barely fatal

Breakfast: Blueberry Pancakes
Weather: Warm, then a few drops, later hot
Tag line: “At least I got some color, even when it’s Red”

We had no plans for our last day, except that I wanted to see Bloomingdale’s, so that was the first destination after breakfast. We agreed to split up and if we didn’t meet by accident, we would pick our own targets. I wanted to wander around the city alone for a few hours. I soon found out that Bloomingdale’s wasn’t a place for me – much too fancy for my taste – so I decided to go for another walk in the park and check out uptown.

Central Park really is a lot longer than it is wide. I walked all the way up to 102nd Street, past the Zoo, the Met and the Guggenheim and enjoyed the sun like many of the locals on that Saturday. I entered the park through the Conservatory Garden and walked on the bank of Harlem Meer. I saw the Pool/Rink, climbed up a few hills, had a look at the tiny waterfall at Glenspan Arch and left the park at 110th Street West.

I headed further north until I reached the Peace Fountain and the Cathedral of St John the Divine, which looked nice on the outside but was undergoing reconstruction work on the inside. I walked past Tom’s Restaurant; I think I should see Seinfeld more often – I gotta ask Anne, she surely has all the episodes. After passing by Columbia University and the Riverside Church I arrived at Grant’s Tomb, where I rested for a while. Nice tomb, General Grant Sir, very impressive.

I walked back through the Riverside Park. It was very busy, you can find many playgrounds for children, basketball courts and soccer and baseball fields. The Hudson promenade was also very nice to walk on, if you ignored the permanent noise from the cars on the speedway.

It was a long walk back. I entered Central Park again near the Natural History Museum and found the John Lennon Memorial in Strawberry Fields which I had missed on Tuesday. The meadows and playgrounds were packed with people now, there were bands playing in the park and the sun was shining just beautifully (my sunburn has turned into a light brownish tone by now, unusual for a ‘computer’s guy’).

Later when I met my dad at the hotel I learned that he didn’t have such a great day, he had problems with the subway and ended up in Harlem somehow. We compensated for that by having a great meal: We found a restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen which served excellent food at even more excellent prices. We decided to go back there for breakfast. The rest of the night we wandered around, but since it was a weekend, the inner city started to fill up with tourists. We made plans on how to get to the airport the next day while still trying to enjoy the last day as good as possible. Knowing what kind of stress we would have to face soon, that wasn’t an easy thing to do.

Breakfast: Waffles with syrup
Weather: Sticky at first, a shower at lunchtime, warm & sunny later
Tag line: “I don’t know about you, but I’m so going up there”

We had saved the most obvious route for one of the last days: Midtown. After breakfast, we went straight for the MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art. So early in the morning there were quite a few (high)school classes waiting in line and we decided to come back later, hoping we could skip the long wait. We found the Disney Store on 5th Avenue by accident and were simply amazed.

We had a good look at St Patrick’s Cathedral which really looks a little bit misplaced in between the skyscrapers – although it’s by far not the only neo-Gothic church in Manhattan, just the most famous. Around the corner there was a public golfing event going on in the shadow of the GE building which is part of Rockefeller Center and which hosts the NBC studios. After some walking about I decided to pay the $18 fee to get to the Top Of The Rock, the observation platform. My guide didn’t say anything about it so it must’ve been somewhat new.

They had some cool video effects in the high-speed elevator. There were like six or eight people with us up there. The view was open, no fence, no waiting, Central Park right in front of us – it was extremely amazing. The out the panoramas. The weather wasn’t so great but that didn’t hurt us much. Go there when you visit NY.

When we came down it was about lunchtime, so we went back a few blocks and tried the MoMA again, with more luck this time. We got in without waiting and split up. The exhibition is excellent, the good reputation is well-earned. I enjoyed the architecture section most.

On 42nd Street East, we risked a quick peek into Grand Central Station. It was pretty busy, naturally. We wondered where all the trains went – obviously not in the streets but all underground. Quite odd when you think about it. A short shower caught us when we left heading east and so we hurried past (and through) the Chrysler Building and had lunch. You know, when you order food and you’re not too sure what you want and you struggle with a foreign language you don’t always end up with what you actually wanted. My dad was surprised quite a few times on our trip. I had problems with the American slang in two occasions, too – but at least I always got what I wanted. Well, it took me a week to find out what blintzes are, I admit (Wikipedia rocks).

We did the tour (last of the day) in the United Nations Headquarters on East River. It was cool, I learned a lot that I probably should have known before I got there. We were allowed in the chamber of the Security Council, neat. Our guide was from France and her English was enjoyable. Walking around in that building, the big U.N. didn’t seem so big anymore. So many countries and so few delegates making so important decisions that affect all of us – a weird thought, and feeling.

Later that night we wandered around Midtown and ended up at Rockefeller Center again. We decided to stay and had a very nice – pricy – meal on the beautifully lit Outdoor Plaza. We had absolutely no idea what to the next day, I just wanted to see Bloomingdale’s. One more day, on Sunday we would have to fly back.

Breakfast: Seriously, I can’t remember. French toast? I remember now: I had the OMG Brownie Of Sweet Death. A giant piece of warm, gooey chocolate cake with M&M’s and tons of whipped cream – a sugar bomb deluxe.
Weather: Warm, partly clouded
Tag line: “…” (looking at Ground Zero)

“We are sorry, but all tickets for today are already gone.” Well, d’oh. And that at ten in the morning. No climbing around in Lady Liberty and no access to the pedestal. As it turned out it wasn’t a big loss.

The ferry first stopped at Liberty Island. For all tourists on the packed boat hunting season started: I think nothing is photographed as often as the Statue Of Liberty. And she sure is nice. The pedestal is smaller than I expected. You can see everything just fine from the promenade. Unfortunately, the day started out cloudy, so we didn’t have the best view on lower Manhattan. Later the sun broke through after all.

Next stop: Ellis Island. The museum wasn’t anything special, it teaches you the facts about the big immigration. The Island itself does not offer much, but we nonetheless enjoyed the sun and had our lunch there.

Back in Manhattan we wandered about Wall Street, had a look at Trinity Church and finally reached Ground Zero. That’s one big hole. Or, more precisely, one large construction site. They first started working on a big subway hub (which appeared nearly finished), there was nothing to be seen yet of the WTC memorial or the all-new Freedom Tower.

It was a long walk, but I had to see Brooklyn Bridge. It’s impressive, I’m sure you have seen the pedestrian walkway in the middle of the bridge in many movies – it’s as high as many of the surrounding buildings. We didn’t cross it all the way, we turned around and walked towards the City Hall.

From there it was just a few blocks to Chinatown. I have never seen as many fish and seafood stores in one street. Between Broadway and Bowery just a tad to the North you can also find Little Italy. It’s like you have entered another city, even if it’s only a rather small one. The area west of Broadway and north of Houston Street (therefore the name) is called SoHo, not to be confused with Soho in London. We spent some time browsing the shop windows and looking at the old cast iron buildings.

At night we went out to have dinner in Hell’s Kitchen, on 9th Avenue North. There was a bachelor party in the (Italian) restaurant, a particularly loud, very Italo-American party. I was very tired and could have used some rest, but it was fun and the food was excellent. For Friday we planned to see Grand Central Station.

Breakfast: Continental
Weather: Hot
Tag line: “Just double the tax and you got the tip, dangit!”

Still stuffed from the enormous breakfast we went south about ten blocks towards 42nd Street, Times Square. What a crazy place. You feel like you walk through a real-life television ad. Of course, it’s even more impressive at night, but we’ll come to that later.

The Empire State Building doesn’t look as big from the ground – when you’re standing right in front of it, looking up. As I wrote earlier we expected long waiting lines, but after the obligatory security scans we got to the elevators in less than ten minutes. We had decided to only go to 86th floor, you can go to the 102nd but a) it costs twice as much and b) my guide said it wasn’t worth it, you couldn’t see more. We also didn’t buy a City Pass, for those of you interested. It lets you visit several sights for a fixed price, but we only wanted to see a few of those and it wouldn’t have been a good deal.

There were a few people on the platform but not too many – we picked the right time and day to come. As you have probably guessed, the view was terrific. I would have liked a better view on Central Park, but it was just too far away. You could tell easily – even without ever having seen – that to the west something was missing. The collapsed WTC really has left a big gap in the cityscape. As for photo opportunities there were many, of course, although the high fence made it difficult to get the perfect shot.

Our next stop was Macy’s where my dad had to look for souvenirs for my mum and my sister. That’s one huge shopping place, I can tell ya. Wooden escalators, 9 (?) floors, and we never got to the men’s shop that day. We continued to walk past the Flatiron Building, had a nice Italian lunch and then reached East Village. Small shops and restaurants, punk-ish, alternative, tattoo parlors, that kind of neighborhood. Very nice, reminded me of Europe.

We took a break in Washington Square Park which was partly closed, the New York University graduates were preparing to have their final ceremony later that day. We crossed Christopher Street and enjoyed the relaxed and beautiful, cozy streets of before we took the subway back uptown (after figuring out, how, d’oh).

In the evening we completed the busy day on Times Square, watching the lights, staring in awe. The weather forecast said something about possible thunderstorms and rain at the end of the week, so we decided we’d go on a little boat trip the next day while it was still nice and warm.