New York 12.07

In njuuu joook..... 

Hommikusöögil üllatasid ühekordsed nõud. V.a. noad-kahvlid, muu oli ühekordne. Meie siin rohetame ja hoiame iga hinna eest loodust ja mida kõike. Ja see jätkus terve reisi jooksul. Igatahes, toiduks selline tavapärane valik. Palju valget saia aga isegi mõned puuviljad. Ma ei saa siiani aru Belgia vahvli vaimustusest.

New York oli meie osariik nr 1, olles üks 13st algupärasest Uus-Inglismaa kolooniast, millest külastasime kokku 9 (Florida nende hulka ei kuulu). 

New Yorki linnas elab peaaegu 7 eestitäit inimest ehk ca 8.8 miljonit. See on USA suurima rahvaarvuga linn aga mitte pealinn (viimati 18. sajandil). Kokkuvõttes külastasime 4 mingil ajaperioodil USA pealinnaks olnud linna, k.a. . Ehk nüüd ma olen sõitnud USA suurimas ja suuruselt teises (Los Angeles) linnas, lihtsalt mainin😁 

Kuna meie aeg New Yorkis oli piiratud, siis proovisin päevaplaani pikkida meie jaoks huvitavaima ja nii palju, kui kiirustamata vaadata jõuab. Vabadussammas ja Ellise saar jäid teadlikult järgmisesse päeva, muidu ei oleks midagi muud jõudnud. 

Esimeseks peatuseks Rockefeller Center. Kuna meie külastus algas alles 9.45 ja meie majutus asus sellest mugava 1km jalutuskäigu kaugusel, jõudsime enne paarist poest (ainuke kord, kui 16 päeva jooksul eesti keelt kuulsime) ja Times Square'ilt läbi põigata. Hommikul igatahes mingit melu ei täheldanud. Saime teada, et Times Square on relvavaba tsoon. 

 

Rockefeller kompleks koosneb 17st ärihoonest. 260m kõrge Top of the Rock pakub võimalust linna kõrgemalt vaadelda. Valikus olid veel Empire State Building ja Edge (tehniliselt veel Summit One Vanderbilt ja One World Observatory). Viimased kaks välistasin juba varem, SOV tundub rohkem keskenduvat Instagrami suunamudijatele ja kuna see mul siiani õnnestunud ei ole, siis ei jah. OWO vaade linnale ei pakkunud päris oodatut. Top of the Rock'ist on näha nii Empire State kui Central Park, pilet natuke soodsam kui Empires (40 dollarit vs, 55 dollarit) ja 360° vaateplatvorm, siis kujunes valik selle kasuks. 

Top of the Rocki turvakontrolli läbides selgus, et meil on kotis nuga. Nagu mis mõttes, nuga!? Ei ole ju? Aga ei, minu vanemad leidsid suveniiripoest minunimelise noa ja sünnipäevani oli veel paar päeva aega. Valik kas loobuda noast või muul ajal tagasi tulla.  

Liftisõit 67-korrusele möödus laes olevat minifilmi vaadates kiiresti. Kokku on võimalik linna vaateid nautida 67., 69. ja 70. korrustelt. Kahju ainult, et nii pilvine oli. Tegime igal korrusel fotosessiooni ja vaatasime kaugustesse. Alates välisuksest kuni väljumiseni läks umbes tund. 

Edasi jalutasime Grand Central Terminali (1.1km). Selleks ajaks oli juba soe. Ameerika soe, mitte Eesti soe. 

Maailma suurim rongijaam, Grand Central avati rohkem kui 100 aastat tagasi, 1913. 

Rohelises laes paiknevad 12 kuldlehtedest sodiaagimärki ning saali keskel asub rongijaama ilmselt suurim vaatamisväärsus, opaalist ca 20 miljonit dollarit maksev kell. Rongijaamas on filmitud alatest 1912. aastast peaaegu 50 filmi.

Siis ca 500m kõndimist Grace hooneni, kust hüppasime hop-on-off turismibussile, mis pakkus võimaluse rahulikumalt vaateid sisse ahmida. 

Möödusime Sohost ja Hiinalinnast. Selline tunne, et käega ulatus liiklusmärke puudutada. 

Peatuse tegime Brooklyni silla, mis oli avamise hetkel 1883. aastal maailma pikim, juures, kust Uber viis meid Brooklyni linnaossa, Dumbo piirkonda. 

Dumbo ehk Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass (Manhattani silla viadukti all). Dumbo peatuse tegime sellepärast, et turistid, noh. Meh lõuna, pildisessioon Manhattani silla taustal, maailma kallim (aga kindlasti mitte parim) jäätis ja elu üle mõtlemine Pebble rannas. Ilm oli sombune aga inimesi leidus piisavalt. Seejärel Uberiga äripiirkonda, Wall Streetile. 

Wall St, mis on äripiikonna sünonüüm, on rahanduspiirkonnas asuv, 8 ploki pikkune tänav. 17. sajandil asus seal linnamüür. 

Wall Streetil ootas meid 3-tonnine turismimagnet, Charging Bull. Ma ei oleks arvanud, et nii paljud inimesed tahavad sellega pildile jääda. Eraldi järjekorrad esi- ja taguotsa pildistamiseks. Nagu ikka, nina, sarved ja munandid. Tagupoolest loobusime aga noo, kui juba turistid, siis täiega. Seisime järjekorras. Kurjustasin ette trügijatega. Aga kohustuslikud pildid saime tehtud. 

Väike bussisõit viis meid päeva viimase peatuskoha, 9/11 mälestuspaigani. Mina olin 11.septembril 2001 aastal Türi Gümnaasiumi staadionil. Mäletan, kuidas trennikaaslane tuli joostes ja rääkis uskumatu uudise. Kaksiktornide asemel on basseinid, mida ääristavad hukkunute nimed.  

Edasi istusime uuesti bussi (saime iga kord ülemisel korrusel istuda) ning kulgesime mööda Hudsoni jõe kallast kuni peaaegu esimese peatuseni. Peaaegu, sest bussi tööaeg sai läbi😂 

Asusime Times Square läheduses, seega lühike jalutuskäik viis meid vaatama ühte esinemist. Heh. Täielik rahanurumine. Vaatemängu kutsuti naine ja mitu meest. Pealtvaatajatelt küsiti raha. Osalejatelt küsiti raha ja kui nad ei maksnud, saadeti vaatemängult minema. Ehk siis keegi hüppas üle kellegi. Väga mannetu sooritus kogu selle kära kohta. 

Õhtusöögi sõime AperiBar'is. Panin eelnevalt laua kinni. Meie laud asus baari tagaosas. Kõigepealt toodi lauda maitsev sai(?) ja vürtsikas õli. Mina sõin hernepastat (jumm) koos alkovaba kokteiliga, emal mereanni pasta ja isa sõi kana. Õnneks magustoitu ei jõudnud süüa. Arve 95 dollarit (ei tippinud). 

Siis jalutuskäik tagasi majutusse ja esimene New Yorki päev oli õhtusse jõudnud.      

In Njuu jooook .....

We were surprised by the disposable dishes at breakfast. Everything except for knives and forks was made of paper/carton or plastic. In Estonia, we are borderline forced to be green and make sustainable choices. Anyway, regular selection of food for breakfast. White bread or pastry, but also two types of fruit. I still don't understand the obsession over the Belgian waffles. 

New York was our state no 1, being one of the 13 original New England colonies, 9 of which we visited (Florida is not one of them).  

The population of New York City is about 8.8 million which is almost 7 times Estonian's population. It is the most populous city in the US, but not the capital (it was in the 18th century). All in all, we visited 4 cities that were once the capital of the USA. By now I've driven in the largest and second largest city in the USA (Los Angeles), just saying😁 

Since our time in New York was limited, I tried to include the most important must-see sites in our quality itinerary without having to rush. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island were knowingly left for the following day, otherwise, we wouldn't have had time for anything else. 

The first stop was Rockefeller Center. Since our slot was at 9:45 and our hotel was a convenient 1km walk away from it, we browsed a couple of shops (the only time we heard Estonian in 16 days) and Times Square. In the morning, however, it was rather quiet. We learned that Times Square is a gun-free zone.

The Rockefeller Complex consists of 17 commercial buildings. The 260m highTop of the Rock offers a nice panoramic view of the city. The Empire State Building and Edge (technically also Summit One Vanderbilt and One Word Observatory) were other options. I already ruled out the last two, SOV seems to be more focused on Instagram influencers and since I haven't been successful with it so far, I had to rule that out. OWO's view of the city was not what we were looking for. From Top of the Rock, you can see both the Empire State and Central Park, the ticket is a little cheaper than Empires ($40 vs. $55) and the 360° viewing platform is lovely, so I opted for that.

When we went through security at Top of the Rock, it turned out that we had a knife in our bag. Like what do you mean, a knife!? Someone was joking, right? But no, my parents found a knife with my name on it in the souvenir shop and my birthday was in a few days. The choice was either to give up the knife or come back at another time. 

The lift ride to the 67th floor passed swiftly while watching the mini-film on the ceiling. In total, it is possible to enjoy the views of the city from the 67th, 69th and 70th floors. It's a pity that it was nearly overcast for the most part. We had a photo session on each floor and marvelled at the city. It took about an hour from the front door to the exit. 

We then walked to Grand Central Terminal (1.1km). By then it was already warm. American warm, not Estonian warm. 

The world's largest train station, Grand Central opened more than 100 years ago, in 1913.  There are 12 gilded zodiac signs on the green ceiling, and in the middle of the hall is probably the biggest attraction of the train station, an opal clock costing about 20 million dollars. Since 1912, almost 50 films have been shot at the train station. 

Then we walked about 500m to the Grace building, from where we jumped on the hop-on-off tourist bus, which offered the opportunity to rest our feet (for them, not for me).  

 

We passed Soho and Chinatown. It was as if we could touch the road signs. 

We stopped near the Brooklyn Bridge, which was the longest in the world when it opened in 1883, from where Uber took us to the Dumbo area of ​​Brooklyn. 

Dumbo, or Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. We stopped at Dumbo because it was a touristy thing to do. Below average lunch, a photo session against the background of the Manhattan Bridge, the world's most expensive (but definitely not the best) ice cream and took some time off in Pebble Beach. The weather was gloomy, but there were numerous people around. Then Uber took us to the business district, Wall Street. 

Wall St, a synonym of the business district, is an 8-block street in the financial district. In the 17th century,  it was the location of the city wall. 

We headed to see a 3-ton tourist attraction, the Charging Bull. I didn't think so many people would want to be photographed with it. Separate queues had formed for the front and the back sides. We preferred the front. As usual, touch the nose, horns and testicles. We stood in line. I dealt with people who tried to cut the line. In the end, we got the obligatory pictures. 

A short bus ride took us to our last stop of the day, the 9/11 Memorial. I was at the Türi Gymnasium stadium on September 11, 2001. I remember a training partner came running and told us the incredible news. Instead of the Twin Towers, there are pools bordered with the names of those who lost their lives. 

Then we boarded the bus again (we were able to sit on the top floor each time) and rode along the banks of the Hudson River almost to the first stop. Almost, because the working hours of the bus ended😂 

We ended up near Times Square again, so a short walk took us to see one of the performances. Meh. A complete waste of time. A woman and several men were invited to the show. Spectators were asked for money. Participants were also asked for money and if they didn't pay, they were kicked out of the performance. Long show short, someone jumped over someone. An absolute lacklustre performance for all the fuss.

We had dinner at AperiBar. I booked a table beforehand. First, we were served delicious bread(?) and spicy oil. I ate pea pasta (yum) with a non-alcoholic cocktail, mom had seafood pasta, and dad had chicken. The bill was $95 (didn't tip).

Then a walk back to the hotel and the first full day of New York had come to its end.