Week 1: Arrival in New York City, Amish Country, and Washington DC

We have been traveling in the United States for a week now. Today, we arrived at my friend Kate's house in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The laundry is tumbling in the dryer, Maurice is playing, and I finally have some peace and quiet to write an entry.

Arrival

Our journey began on May 5th when we took the train to Frankfurt am Main. Each of us had a backpack, two large suitcases, Maurice's travel crib, and the stroller. In the ICE train, we had a compartment for families with small children all to ourselves, and Maurice could even crawl on the floor - great thing!

We did the check-in and the required COVID-19 test the night before, and the nice lady at the counter booked us seats with extra legroom in front of the wall and an empty seat between us. That made the 8.5-hour flight much more bearable. Maurice cried a lot during takeoff because of the pressure equalization. Once we reached cruising altitude, he fell asleep and slept for two hours. During landing, he struggled with the pressure on his ears again, even though we offered him a pacifier to suck on and a bottle to drink from. Apart from that, the flight was super easy.

Our accommodation was in Jersey City, on the other side of the Hudson River. The public transportation connection is fine, but it's still a challenge with a stroller.

New York: Museum Tours with Friends

The first day in New York greeted us with unfriendly weather: heavy rain and gusts of wind. At one point, the rain cover for the stroller was blown away, but I managed to save it.

Originally, we wanted to explore the city streets with my friends Jamie and Jeremy, but the bad weather led us to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) instead, where we spent a few hours (definitely worth it).

On day two, it wasn't raining anymore, and we visited Ground Zero, which is what remains of the World Trade Center towers after they collapsed on September 11, 2001. We spent some time in the accompanying museum - quite heavy stuff! I stayed awake for a long time that night, thinking about what I had seen. We all know the images and reports from TV, but hearing the personal stories of those affected in the museum, listening to original recordings, and seeing everything in context is a whole different level!

After the museum, we wanted to take a stroll on the High Line, which is a disused elevated railway line where many plants now grow, and you can walk, rest, and enjoy delicious snacks. Unfortunately, the elevators were out of service, but a nice lady helped us carry the stroller up the stairs. Overall, the people in New York and New Jersey were very helpful, which pleasantly surprised us.

After the Big City: Onto the Farm

After the hustle and bustle of the big city, we felt like having some peace and quiet in the countryside and booked accommodation on an Amish farm. The Amish are a group of people who have chosen to forgo electricity, cars, and other amenities of modern life. They usually engage in agriculture and are very religious. Accordingly, there was a Bible on the coffee table in our room. I really enjoyed the peace and the proximity to horses and other farm animals.

On the first day after arriving, we stayed in bed for a long time, had a leisurely breakfast, and visited the local zoo. We also visited the small coastal town of North East, where I felt a bit like in Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls. For those who don't get it - the place has beautifully designed houses and front gardens, almost kitschy.

The next day, we went to Washington DC, first to the Air and Space Museum, where we admired airplanes and space shuttles. Afterwards, we visited an exhibition by artist Laurie Anderson in the city center, bought two huge ice creams, and walked the 3 km between the Capitol and the Washington Memorial. The weather was mild, the people were relaxed - pure vacation feeling!

Yesterday, on our last day in Amish Country, we took it easy again. We visited a winery, followed by a short hike to a lighthouse.

You can follow all the stops in the photos, and if everything goes smoothly, there will be another entry here in a week :)