Brooklyn,
New York, Friday, May 6, 2005, 7:45 am
Hello from New York City (3) - Crossing the
Brooklyn Bridge, Exploring Downtown Manhattan
What a full day we had yesterday. We had a delightful breakfast
in our bed and breakfast at about 8:30 am and shared some nice conversations
with a young couple from Sweden and an older couple from Holland,
the hostess was participating as well. This is one of my favourite
things about bed and breakfasts, usually they offer really tasty
filling meals and a great conversation to go with it.
We got going at around noon and hopped off the subway just before
the Brooklyn Bridge and ended up exploring the historic Brooklyn
Heights neighbourhood a bit, a place with many well-preserved brownstones
and expensive apartment buildings with a perfect view of downtown
Manhattan. Then we started our walk across the Brooklyn Bridge,
and started to soak in the vistas of the famous skyscrapers.
The Manhattan Skyline from Brooklyn Heights.
The Manhattan Bridge is very close to the Brooklyn Bridge and
the Empire State Building is visible on the horizon. Tons of walkers
and bikers were making the trekk across the bridge and the weather
was pretty decent, sunny with about 16 degrees Celsius.
Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge.
After the bridge we arrived at NYC City Hall which was blocked
off to pedestrian traffic and there was a big congregation of media
people on the front steps. Tons of people were sitting around the
beautiful fountain just outside of city hall and with the blue sky,
the blooming trees and the surrounding architectural arrangements
this was just the perfect place to snap away with the camera. I
particularly fell in love with the ornate spires of the Woolworth
Building.
The Woolworth Building
Then we headed further west, explored the yard of St. Paul's Cathedral
which is right across from the World Trade Center location. As a
first place of refuge after the tragedy, the churchyard has many
plaques commemorating the events of 911 and it took more than 2
years to clear all the debris from the yard that had fallen down
with the collapse of the buildings.
We then proceeded to Ground Zero. The area is fenced off with various
posters showing the history of the buildings, the events of 911,
and the names of the more than 2700 victims. The tragedy of 911 is very hard to grasp and when you are right there where it happened,
you remember all the horrible pictures and the even more horrible
events of that fateful day, now more than 3 1/2 years ago. It is
so hard to imagine these 2 enormous buildings collapsing, surrounded
on all sides by other highrise towers, and what it must have been
like that day, with people running through the streets, debris raining
down, rescue workers risking their lives to help the victims. The
police presence, by the way, was very strong and we weren't sure
if there was a special reason for that or if that was the case every
day.
The open expanse of Ground Zero
After reflecting for a while and absorbing the incomprehensible
nature of that tragedy we walked south on Liberty Street into Battery
Park. Lots of African entrepreneurs were around with suitcases and
bags full of merchandise and it seems they were very careful not
to be seen by the police. We had a beautiful view across the bay
towards the statue of liberty and proceeded to our next destination
- the Staten Island Ferry terminal, where our next adventure began...
Useful books for travel to New York City:
Related articles:
"Hello from New York City (1) -
First Impressions of the Big Apple"
"Hello from New York City (2) - Exploring
Mid-Town Manhattan"
"Hello from New York City (3) - Brooklyn
Bridge, Ground Zero, Downtown"
"Hello from New York City (4) - Staten
Island and a Random Act of Violence"
"Hello from New York City (5) - A
Local Expert Takes Us Through Queens"
"Hello from New York City (6) - Checking
Out Coney Island and Harlem"
"Hello from New York City (7) - Prospect
Park & Washington Square Park"
Here is my New York City budget accommodation guide - small
hotels.
Here is my New York City budget accommodation guide - hostels.
Here is my New York City budget accommodation guide - bed
and breakfasts.
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