This post comes up long after I already landed back in Finland, but for sake of consistency I’ll write up about my stay in New York.

My first steps in New York actually happened a couple of floors under the surface. I arrived at New York Penn station by train from Richmond and my first job was to get a 7 day NY Metro transit card, as the subway by far is the best way to get around NYC and I’d calculated that I’ll be saving dollars if I just travel at least 3 times a day. Having found a wending machine and purchased the ticket, I was off up to the surface to have a quick look around (since I arrived so early, the check-in at my hostel had not yet opened). A while later it was off to the hostel to drop my bags.

In New York I had booked a stay at two different hostels, because the one that I actually wanted to stay at was booked for the first night. Well, I am now smarter and can conclude that I might actually have enjoyed the stay more at the first hostel, because the second one, although perhaps more charming and more intimate, had one of the worst bathroom I’ve seen during my entire year abroad. Also, the entrance to the establishment did not exactly scream welcome and the room barely had space for the bunk beds, not to mention the luggage.

Welcome to the doll house, or in this case, the Williamsburg hostl

The first hostel was more industrial and you did end up in a loft with 12 other people, but there was plenty of space so it never felt crowded (except for the kitchen, which seemed a bit small consider the number of beds in the place). This in contrast to place B, where you barely had space to move in the room. Also, the weirdest thing was that they apparently rented out the sofa in the lounge as well. Every morning there was someone sleeping in the lounge (which also was an open floor plan to the kitchen and dining area). So if you wake up early like me (and early for a backpacker is 08:00), then you had to tip-toe around all over the place. Oh well, I did get a bohemian vibe off the place the second I stepped through the door. Btw. both of these hostels are in Williamsburg, or north Brooklyn. First impression might be that the areas look suspicious, but as I walked around there at different times of the day I never felt really unsafe. Of course, I was never out at 3am, which probably isn’t the best time to be out anyway.

Anyway, on to the city itself. To be honest, it neither impressed nor disappointed. It was more or less exactly as I pictured it. The things that surprised me was how narrow some of the subway station platforms and stairs are, considering the amount of people running through them. The other curiosity was how apparently everyone is in such a hurry to get from A to B that they try to run traffic lights as much as they can. Example: A person crossing a street will walk out onto the street as far as they can without the side view mirror of cars hitting them. As soon as they see an opening they run across the street, regardless of the color of the traffic light. If a car appears that they didn’t see at first, they step back just enough for it to pass, then try again. Cars and bicyclists on the other hand will slowly edge forward towards the intersection when they have a red light and only stop completely if pedestrians walk across right in front of them. As soon as the crossing traffic stops they start moving again, even if the light’s still red. If a driver is just a second or two late with hitting the pedal to the metal, others behind him immediately will let him know by way of horn.

Not much space for movement here...

As it was my first visit to NY, I did some of the typical things. On my list were Broadway, Times Square, Empire state building, Central park, Staten island, Rockefeller center, Brooklyn bridge, Ground zero, and more. I had three whole days in the city, so had to plan around a bit. But in the end there was plenty of time.

Empire state building was more or less as I expected, with a very good view of the entire city. It’s pricey to go up, but it does offer a view that is hard to beat. I spent a couple of hours, mainly because I wanted to see the sunset and get some pictures of the night skyline as well. But be prepared that it can be pretty cold up there, not necessarily T-shirt weather up there even though it might be on the ground.

Sunset on the Empire State building always draws a crowd.

Times Square is very much for the tourists and is also the one place where you really get harassed by people trying to sell you tickets or wannabe rap stars “trying to make it biiig ya know, MTV and stuff” pushing their demo CD at you. I almost had to get angry at one of the guys before he understood that I’m not going to buy his CD, even if it only cost a couple of dollars. But if you want to try and score some cheap tickets to a comedy show, this is where you probably will find them (could be a rip-off as well, I don’t know).

The Central park was smaller than I expected, although it’s still big. You could spend an entire day there, but probably by that time you’d seen almost every path. I have to remind myself that I’m here in the winter, so many places are probably pretty deserted because of that. Still, you’ll find the traditional ice skate rink filled with people who can’t really skate but are enjoying themselves nonetheless.

Staten Island was deserted. Felt like the entire island had hibernated while waiting for summer. The ferry over there was eventless, but it did give a slight reminder of the state of paranoia this city is still in after 9/11. During the entire transit, we were escorted by two Coast Guard patrol vessels, with an officer manning the gun the entire time. Who am I to say if this is warranted these days, but I can say it didn’t make me feel any more safe.

Seeing the Statue of liberty while being escorted by the US coast guard on high alert felt a bit weird.

Probably the best experience of my visit was that I managed to get some last minute tickets to a taping of the Colbert Report. Sure, I spent almost 1,5h waiting outside in line (shows are overbooked to ensure a full house), but tickets are free so I figured I’ll chance it. We got treated to some good comedy and from a technical point of view I got to see how they produce the show. No picture taking allowed, so instead I leave you with this shot from one of my (many) subway rides.

So you bought an iPad to... play solitaire!? Because there just aren't enough office hours...

New York was an interesting city, but I’m not sure I’d want to live there. I know it sounds cliché, but it just felt too hectic for my life style. Although, I did like how seemingly random strangers would interact with each other, just throwing a joke out there and having a laugh. That’s something I’d like to see more of in Finland, just random strangers being happy together on the street, even if it’s just a couple of seconds. The other good part about New York is that it’s very walkable, even though distances can become big. Side walks typically are wide and navigation is easy due to the grid layout of the entire city.