Washington, DC

I went and checked this out yesterday (December 1st) after going to the Botanic Gardens. The exhibit is a Norwegian Holiday display. This is the 11th year that this display has been at Union Station. It really is not as spectacular at all, but if you are around Union Station it is worth a peak. Combine it with a meal in the food court or one of the many sit down restaurants like I did and I will not seem like a wasted visited. Kids should enjoy it as it is pretty much just a model train display, which works well considering Union Station is a train station. I did love how they put the trolls in mostly hidden spots such as under bridges. The train display is not very big, but at least it does have two trains. My favorite thing about the train model besides the trolls was that one end really made it look like Norway because it had a fjord. What I really did not like about the train display was that it was surrounded with a clear wall fence that made it hard to see the trains and the scenery because of the way the light created bad reflections in it. Thus if you really want to see the display with a good try to get a look at from one of the upstairs restaurants. There is an information booth if you are interested in learning about Norway. Lastly the Christmas tree inside the Main Hall of Union Station is pretty cool with it being decorated with Norwegian and United States flags. Overall this is a nice place for some holiday cheer just not worth going out of your way to see it.

Christmas, D.C., train

The shops at Union Station are one of the major attractions to visiting Union Station besides it being a transit center. Union Station boasts of over 100 shops, which are listed on their site here. The types of shops here are a pretty decent variety from clothing to books to bath and body. The whole list of categories of shops they list are Accessories, Bath and Body, Books/Records, East Hall Gallery of Shops and Kiosks, Fashion - Men, Fashion - Women, Services, Shoes, and Specialty Shops. Continue reading to discover some of the specific stores that can be found here. (more…)