Embassy Location: 3521 International Court NW
Hosni Mubarak, President
Ahmed Nazif, Prime Minister
Nabil Fahmy, Ambassador
Geographical Location: Middle East
Capital: Cairo
Population: 80.3 million
Primary Industries: Agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism



Embassy Location: 3523 International Court NW
Ivan Gašparovič, President
Robert Fico, Prime Minister
Rastislav Kacer, Ambassador
Geographical Location: Europe
Capital: Bratislava
Population: 5.44 million
Primary Industries: Tourism, automotive, chemical, defense, electronics, garments, and glass and crystal


Embassy Location: 3522 International Court NW
Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister
Saqr Ghobash, Ambassador
Geographical Location: Middle East
Capital: Abu Dhabi
Population: 4.49 million
Primary Industries: Petroleum, natural gas, tourism

* This has to be one of the most beautiful embassies in Washington. If you get a chance, go to International Court near the campus of the University of the District of Columbia and have a look. (Metro stop: Van Ness/UDC)

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 4/08

3 comments:

Maya said...

I love Austria too! I've only spent short stints there (usually traveling through), but it is SO beautiful! My parents just got back from Europe including a stay there. Lucky!

Lara said...

oh, thanks for this great idea! and gathering together all these buildings in a post is great too!

Janet Kincaid said...

Maya: Lucky parents is right! I lived in cities and towns in four of Austria's provinces and I can't decide what I loved more--the soaring and awe-inspiring villages in the Alps (Villach), the hustle and bustle of the capital city, the small, industrial river towns (Linz), or the quiet military town (Wiener Neustadt.) I have such fond memories of all four, I could live in just about any of them.


Lara: You're welcome! I'm sorry I didn't have pictures of the inside of the Embassy of Austria. I've noted that they're having a cultural program later this week and I may try for that. I need to get on their mailing list for events.