Remember our 10 days in New York (part 1)

It all started on June 21st, shortly after my Abiball. We had 10 wonderful days ahead of us in the Big Apple, with a little side trip to Canada.

I can claim that I've flown over the big lake several times, but it's always exciting.

Our journey to this amazing country took almost a whole day, but it was more than worth it when we saw the first glimpse of the skyscrapers. (Which, by the way, we had an breathtaking view of from our apartment) 

June 22nd

As you know, you have jet lag when you fly through a few time zones, so we had the chance to enjoy this beautiful sunrise. Early in the morning, we set off for Manhattan to avoid the long line in front of the Empire State Building. (which was a very good idea, as we probably would have had to wait 2 hours when we came back down) 

Continuing our way down Broadway, we finally reached the harbor. Thanks to our New York Pass, we didn't have to wait long to get our tickets. Now we just had to get in line for bag check. 😅

A ferry takes you to the island where the Statue of Liberty stands (Liberty Island), and with the same ferry we could also continue to Ellis Island, also known as Isle of tears. During the major waves of immigration, all immigrants were checked and documented here. They had to endure long waiting times full of uncertainty whether they would be allowed to enter the country or not. 

The main hall on Ellis Island

(In my opinion, this was a very interesting trip, which should be a must for anyone visiting New York)

June 23rd 

It's my brother's birthday and we decided to take a city tour. That was probably not his idea of an 18th birthday in New York, but I think the food at the end of the day made up for everything ;) 

This day, we managed to get a good overview of the whole of Manhattan, which we probably wouldn't have been able to do by walking alone, as it stretches quite far. We took the bus through the neighborhoods of Greenwich Village, the Finacial District, the Lower and Upper Eastside, as well as the Westside. In addition, we visited Little Italy, Chinatown, Soho, Chelsea, Midtown, and of course, we also passed by Central Park. 

After this day, we knew how many kilometers we still had to cover, because you can only explore a city properly on foot to discover all the little wonders and chic shops.

We started at Times Square, as it is the hub of all the bus tours. 

Since our goal was to get an overview of the city, we didn't do hop on hop off very often, which turned out to be the right decision in the end, as we wouldn't have been able to do all the tours if we had taken more breaks. 

June 24th 

Today we wanted to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge. (Small tip: do it early, walking 2km over a bridge in the midday heat is not pleasant, and besides, the crowds are not there yet) 

The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the most famous tourist destinations in New York, and in my opinion, it deserves this reputation. On the one hand, there is this magnificent view of downtown Manhattan. From here, you can finally get a glimpse of the size of all the buildings. On the other hand, the architecture is simply amazing and a small miracle when you consider that the bridge was started in 1870 and completed in 1883. For that time, the length alone was an architectural masterpiece for a suspension bridge.

We continued walking from the bridge to the Financial District to see, among other things, Wall Street and explore the place where all the big money flows. On our way through this neighborhood, the American flag was our constant companion, as it could be found at least 3 times on every building. The symbol of Wall Street is the bull, which is said to bring you luck if you touch it on its best piece 😉. 

From here, we moved on to a place that was not blessed with luck. We walked to the memorial monument for September 11th, 2001. It was a sad clarity that we gained when we stood in front of the monument and could read all the names of the people for whom this day was the last one :/.