Karl WP Beyer We travel with the Queen Mary 2 from New York to Hamburg. Our arrival by plane takes place the day before. The journey leads from Frankfurt to Newark Liberty International Airport in the US state of New Jersey. The airport is one of three major airports in the New York metropolitan area. It's across from Manhattan. Our hotel is in Newark. The following day, a limousine takes us from there to the ship in Brooklyn.
Queen Mary 2 at the Brooklyn Terminal
We arrive in Newark at lunchtime. US immigration works quickly and limousine service to the hotel is provided. It is obvious not to while away the rest of the day in the unattractive city of Newark, but to visit New York instead. After all, only Newark Bay and the Hudson River separate the city from New York.
As an experiment, we used the PATH train. The trains, some of which are above ground, run from Newark Penn Station to One World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. The trains are a recommended and inexpensive alternative to taxis and limousine services.
PATH train at Newark Penn Station
One World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan
We are spoiled for choice
In view of the tight time window, we could have decided to visit the new One World Trade Center Observatory or to visit the 9/11 Memorial again during our flying visit to New York. The tower of the One World Trade Center ( 1 WTC) towers over all the buildings in the city. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 on the two skyscrapers of the "old" World Trade Center, a new building was built next door. At 541 meters high, it is not only the tallest building in New York but in the entire USA. It currently ranks eleventh among the tallest buildings in the world.
One World Trade Center in Manhattan
The building's viewing platforms have been open to visitors since the end of May 2015. Similar to the Empire State Building, visitors see the city from a great height. The building has a total of 104 floors. The vantage points are on floors 100, 101 and 102. Based on the American Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776, the building measures a symbolic 1776 feet, which corresponds to a height of 541 meters. Elevators transport the onlookers to a height of around 60 meters in 380 seconds.
Admission prices currently vary between $44 and $74 depending on the scope of services
1 WTC and Lower Manhattan
A visit to the neighboring 9/11 Memorial and the Memorial Museum, which opened in 2014, is both extremely worth seeing and depressing at the same time. Sufficient time should be planned for the museum.
Visit to the Oculus and Brookfield Place
We recommend the guests of the metropolis New York to visit the interchange station of the One World Trade Center designed by the Spanish star architect Santiago Calatrava. Deutschlandfunk Kultur described the building called "Oculus" as a "white station cathedral under the World Trade Center". The comparison is obvious. The floor is made of white marble and white, curved steel ribs soar from the roof like the wings of a bird. Underground, a network of platforms connects the mainline and subway lines. There are also shopping arcades with designer shops.
The Oculus seen from Brookfield Place
This afternoon we decide against the viewing platforms of the 1 WTC and the 9/11 Memorial. Instead, we discover part of the Oculus and walk from the World Trade Center station through an underground passage to Brookfield Place. The dimensions of the passage, designed with white marble, are breathtaking.
Passage to Brookfield Place
Passage to Brookfield Place
The Brookfield Place complex adjoining the passage was generously planned and offers a lot of light architecture. It is an upscale destination with chic shops from world-renowned labels, hip restaurants and event locations for everything imaginable. Outside the mall is an open space with more restaurants and the North Cove Marina. Behind flows the Hudson River. The state borders of New York City and New Jersey run in the middle of the river.
Brookfield Place seen from the Hudson River
Brookfield Place
From the open space we can see the nearby World Financial Center Ferry Terminal on the right. Looking to the left we see the Ellis Island Immigration Center and in the distance the Statue of Liberty.
World Financial Center Terminal
North Cove Marina - Ellis Island in the background
Visit to the Manhattan Civic Center
Since we've never seen the Manhattan Civic Center before, we pay it a visit. Manhattan's Civic Center is the administrative and governmental district in downtown Manhattan. The distance between Brookfield Place and the government building is about a mile. At the beginning we are still in the financial district and see the WTC from different perspectives.
The "Irish Hunger Memorial", which commemorates the great Irish famine, is a surprise. The memorial commemorates the one million victims of the famine in the mid-19th century. The memorial stands at the corner of Vesey St and North End Street.
Out and about in the Financial District
Irish Hunger Memorial
The longer we walk, the more the architectural style of the surrounding buildings changes. While still high by German standards, they lack the cool, purposeful architecture of the region previously traversed.
Broadway / corner of Warren Street
Manhattan-Tweed Courthouse
One of New York's attractions is the Tweed Courthouse in Lower Manhattan. Originally the residence of the county court, it now houses the NYC Department of Education. Opposite him is the Surrogate Court, which deals with adoption, inheritance and estate matters. At a short distance rises the colossal Manhattan Municipal Building. The building was designed with the idea of creating a building worthy of the metropolis of New York.
Civic Center of Manhattan
The buildings mentioned are located at City Hall Park. The City Hall is somewhat hidden and protected in the park. The town hall, built between 1803 and 1812, is the seat of the council and the official residence of the mayor. A representative fountain in the southwest corner of the park is easily accessible. The park is framed by Broadway, Chambers St. and Park Row and inhabited by plucky, bold squirrels.
New York's City Hall
Fountain in City Hall Park
It is already getting dark and it has started to rain. It's time to return to our Newark hotel on the PATH train.
Update March 2023