So, the last few days have gone by so quickly and so much has happened that I just couldn't find the time to do anything more than traipse around New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. (Da Capital, right?) just to fall into bed entirely exhausted.
I got to know the Atlantic intimately, discovered my favourite place in New York, got kidnapped by a subway train, found out that the latest fashion in Philly are towels, and realised at the Lincoln Memorial that the Mall is longer than it looked at the map and that there is no subway line going from there to Union Station. Now the East Coast leg of our "road trip" aka the "Steven Grant Rogers and James Buchanan Barnes" -tour is done and over, now we're off to do the Great American Roadtrip-part.
On our first day together in New York, we did everything we had planned and more. We took a ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and Elli's Island, afterwards we walked a little way along the Broadway, saw the 9/11 memorial, got asked by a few businessmen to show them the pictures I had taken (because I took a few of the Freedom Tower lying on the floor of the new World Trade Center to get a good shot). Then on with the Subway toward the Highline which was incredibly cool. Walking through Manhattan on a discontinued highline train track partly on my bare feet was an experience I wouldn't wanna miss.
Then we checked out Grand Central Station and fell into our beds.
The next morning started off by seeing two friends from Finland at Crossfit Hell's Kitchen and a great WOD. Then brekkie and off we went in our different directions. My mom went to hang in Central Park, my brother went to see the Yankee Stadium and ....I should have listened to him more closely. Oh, right, he made it to Brooklyn, but not Queens and toured MSG. I myself took the train through old and partly creepy subway stations all the way out to Coney Island.
And boy, was it great to see a horizon again. Or at least one that wasn't lined with skyscrapers on each side. Also, as old and shabby as it seemed in some parts, you could still see how much it was loved, especially the board walk and the beach were so well cared for. And oh, the beach. The scent of salt water and a fresh breeze as opposed to the scent of a million people in a space too small. I initially wanted to just cool my aching feet, but all it took was one rogue wave to drench my up to my belly button. But it was cool, in 34 degree (Celsius) weather, my clothes dried soon enough. Afterwards I walked down the boardwalk, watched the Cyclone and thought how unreal it was that this stuff was there even before WWII, how (though fictional) Steve and Bucky have supposedly walked the boardwalk and ate hot dogs and rode the oldest rollercoaster in the US. I might have gotten too attached to those two fictional characters by the way. Then I took the train into the heart of Brooklyn and fell in love with the place even more. Brooklyn is so relaxed in comparison to Manhattan. But back there I went and walked up Broadway to get to Strala Yoga, where I finally got to take part in a class led by Tara Stiles, the woman getting me back into yoga after I had dismissed it as strange and uncomfortable.
Tara was great and her husband so nice, I wished I would have had more opportunities to train with them. But they are coming to Berlin in February and hopefully I can make it. Back on the street feeling relaxed, calm, and incredibly happy and blessed, I took the subway and I carefully planned to get off at 72nd street. But the train didn't stop. It didn't stop at the next stop either. Or the one after that. It took me a while to figure out I had accidentally boarded an express train that only stopped at selected stations. So, somewhere in Harlem I got off and waited for the next local train back to Central Park. After seeing the Met, Starwberry Fields (sadly no strawberries, just creepy Beatles-fans), Alice, Bethesda's Terrace, Balto, and the carnival, I left to meet up with my fellow travellers to eat dinner in SoHo. But there were no restaurants in SoHo (or at least not where we were looking), so we ended up in Little Italy. And fell into bed, tummies and hearts filled with good food and new experiences.
And boy, was it great to see a horizon again. Or at least one that wasn't lined with skyscrapers on each side. Also, as old and shabby as it seemed in some parts, you could still see how much it was loved, especially the board walk and the beach were so well cared for. And oh, the beach. The scent of salt water and a fresh breeze as opposed to the scent of a million people in a space too small. I initially wanted to just cool my aching feet, but all it took was one rogue wave to drench my up to my belly button. But it was cool, in 34 degree (Celsius) weather, my clothes dried soon enough. Afterwards I walked down the boardwalk, watched the Cyclone and thought how unreal it was that this stuff was there even before WWII, how (though fictional) Steve and Bucky have supposedly walked the boardwalk and ate hot dogs and rode the oldest rollercoaster in the US. I might have gotten too attached to those two fictional characters by the way. Then I took the train into the heart of Brooklyn and fell in love with the place even more. Brooklyn is so relaxed in comparison to Manhattan. But back there I went and walked up Broadway to get to Strala Yoga, where I finally got to take part in a class led by Tara Stiles, the woman getting me back into yoga after I had dismissed it as strange and uncomfortable.
Tara was great and her husband so nice, I wished I would have had more opportunities to train with them. But they are coming to Berlin in February and hopefully I can make it. Back on the street feeling relaxed, calm, and incredibly happy and blessed, I took the subway and I carefully planned to get off at 72nd street. But the train didn't stop. It didn't stop at the next stop either. Or the one after that. It took me a while to figure out I had accidentally boarded an express train that only stopped at selected stations. So, somewhere in Harlem I got off and waited for the next local train back to Central Park. After seeing the Met, Starwberry Fields (sadly no strawberries, just creepy Beatles-fans), Alice, Bethesda's Terrace, Balto, and the carnival, I left to meet up with my fellow travellers to eat dinner in SoHo. But there were no restaurants in SoHo (or at least not where we were looking), so we ended up in Little Italy. And fell into bed, tummies and hearts filled with good food and new experiences.
Saturday had me waking up at the asscrack of dawn. And I couldn't fall back asleep. So, what did I do? I took the train to Brooklyn and wandered around some of the neighbourhoods there. Loved Dumbo (down under Manhattan Bridge Overpass), loved the old houses, cobbled streets, famous bridges, and the smell of Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes (yes, again).
Then my cousin visited with her family, which was slightly chaotic, but one of the highlights of New York. We couldn't even remember when we had last seen her, and we had never met her family. We found out that there is an incredibly great food court in the basement of the Plaza Hotel at the corner of Central Park, but unfortunately it had far too few seating areas to house us as well as the bunch of other people. Anyhow, if you're in New York and you need something to eat, try there, most of the food looked incredibly, mouthwateringly delicious.
Then my cousin visited with her family, which was slightly chaotic, but one of the highlights of New York. We couldn't even remember when we had last seen her, and we had never met her family. We found out that there is an incredibly great food court in the basement of the Plaza Hotel at the corner of Central Park, but unfortunately it had far too few seating areas to house us as well as the bunch of other people. Anyhow, if you're in New York and you need something to eat, try there, most of the food looked incredibly, mouthwateringly delicious.
After they left, we decided to do as all tourists do and engage in some heavy shopping. Which, in my case was more like "Ugh, no. Hell, no. What are they thinking? Who pays that much for...? I should just get the stuff my friends asked me to bring back for them and leave it at that." I was in shopping paradise and found myself overwhelmed. Until I found a Barnes & Noble, which made me overexcited and cost me the better part of two hours. :D
Sunday saw us packing, spending the last morning at our beloved breakfast diner Andrew's (if you're in a pickle to find good breakfast food in Manhattan, see Andrew's. If you're really lucky, Carmen will be your server. Try the omelettes or the pancakes, they spell Diner charme, also fresh fruit, a whole selection of muffins and bagels, oatmeal...everything American sprinkled with a little bacon and maple syrup), and hurrying to the train to Philadelphia. Where everybody has apparently read the classic "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", as everybody and their mother seems to be carrying a towel. Stylishly dressed black guys with a towel in their backpockets. Or around their neck. Anywho, we took our time understanding the subway system (they don't have fare cards but coins you put into the turnstyles) and then drove out to see Liberty Park with the Liberty Bell and one of the four (?) original copies of the Declaration of Independence. I pulled a Nicolas Cage and took a copy with me (watch the Nicolas Cage movie...what was the English name again...something with a Treasure and the Knights Templar, if you don't get it ;)). We also saw a lot of old houses and city halls and council halls. However, whenever we people of Berlin feel bad about our BER-airport, remember they tried to fix a crack in the Liberty Bell by drilling it even wider. Which made the bell defunct. If only they'd have had duct-tape back then. ;P
We had to have a Philly Cheese Steak of course, which was everything I shouldn't eat, but tasted so great, I didn't care. For real, I bet the cheese on there had never seen a cow and the meat was a heart attack waiting to happen, but dude, did it taste amazing. Then back into the subway and back to the station, having somebody tell me that they had a great day until they saw my Patriots hat and somebody else tell me they ruled, and then boarding the next train to Washington D.C., where we had to close our dropped chins manually, as we entered the main hall of the station. The DC station might well be the prettiest station I've seen in my life this far. Okay, I admit, the impression might have been helped by the fact that a small choir of girls where singing classical music in there, making it sound like we were in our very own movie just entering some grand palace or something. Such goosebumps, such excitement. When we stepped out the doors, we had to pick up our jaws again when we had a great view onto the Capitol in the waning light of dusk. What kind of city was this?
The next morning, I did as I had planned and went down to the National Mall to jog the same route Steve did in Winter Soldier (I know, I'm a little geeking out here, but I wanted to go jog anyway and why not there). So there I was jogging down the mall and realising at some point that holy cow on a cracker, this thing is so much bigger than it looks on the map. I reached the WWII memorial and the reflecting pond eventually, only at that point I was already so exhausted, I was unable to run by anybody to say "on your left". Then one last stair sprint up the Lincoln memorial and there I stood in front of a larger than life Abe in the morning light. One of the most awe-inspiring things I've seen. Not the memorial itself, but this interaction between sunlight and white marble, the acoustics in there, the view along the mall across to Washington Monument and the Capitol, sunrise... I took my time taking it all in and made my way to the Potomac. Then I half jogged half walked back to the hotel. All in all a 10k trip.
I might have forgotten to mention that we were in Washington on Memorial Day. By accident. A lucky one, though. We took a bus trip around some memorials, went down the mall, had patriotic ice cream, handstand walked in front of Washington Monument, went down to the White House, watched the Memorial Day Parade with Buzz frigging Aldrin and Gary Sinise. Then there was a minor accident that held the parade, so we visited the Smithsonian (another part of the Steven Grant Rogers and James Buchanan Barnes tour, and then drove out to Arlington National Cemetary where we paid our respects to JFK and watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It is strange to see with how much respect Americans treat their military when you see the way military has been and is treated in Germany. You get such a deep sense of gratitude-vibe from most people and there is so many people with friends and family in the military. It's so different from the way we handle all things patriotism and military in Europe. Especially in Germany.
From there we went on to the Pentagon and then had some of the greatest burgers to ever burger (hadn't eaten anything since breakfast) at Johnny Rockets in the station basement. My brovver and I went on a late night photo op trip after we watched some wrestling and basketball on tv.
Then bed and a visit to the front side of the White House this morning. Now I'm sitting here on board a Southwestern Airlines flight to Las Vegas and am unable to sleep. We get our rental car at the airport, then off to our hotel and into the Vegas nightlife. And - if my nice little cold allows - Crossfit in the morning. I feel like I've been in the US for a month rather than a week. But that's probably just all those new impressions and experiences. I'd have never thought something I knew so well from the motion pictures would look, sound, smell, and feel so differently in real life.
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