Sooo, it-s time for the next part. Sitting in the train to Toronto I have all the time, all the WLAN and all the space to make this post happen.
Sep 30
Rain
The heading says it all. It was raining at my third day in New York. Nevertheless, I got ready to explore the city. Soon I had to realize that my jacket wasn’t as waterproof as I remembered it to be. Luckily my search for an umbrella wasn’t long lasting, literally on every corner someone was selling umbrellas.
One of the notable buildings I encountered this day was the Grand Central Station. The only reason to build the station the way it was built must have been: Because we can! It’s a complete waste of ceiling height (38m high) and you can’t even hold any big events (like the events in the main hall at Zürich HB) in there because of all the sculptures and takeaways. In my opinion the Grand Central Station on its own is a very American building but to top it off there is an Apple store inside the main hall. On my way up a few stairs I was confused seeing the Apple logo but when I arrived at the top I was standing in an Apple store. The high ceiling made the store kind of open air, a very interesting concept.
On my way to a monocle
Concluding the lazy, rainy day I had bought tickets for the next cultural event. I went to watch some stand-up comedy at UCBT Chelsea. Five guys and a girl tried their best to make us laugh and they were quite successful. Having had a good laugh, I wandered around the neighborhood until I felt the urge to go home and gather strength for the next day.
Oct 1
Off to the top, or so I thought
No more rain but the clouds remained. Having seen all the tall buildings only from the ground I thought it was time to see them from above. Therefore, I booked a combined ticket with a tour and a lift to the Top of the Rock. The tour gave an interesting insight over the whole Rockefeller Center (it’s more than one building, 22 to be exact). And because there was a woman that spent way more than her husband intended to on art, the whole center is decorated with pieces of art.
Unfortunately, it was recommended to postpone the second part of my ticket. The visibility at the observation deck was zero. It wasn’t recommended, but I could have gone up, but because I’m in the comfortable situation of coming back in December I decided to postpone this jewel for my return when all the Christmas lights will be lit. Instead I had a walk through Christie’s, the auction house where all the expensive stuff is sold. The pieces who will be auctioned off are beforehand displayed for everyone to see.
I’m blue da ba dee da ba die…
I was on a cultural streak and I didn’t want to end it. That’s the reason I went to the Theater Development Fund ticket booth at Times Square (right under the red steps) and looked for the next thing to do. It didn’t take long to decide: I’ll go and watch the Blue Man Group.
Not wanting to ruin the experience for anyone who might want to watch them in New York I won’t talk much about what they did. But apart from the well-known colors, drums and pipes they had a lot more to offer. The show was worth every Cent and I would recommend it to everyone visiting New York and looking for something fun, surprising and exciting to do!
Oct 2
Chinatown
There weren’t many (reasonable prized) famous attractions left in Manhattan for me to do. First thing I went to Chinatown. Who could have known, there really were a lot of Chinese people wandering around (might’ve been even other Asians! =). Not really enjoying the food they have to offer I’ve seen my share of Chinatown rather quickly.
Next I took the subway north. I left the subway before the Bronx officially started, but I think I got my share of it nevertheless. It took only 2 minutes to receive a warning from a friendly, elderly gentleman to better turn around and walk the other way. The reason for his warning was quite obvious, a few men down the street kept yelling and pushing each other around. I didn’t stay much longer in that neighborhood.
Matilda
Back in the not so safe but safer area where I live I got ready for the forth night. I decided to try out another musical: Matilda. Compared with Wicked the performers at this musical weren’t quite as professional and there were a few minor flaws in their performance. But considering the age of the main actor is 9 (not the age in the story, but the actors age) she did an awesome job. In fact, all the 9 children acting on stage did an awesome job. It was a very emotional story; you could hear the sobbing through the hall. My neighbor even seemed to be crying at some point. A very well told story, worth every Cent.
Before returning to my apartment I went a last time to the Times Square and sat on the stairs just observing what was going on around me. After that I sadly had to go and pack my things for the train trip today.
Be sure to return for more awesome stories =)
