Roadtrip USA East Coast New York (6-9 May 2024)

KG: I would like to summarize our stay in New York in ONE post.

On May 6th we set off from Washington to New York. We crossed the Hudson River over the Washington Bridge and easily found our accommodation, the West Side YMCA Hostel, located right at the southwest end of Central Park, very close to Columbus Circle. We dropped off the car in an underground garage right next door for a "mere" $125 (plus another $45 when we picked it up because it was apparently oversized).

Because we still have some time in the evening on the day of arrival, we cross the entire Central Park to the northern end and then walk to Broadway (8th Avenue), where Andreas treats himself to two chicken burgers and a Coke at McDonalds. Dead tired, we fall into our squeaky bunk beds in our luxurious accommodation (shared bathroom with international hygiene standards and economical ratio of number of showers/sinks/toilets to number of guests).

The following morning we only had to walk along Central Park to get to the Natural History Museum. The exhibitions there are fantastic. There are countless dinosaur skeletons, all types of birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals on display, and in a very clear way so that you never get bored. I was particularly interested in the animal world of the USA. With an extra ticket we went to a show in the museum's really large Zeiss Planetarium on the topic of "Life beyond Earth". Andreas took advantage of the calming atmosphere to relax. Afterwards we got something to eat from the food trucks that were all around Central Park... not recommended because you have to give the sellers your credit card, but you can't see what they type into their device beforehand.

In Central Park we were at the Turtle Pond and wanted to rest a bit until Andreas realized that an Uber ride to his concert in Newark on the other side of the Hudson would cost around $100. So we went back to the hostel and asked at the reception about cheap alternatives. This consists of first taking the subway from Columbus Circle to the "Pennsylvania Station" train station and then taking the train (New Jersey Transit) to Newark. This is much cheaper.

Unfortunately, museums in the USA usually close at 5 p.m., so I only had half an hour to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Anyway, I managed to see the 5 Vermeer paintings on display 😀. After that, I admired a few sculptures and paintings by American artists and was herded out of the museum. My dinner then consisted of a slice of pizza and a smoothie from McDonalds on Broadway.

On May 8th we wanted to explore New York more closely: first we took the subway to the southernmost point of Manhattan and walked through Battery Park, where the remains of an old fortification still stand (from the time when the inhabitants of the English colonies in America fought against the English crown to gain independence). Unfortunately, the Battery Park area is currently being remodeled. We then strolled on to Ground Zero, but then realized that we couldn't visit it because we had booked a 2.5-hour boat trip around Manhattan at 1.30 p.m. and still had a long way to go to the pier, which we covered by subway. When we arrived at Pier 83, we weren't allowed to take any drinks or food on board, so we had to quickly eat or drink our bananas, cookies and Fanta/juices to be allowed on the boat. There we sat on the wrong side because almost all of the sights could only be admired from the VIP seats. At least Ellis Island (where immigrants used to arrive to be allowed into the country) and the Statue of Liberty were clearly visible from our perspective.

After this tour, we stopped at Burger King and then went back to Ground Zero. Here we went to St. Paul's Chapel (where the supply station for the fire brigade was set up after the disaster on November 9, 2001). Unfortunately, we were not allowed to look inside the chapel. Miraculously, this oldest church in New York was completely unscathed by the disaster.

We then stand in front of the largest skyscraper in the USA, the One World Trade Center, and then go to the two pits where the former twin towers of the World Trade Center stood. All the names of those who died in the two skyscrapers, the airplanes and the firefighters are listed on the surrounding border. While Andreas wants to linger a little longer at the memorial site, I look at the white, futuristic Oculus building, which houses a subway station and numerous shops.

I am shocked to discover that we have an appointment at the Rockefeller Center at 7:45 p.m., from where we want to have a view of the whole of New York. So I quickly run to Andreas and together we sprint the 5 kilometers along 5th Avenue until we arrive at the Rockefeller Center, completely exhausted, on the dot. We take the elevator to the 67th floor in 45 seconds and from there we see the sun go down and the lights of New York come on. Lots of other people had the same thought, so there was a huge crowd there.

After we're back down, we sit for a while at the foot of the Rockefeller Center and enjoy the hustle and bustle and the warm evening. We don't have to make it to our hostel anymore and make a quick detour to McDonalds for a "dinner" 😀.

The next morning we pack our things and drag everything to the parking garage, where we have to wait half an hour until the car is brought to us and we have to pay an additional charge.

Our journey then takes us to Boston.