New york

"So off to the USA for the first Time. Heading towards Dublin I experienced the first hickup when a passanger became sick and we hat to cancel taxi getting  back to the  parking position, getting rid of the passanger as well as his luggage. However I spend a wonderful day in Dublin before leaving for the US.
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The day started quite promising with an easy-going trip to the airport and a really handsome,tattooed emmigrations' officer. I would have taken a picture for you but I deemed it unfitting for the situation. Unfortunately for you this is not a novel and as such I will not describe the man in further detail. 

On the plane I was seated in seat c which I'd fortunately a aisle seat. But somehow this was not a promising flight. The entertainment was only mediocre and not really worth watching. It seems like I looked like I should eat less. The stewardess (some really beautiful accents) handed everyone a bag of pretzels excluding me.  Later when I asked for the vegetarian option. Now bearing in mind I booked this flight almost a year ago I do not remember if I ordered the veggi option but if there was an option I surely selected it considering that I have been vegetarian for a couple of years now. However, apparently my booking did not go through! So no veggi mean for me. In fairness the stewardess was kind enough to offer a crew dish that they had left. As stubborn as I am I refused that: if you think I did not order anything then feck off, I am not having anything. Well I actually phrased if more politely but got quite frustrated... Now starving (moron me) I was getting worried what else will go wrong on this trip. 4 more hours and I want to go back to bed... And it is sooooo cold! 

Let's hope things get better on the ground.

On the ground. Finally. I am in the US. No controls no check points I can go straight to the baggage claim and to the bus. Stupid me is waiting at the wrong end of the parking lot so that I am wasting 30min. But that is okay. I'm on the bus towards Manhattan. The driver is singing to the tunes on the radio and this American has no music in his blood. But he don't mind and I r.e.s.p.e.c.t him for that! In about 90min I should be able to pick up my New York pass. Which would be only 10min behind today's schedule... Happy days!

So I have my pass and the hostel. I walked through Central Park and went on a hop on hop off tour. I have to say I have a love/hate relationship with New York. I really enjoyed some parts of the town.

Now, after running through the Madame Tussaud's I am in the waitress.

Honestly, I am a bit disappointed in the performance. I would have expected more from Broadway. The staging is great but the ensemble is better than the main acts. I am really impressed with the best friends played by  Jenna Ushkowitz and Keala settle. Jessie mueller seems to be off her game tonight. Also Christopher Fitzgerald stole the show during "never getting rid of me".  Hoping for more from Drew gehling in the second act. 
The second act was better in regards to the performance and a bit intense, Jessie really moved me in her heartfelt solo ballad.
Not having seen the movie I was a bit surprised by the ending. But I am leaving with a good feeling.
It is now only 10.30pm (16.30 Berlin time) and I am shattered. I wanted to make it to the Empire State Building after the show but I just got to sleep. I did not make it to Rockefeller so my plan is down the drain anyways and I have to be at the ride office tomorrow at 7.30 so an early night might be what I need.

Waking up at 4am-some things don't change no matter where I am. Taking it slow and rescheduling my day I leave the hostel to get tickets for the ride. Madness: the box office opens at 9 but to get a ticket I was told to arrive at 7.30.

However, because the box office is in the garment district I was able to do a bit of window shopping in every fashion designers paradise: one fabric shop after trimmings shop after the other. A good thing: I have no room for anything in my baggage.

At Nina: in New York the calendars are quite on spot in regards to fire men. ;)

So today's plan includes the Empire State Building at night and a inside Broadway tour (16.00) and the ride at 19.00.

But before all of this I went to my air bnb. After the worries of the first night, I love my new room. And Ana used to be well known, still active fashion designer! Isn't this awesome? I would have loved to chat more with her but we both agreed that I'm only in nyc for such a short time that I need to get most of it. While Roosevelt island used to be am looney asylum (how fitting for me)it is now this nice neighborhood with a nice view of Manhattan.

My feet hurt massively and damn is the food expensive. Today I bought grapes (not as yummy as they looked) and spend 8$ on them... For dinner I decided to rest my feet at a restaurant. A salad and sweet potato fries cost 19$... In fairness the portions are massive.

I am glad I did the Rockefeller tour! Our guide was so funny and informative. It is a shame people left because the tour is English only. Now I have a bit of time and though I should not really spent more money I am considering to grab something to eat for the next walking tour.

Instead of the food I went for the downtown bus tour. However I had to cut that short and get on the metro to be in time for the Broadway walking tour. Filip, our guide himself is an actor/comedian and was simply awesome. I also realized that I HAVE to come back with a lot of money just so I can see more shows. I know, I was not too impressed with the performance in the first act of the waitress but still overall it was worth it.

Now all that is left is the ride, the Empire State and then I need to decide to either go to bed or see this comedy show "hot for teacher". This was recommended by Filip as an alternative to a Broadway show as I won't have the time for another 8pm show. Unfortunately I am quite exhausted and tomorrow I will need to get up at 5am.

The ride... The ride....what can I say? Make sure you do not sit right next to the entertainer! It was hilarious-no question about that. Follow the advice from the crew and do not believe what they are telling you because they lie ;) Also do the ride before any other tour. This is about entertainment not information and it is more fun to have the fun facts right before the actual history. The artists on the street, performing for the ride were really good too. Further recommendation: if you don't like ghosts and spirits- avoid a tour around Halloween ;)

I wish I could show you in a picture the view of the Empire State Building I had. Unfortunately no camera of mine can capture the deep red moon over the Chrysler building. I tried.  It was so beautiful. And cold... The temperature throughout the day was about 25-30'C. It was so hot that the ice skating place at Rockefeller was melting. Not on top of the Empire, it felt like the temperature had dropped 1F for every level we went up.

The next morning. Guess who was also a guest at Ana's place... Katharina from Cologne. Yes, that is right. It was her mothers gift for her graduation... And she too is going to D.C. this morning so we took the metro together. Katharina is taking the greyhound though.so I might her again Washington. After all...this world is way to small ;)

Also I wanted to do a election barometer. Counting any signs I see for either Clinton or Trump. Well, New York is cold: not much interest overall. But: Clinton 3 : 0 Trump. Even at the trump building I could not see any signs...

And that's that for NYC... Next stop: Washington D.C.