One Last Trip - Visiting the Big Apple

My last couple of weeks in River Falls and therefore at UWRF have come and visiting New York City was the last wish on my bucket list for this stay in the U.S. Even though I have been to the U.S. quite often I have never made it to the Big Apple and so I really wanted to make sure that I see this famous city this time.

Flying into New York is the first attraction of a stay in the city. A flight provides great views and landing at JFK airport is just overwhelming. The airport is incredibly big. After getting settled and taking the airtrain and subway to the city center you just get overwhelmed by the amazing views when you first step out of the subway station. It´s the size of the buildings, the density of skyscrapers and all the noises that are produced by cars, busses, and all the people. It probably just is the magic everyone is talking about. Even though I have seen quite a couple of big cities around the world New York fascinated and overwhelmed me the most right away. I probably stood at the very same place for about five minutes just starring at the skyline. It was not even one of the famous places, but it was still super intense. I went to Central Park afterwards to take some time to relax and enjoy the views. All the main attractions and big names everyone knows seemed to be nearby when I checked some stuff out but that was a wrong impression I got by just looking at the map. New York is just too big to walk the distances between all the famous places and so taking the subway was key and as soon as I got used to it once it was not that confusing anymore!

As it was Spring and not main season yet the city was not as crowded as it probably would have been on a summer day, but it still was quite packed for most of the time. You might wait in line for three hours straight to get to Liberty Island and see the Statue of Liberty or for an hour to make your way to the elevator that will bring you to the top of the Empire State Building. As I only had limited time in this city I did not want to spend time in line and found my own attractions that were not as crowded. You can get on the Staten Island Ferry for free for example and that will give you some great views on Manhattan´s skyline and the Statue of Liberty as well. Instead of going on top of the Empire State Building you might want to choose the One World Observatory which is the highest building in the western hemisphere and which is located right next to Ground Zero – the place where the twin towers of the World Trade Center where originally build. It took me more than one and a half days just to cover the most prominent places in Manhattan such as the Flat Iron Building, Ground Zero, New York Stock Exchange, Central Park, Madison Square Park, Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Fifth Avenue, Tiffany´s, Brooklyn Bridge and so on. Times Square is one of the craziest places I have personally ever seen. This place is super crowded no matter what time of the day it is. Flagship stores of all famous brands from all around the world are located here and the advertising billboards just draw your attention away within seconds. There is just too much stuff going on for me personally, but it is an absolute must do for sure.

After visiting all the very famous places I went to Brooklyn and Williamsburg on my last day to see the alternative neighborhoods of New York. Those places are way more relaxed, less crowded and this seemed to be the real New York that is not full of tourists and where people actually live. Even though they are still touristy and hyped right now and a lot of people come here it is more the slow-paced kind of a neighborhood and that is why I especially liked it I guess. My favorite place was the Brooklyn Bridge Park. This place is awesome! I relaxed in the sun for about three hours just starring at the world-famous Brooklyn Bridge and the unreal skyline of Manhattan. I just couldn´t get enough of it…

I will definitely have to come back to that city one day to see all the places I haven’t seen yet and go for a helicopter flight over the city and all the other attractions that are not necessarily designed for a student´s bank account!

Apart from this stay I enjoy my last couple of days in River Falls a lot. I just had some of my best friends from back home visiting for four days and it was good fun to show them around my “new home for a limited time”. The Mall of America, the Twin Cities and the surroundings of River Falls are exciting places to bring people to – especially in spring which has finally come!

Right now, I am just three assignments away from getting my MBA which feels unreal. 14 days are left until graduation and 16 days until I leave the country and go back home. It just does not feel like all those months are already over but time flies!

To be continued!