New York
There I was – back where my trip had started. For my last two nights in the States I booked a nice hotel in the middle of Manhattan (one block from the Empire State Building). It was well worth it to spend a little bit more per night than three months ago. From this base of operations, I set out to explore NYC once more.
Christmas Decoration
Everywhere where people buy things there was Christmas decoration. The streets and buildings were covered in it. But probably the best decoration was the tree in front of the Rockefeller Center. I have never seen such a huge Christmas tree (cut off and put into a gigantic holder).
The Two Towers
There are two towers that I want to mention specifically. At first the “30 Rockefeller Plaza” (the big sky scraper by the Rockefeller Center). When I wanted to visit its top in September the weather was so bad that they gave me a ticket for another date. Once I was on top of the building there was no twilight left, only the night sky. I had a wonderful view over a dark Manhattan. Probably the most eye catching things were the Central Park (big dark spot), the Empire State building (neatly lit) and the light of Times Square (clearly visible from above).
The other tower is the Trump Tower. The police closed two side streets and reduced the capacity of 5th street in front of the tower. An officer asked where I was going when I wanted to walk by and upon entering the building you must go through security. And there are even a few reporters camping in front of the elevators.
Central Park
My first visit to the Central Park was a little bit short. I had to see more of the famous bridges and places in the Central Park. While exploring, I played some Pokémon Go because I heard that Central Park should be a great place to play it – and it was!
Chicago (the musical)
I spent my last evening overseas in a theater watching a musical. The other two musicals I have watched in New York were basically a story told with a lot of singing and fancy costumes. Chicago on the other hand was more like a bunch of songs where people danced on the stage and in between the songs they told a story to connect them. It was a very different to the other two but not less entertaining. There was an excellent orchestra on the stage playing the music for the dancers. Unlike the orchestra in Chicago (the city), the orchestra of Chicago (the musical) pleasured my ears with wonderful music. An excellent goodbye musical for me.
Trip back
My flight was scheduled to leave in the evening. Therefore, I wasn’t in a hurry to get to the airport. After a good night’s rest I checked out and headed in the direction of Penn Station. Instead of paying 80 dollars for an Uber or search for the right bus I decided to take the train to Newark airport. I spent the waiting time writing about Washington D.C. and some reading before my plane took off with over an hour delay. After a pleasant flight, I landed in Frankfurt and rushed to my connecting flight only to find out that they didn’t wait for me =) Luckily, there was another flight an hour later. After another 40 minutes in the air I landed in Zürich – sleep deprived but happy with a Pretzel and a Rivella in the hands.
