2013/08/27: Big Apple

Due to a railway bridge which had been opened to let ships pass and a door which had been opened but didn’t close anymore (so that we were not allowed to go faster than 50 miles/hour), we arrived in New York two hours late – between D.C. and NYC seven quicker passenger trains passed! Having left the worst train of the whole trip, we checked in at the worst accommodation of the whole trip. From there (529 Putnam Avenue in Brooklyn, don’t go there!), we finally started exploring New York by taking a subway to Coney Island.
Coney Island is a famous amusement park in Brooklyn, …

which is home of the international Hot Dog Eating Contest (have a look at the “Wall of Fame”!)…

…and where you can find “Original Frankfurters”!

As Conny Island is located at the Atlantic Ocean, there’s also a beach (but Conny Island isn’t an island, it’s a part of Brooklyn, Brooklyn is located on Long Island).

After so many pictures of Brooklyn I should also upload a picture of Queens.

From some elevated subways in Queens you can have a view to Manhattan’s skyline.


This is not the skyline of Manhattan, this is a graveyard in Brooklyn:

We took the subway to get to Manhattan. It is easy to find the subway stations…

…and the names of the stations are nicely made…

…but in which direction should I walk to find the platform of line 7?

Not only New York’s subway is great, also the Roosevelt Island Tramway is worth a ride.

As Major Bloomberg tries to make New York “greener and greater”, a lot of new cycle lanes had been installed in the last years. There’s also a new bike sharing system, “Citibike”.

To ride a bike in New York, you should wear one of these stylish American helmets.

I cycled through Central Park,…

…along the Hudson River…

…and the East River,…

…through East Village…

…and over the Williamsburg Bridge.

I did a longer stop in the Meatpacking District, …


…where I walked along this great, new High Line Park, my new favorite place in New York (it hadn’t been opened when I was in New York five years ago).




Being in Manhattan, you have to see Times Square, which is crowded day…

…and night (and which is being pedestrianized at the moment).

The new “One World Trade Center” has almost reached his final height…

…and is already surrounded by other new skyscrapers.

Taking a (free) ride on the Staten Island Ferry, you have not only a perfect view at Manhattan’s skyscrapers,…

…but also at Jersey City (on the left) and Brooklyn (on the right).

On the bus ride via the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge back to Brooklyn and in Williamsburg it was too dark to take good pictures, but believe me that also the last evening in the Big Apple was a great one. Although the New Yorkers are not the friendliest people in the world and the prices for almost everything are exorbitant, New York is in my opinion the best city in the world. I’ll be back (at the 22nd of December).