04/12/2019 - New York & The Christmas Tree

We arrived in New York on the right day because today the big Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center will be officially and ceremoniously lit. The complete ceremony was scheduled from 8pm to 10pm. We went to the city a little earlier to see some sights in the area. We walked through the very impressive Grand Central Station. With 67 tracks ending at 44 platforms, it is the largest train station in the world. We continued along Fifth Avenue, past colorful decorated shop windows and street decorations until we reached Central Park. The green lung of New York takes up about 6% of the land area of Manhattan and is visited by around 25 million people annually. We took a walk through the park and observed the ice skaters on the Central Park ice rink. We then headed towards Time Square. Neon signs from around 40 theaters, fast food chains, souvenir shops, cafes, and restaurants make the street brighter at night than during the day. But now we made our way to Rockefeller Center. On the way there, we noticed that quite a few streets were blocked off and at every second street corner, at least two police officers were on duty. Lighting the Christmas tree here is a huge event and several thousand people want to see it. We would have had to line up several hours before the ceremony to be able to participate. By a lucky chance, we were able to catch a brief glimpse of the still unlit tree. Good thing we still have 4 weeks to admire the tree on a quieter day.