Posts tagged New York City

Wow, what a great time the last few weeks have been! The day is Friday the 14th of May 2010. After spending a day with my brother and not having slept much at night, I head for Frankfurt airport. After way less stress with the 1000 security checks than I had expected, I enter the plane to Boston. 7 hours and 3 movies later, the moment has come: I take my first steps on American ground. That’s one small step for me, one almost insignificant nothing for mankind. Welcome to the USA!

At the airport I am welcomed by a Dunkin’ Donuts and have to realize that American coffee tastes as crappy as the one in Germany. However the donuts are unsurpassedly great! Well, enough details. If I go on like this, I won’t even be done writing tomorrow. ;) The Holiday Inn Express hotel was pretty good. The first culture shock hit me in the morning, where I was offered eggs & cheese with bacon & sausage for breakfast. Afterwards we visited the Harvard University and students showed us the historical events of Hahvahd during a very funny and higly commendable unofficial tour. Afterwards the day was topped off with a shopping-session (much to my dad’s chagrin). The following day we had a little boat excursion where we were able to see Boston’s skyline and even the MIT. Afterwards we walked through the old English district and afterwards the Champs-Élysées of Boston. This is where I got a little depressed because of the prices of $ 250 or more for only one denim short. ;)

Monday morning, 17th of May 2010, we flew to New York City in a pretty small and cute airplane. The same day we went to the Yankees Stadium in the evening, where we watched a game of New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox that went down to the wire. Last minute, the Red Sox were up, the Yankees were able to change tack with a home run to finally win the game. Pure entertainment! It was the right day to watch a game, ’cause the next day the Yankees bitterly lost a game. The Hampton Inn hotel in the heart of Manhattan was quite okay. Only the breakfast left a lot to be desired.

The next day it was the weather that left a lot to be desired. The perfect day for shopping! After only a few t-shirts, of course including the famous I ♥ New York, and a visit at Macy’s, the world’s largest store, much of the day was already gone. But the greatest event of the day was yet to come: A visit at The Lion King on Broadway in the Minskoff Theatre. First New York’s taxi drivers left us out in the rain. It was pelting down with rain and not even one taxi driver seemed to have a free seat. We were standing in the rain for about 15 minutes, before the driver of a black taxi took pity on us and chauffeured us to the theatre. Inside the theatre a big surprise was awaiting us: We already knew that we bought tickets for the first category – but we didn’t know where exactly our seats were placed. When we stopped in front of the stage to realize that the only four free seats were in the middle of the front row, we were all astonished. That was the greatest birthday present that someone could have given me! With that the stress and the rain from before was completely forgotten… :D

The following two days we did some power-sightseeing. Almost every must-have-seen of New York City was included. First of all the Madison Square Garden, the world’s most famous ice hockey and basketball stadium. Also it is the most favored stage for the great stars of the world, where giants like Elvis Presley, Elton John, John Lennon, Frank Sinatra, Eric Clapton, Bob Marley and so on have already performed. We participated in a guided tour through the stadium, including an original cheerleader (evidence photos existing! ;)), right before Pearl Jam had a sold out concert in the evening that we sorrily got to know about way too late. Then we’ve been in the Central Park, of course, (unbelievable how many squirrels they have in the USA) the New York Public Library (the location of the movie The Day After Tomorrow) and took a look at Ground Zero, where you sorrily can only find a large construction site at the moment. Also we have been on top of the Rockefeller Center, where we were able to enjoy an unbelievable view over New York City and especially the Empire State Building. We visited the Statue of Liberty, walked along the Brooklyn Bridge and have been at Tiffany’s, where they didn’t offer any eggs and bacon, to my disappointment, but wickedly expensive, though amazingly beautiful rings and other jewelry instead.

When we ordered our taxi to get to the airport on Friday, 21st of May, we had another surprise: Instead of a ordinary taxi a white stretched limousine arrived in front of the hotel and Manhattan glamorously kissed us goodbye (evidence photos existing, as well). That’s New York!

After a short flight of “only” 2 hours, we arrived in Orlando, Florida. When we walked outside, at first we hit an almost impenetrable wall of glowing heat. With a corresponding humidity 30 ° C (86 ° F) are not, what we were used to… With the rental car we then continued our journey southwestbound to the beautiful island Anna Maria Island where we thankfully received the keys to our villa with pool in the placid town named Holmes Beach. Therewith the exhausting part of our vacation was done. During the following days we visited several beaches and sun bath at the dream beach with white sand and blue clear water were on the schedule. Even though I had a steep sunburn right after the first day at the beach, it was a really great time. Thanks to newly bought snorkel utensils we even were able to spot some schools of fish and crabs underwater. We even saw a few dolphins at the beach on the first day. In between times we’ve been to St. Petersburg and Tampa and were able to visit America’s most beautiful beach of the year 2005.

All in all it was a really great vacation. And even though I took a cold in between times (you can take to the water unhesitatingly with the temperatures in Florida) and had some night or another where I was hardly able to sleep because of my sunburn, we had a great time and I was able to relax. It’s a miracle that I haven’t been to Mc Donald’s even one time in Boston and New York City. Not before I was in Florida, and only one time during the whole vacation, I indulged myself a menu at McD. And only, because I didn’t want to leave the USA without having been at McDonald’s - this just isn’t on! Sorrily I barely got to speak English during the whole vacation, as we talked German amongst ourselves. But I have to go back to the USA, anyway: Apart from the fact that discovered the most beautiful of all beaches on Anna Maria Island only the very last day, I want to visit some people, have a road trip from city to city and visit some must-have-seens like California, Texas, Las Vegas, the White House and many others. So you can be sure: This was not my last time in America! ;)

I also recorded lots of video material with my new digital camera. However, it will for sure take some time before I will have cut it all together as a movie. As soon as it is ready, I of course won’t withhold it from you.