NEW YORK CITY {PART 1}

ANIA'LYSIS: HOLIDAYS IN NEW YORK

INSPIRATION: NEW YORK

 First thing I have to wrote about New York - you don't realize how A_M_A_Z_I_N_G it is until you come back home (seriously)! You get so hypnotised with the city, the lights, the big buildings, the screens, people, streets, with the spirit of this big city life that it feels like you're since always here. And then you get home, streets are much smaller, houses are much smaller and much uglier, there's no lights just the dust of ordinary January everyday.

New York, merry me!

So, here I am posting photos from first two days in this big apple. 

It all started with 8 and a half hours long flight from Frankfurt which (surprisingly) passed very quickly. I am not that afraid of flying but being in closed place for more than an hour makes me anxious so this flight went really good (much better than I was procrastinating before :)

And, here we go - around 5 pm we arrived in Sheraton Hotel on Manhattan, our room was placed on 46th floor, the room view was great.

I couldn't real believed that I am in New York... tired from long flight and all the waiting at the airport (yes, after 09/11 security is a big deal in US and they treat you like the biggest criminal) I couldn't really decide what I want first - lay in a bed and rest or go out and scream out loud: "New York my dreams came true!!"

What do you think we do? Of course we went out!! Of course!! We had to go to "Welcome party" at 8 pm, so we didn't really had a lot of time so we decide just to go for a walk down the street. Just few streets away was Time Square. Amazing! All this lights, all this big screens, all this people, yellow taxis, shops... this streets make you brand new and the lights inspire you (just like Alicia sings in her song). It is so real and surreal at the same time.

They were already preparing everything for next day - D day - New year eve, ball drop with Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. 

After walk we went to the "Welcome party" where we meet some other handball players and their wives (one of the reason why we were in NY was also handball, Igor actually played a handball match - Bundesliga players against World stars). We crashed tired at the bed around midnight, I guees...

...and woke up around 4 o'clock in the morning (if you are coming to NY from Europe you can for sure count on a time change which will wake you up at non human hours and put you in the bad like a little baby). We managed somehow to sleep until 7 and then wake up for the breakfast. (As you can imagine) we ate just shit all the time :) I think our first breakfast was burger, hahhaa :) Than we went walking (oh, yes there was a LOT of walking) to Time Square to see it also in a day light and imagine - we were there at 8 o'clock in the morning (so, exactly 16 hours before midnight) and there were already some fans waiting in the lines, taking there places for the night show. Take in the account - that they were freezing, that they couldn't go to toilet because if they would, they wouldn't get their place back, and they couldn't eat - because as I wrote if they move from the place they wouldn't get it back and nobody could bring them food also, because they were people waiting in lines, crazy!!)

We took metro at Time square and drove to the Staten Island ferry and then drove with this ferry around the Statue of liberty. It's good that this ferry is for free and you can actually make nice photos + take care that you seat on the right side of the ferry or to wear warm clothes to stand outside (the wind can be freaking cold).

We pass Battery park and our next destination was Ground Zero, which I have to admit, was a bit disappointment. I expected some memorial statue or something but there was nothing (yet). All you can see is just something that reminds more on a site than on a big tragedy place. I was wondering why is there still nothing made in respect of all this innocent death people, but a place where you get a feeling that 09/11 happened yesterday... but guessing that is the point, they want memory to remain live as long as possible.

Brooklyn Bridge... did you ever heard saying: "sometimes is worth to be disappointed and to wait longer than you expect so the greater and bigger things can come to you"? Did day that somehow happened to me :) We eat breakfast really early and we walk for 5 hours or more and I was starving... we together decide we want to eat pizza, but you wouldn't believe it (but it's true) on our way was no restaurant with pizza!! (actually it was one but you couldn't seat and eat it.. it was more "to take away" place) .... so here I am starving, already fighting with Igor that I can't wait anymore, that I am tired and that I want to eat, when we saw some shopping center. Nothing sparking, pretty old one actually. But I didn't care I was devistating :D And we went there... and we went to forth flour where the restaurants were (yes also pizza!) and we saw it!! - the best view on Brooklyn Bridge that we can't even imagine! It was small terrace with bench and as I said amazing view on a Brooklyn Bridge! It was worth, it was worth of waiting and struggling :))

After buying a supply of Vitamin Water, our favourite drink in US, we went to the metro which drive as back to the 7th Avenue. 

We took some rest at the hotel and get ready for the New years eve party... more about that in 2nd Part about New York.

 Since here - how do you like our trip in NYC? What about photos? Did you ever been in NYC?

C'mon share some comments with me! ;)

Something what you see every few seconds in NY

At 8 o'clock on the Time Square... look at some Gaga&Bieber fans waiting behind me..

On the way to Time Square

Time Square

Stop, don't pass the street

Us on TS

Subway

View from the ferry

View from the ferry

Statue of Liberty

On the ferry

Battery park

Battery park

 

This is what you can actually see at Ground Zero

New York Police Department

Yes, the driver was blonde and yes, she actually try to turn over here.

Brooklyn Bridge

 

Brooklyn Bridge

P.s.: I was actually pretty sad (yes there was also some crying, because you know how much I love photography) because one of my two memories cards actually "died"... I tried to solve some photos with card rescue program but I didn't really succeed a lot... so there are some great photos from/of Brooklyn Bridge and Statue of Liberty that missing.. And I am kinda really sad about that.. but hey, I at least have my memories! ;)

Love, A.

SLOVENSKO:

Prva stvar, ki jo moram zapisati o New yorku – dokler ne prides domov ne dojames kako FANTASTICEN je pravzaprav (resno!) Kot v nekem transu, te mesto hipnotizira, vse te luci, ogromne zgradbe, svetleci zasloni, ljudje, ulice… obcutek, kot da si tu ze od nekdaj. In potem se vrnes nazaj domov, ulice so precej manjse, hise so manjse in predvsem grse, nikjer luci in velikih svetlecih zaslonov le sivi vsakdanjik Januarja.

Oh, New York... od kod lepote tvoje!!

Torej, tu so slike prvih dveh dni v velikem jabolku.

Vse se je zacelo z osem in pol urnim letom iz Frankfurta, ki je (presenetljivo) minil dokaj hitro. Ni me strah letenja, vendar me zaprtost v prostoru iz katerega ni izhoda vec kot uro navdaja z neprijetnim obcutkom, tako da moram priznati, da je let potekal zares prijetno (veliko bolje kot sem predvidevala pravzaprav).

Ura je odbila okoli pet popoldan, ko smo prispeli v Sheraton hotel na Manhattnu, najina soba je bila na 46. nadstropju. Soba z cudovitim pogledom na Time Square.

Prvih nekaj trenutkov nisem niti zares dojela, da sem v New Yorku… utrujena od dolgega leta in vsega cakanja na letaliscu (jp, varnost je po 9. Septembru 2001 postala zelo resna stvar in osebje te obravnava kot pravega kriminalca, hehe, verjetno mi ni potrebno niti zapisati, da je Igorja(njegova podobnost s talibani je zgolj nakljucna) posebej obravnaval policaj) sem se odlocala med pocitkom na veliki, mehki postelji ali teku na ulici kjer bi kricala na ves glas: “New york, moje sanje so uresnicene!!”

Kaj mislis, da sva storila? Seveda sva odsla vn!! Kakopak! Ob osmih zvecer je bila na najinem urniku “Welcome Party” zato sva se zaradi pomanjkanja casa odlocila le za kratek sprehod po ulici navzdol do Time Squera. Fantasticno! Vse te luci, vsi ti ogromni sijoci zasloni, vsi ti ljudje, rumeni taksiji, ki drvijo po ulicah, trgovine… te ulice te popolnoma prenovijo in vse te luci te inspirirajo (tocno tako kot poje Alicia v eni od svojih pesmi). Istocasno tako resnicno in neresnicno.

Na ulicah so ze pripravljali vse za naslednji dan – dan D – silvesterski vecer, spuscanje krogle z Lady Gaga in Justinom Bieberjem (ja, sej vem Justin Bieber?!).

Po kratkem sprehodu sva odsla na “Welcome Party”, ki je bil organiziran v enem od kaficev na Time Squaru, kjer sva se srecala z nekaterimi ostalimi rokometasi in njihovimi partnericami (eden od razlogov zakaj sva bila v New Yorku je bil namrec tudi rokomet, oziroma Igorjeva tekma na New yorskem turniru, kjer so igrali izbrani igralci Bundeslige proti bivsim svetovnim zvezdam rokometa – turnir je namenjen promociji rokometa v Ameriki).

Utrujena sva popadala v posteljo in zaspala, bilo je okoli polnoci,…

… in se zbudila okoli stirih zjutraj (ce pridete v NY iz Evrope potem zagotovo lahko racunate na casovne spremembe, ki vas bodo prebudile ob nehumanih zgodnjih jutranjih (nocnih!?) urah in vas istocasno ob zgodnjih vecernih urah polozile v posteljo, kjer boste zaspali s kurami)! Nekako nama je uspelo zaspati do 7ih zjutraj, ko sva vstala in odsla na zajtrk. (Kot ste verjetno lahko ze predvidevali) sva jedla samo sranje ves cas najinega bivanja v New Yorku :)) Mislim da je bil najin prvi zajtrk hamburger, hahhaa :)) Seveda, je bilo potrebno ta hamburger pokuriti zato sva pes odsla (uhh ja, veeeeliko je bilo pesacenja) do Time Squara, ker sva ga zelela videti tudi v dnevni razlicici in predstavljajte si – bilo je ob osmi uri zjutraj (kar pomeni, natanko 16 ur pred polnocjo) in tam so ze bili prvi (verjetno najbolj zagrizeni) feni Gage & Bieberja, ki so cakali v vrsti, stratesko zavzemali svoja mesta za ogradami za ogled silvesterskega sova! V racunico vzemite – da so zmrzovali, da niso mogli niti na toaleto, ker ko bi enkrat odsli z svojega mesta bi ga zavzeli drugi + celih 16 ur niso nicesar jedli, ker prav tako niso mogli nikamor po hrano (spet zato, ker bi jim nekdo drug vzel mesto) in nihce jim hrane ni mogel dostaviti, ker ni prisel niti blizu (upam, da so vzeli s seboj vsaj kaksen sendvic – padanje v nezavest zaradi Bieberja – ok gre, padanje v nezavest zaradi lakote – No go!). Totalno noro v glavnem!

Na Time Squaru sva odsla na podzemno zeleznico (ki sploh ni tolk scary kot sem si predstavljala) in se odpeljala vzdolz Manhattna, do mesta od koder izpluje Staten Island ladja. Ta ladja te popelje okoli kipa svobode – super je, ker je brezplacna in ker pravzaprav lahko naredis cudovite fotke z nje. Bodite pozorni, da ce se odlocite za voznjo z njo, da sedete na desno stran ladje za boljsi pogled ali da se zares toplo oblecete (zna biti prekleto hladno), ce zelite stati zunaj.

Nato sva pesacila mimo Battery parka do najine sledece destinacije Ground Zero, ki je bila, odkrito priznam, razocaranje. Pricakovala sem kaksno spominsko plosco, kip oziroma karkoli kar bi spominjalo (opozarjalo) na veliko tragedijo, ki se je zgodila 9. Septembra 2001, toda videti ni bilo (se) nicesar. Vse kar kot mimoidoci lahko vidis, je nekaj kar bolj spominja na ograjeno gradbisce kot pa prostor, kjer sta stala dvojcka. Razmisljala sem, cemu je tako, zakaj niso naredili nicesar v spomin vsem tem zrtvam tragicnega dogodka, zakaj ob pogledu na Ground zero dobis obcutek, da se je to zgodilo vceraj… In verjetno, ugibam, je prav to poanta, da na taksen nacin ohranjajo spomin kolikor se da ziv (kdo bi vedel iz kaksnih razlogov).

Brooklyn Bridge… ste ze kdaj slisali za izrek: “vcasih je vredno biti razocaran in cakati dlje kot smo pricakovali, da lahko se boljse in vecje stvari pridejo do vas?” No, ta dan se je natanko to zgodilo meni. Zgodaj zjutraj sva jedla zajtrk in po petih urah pesacenja sem bila ne samo utrujena ampak tudi sestradana (ja, pac rada in pogosto jem). Z Igorjem sva se ze prej dogovorila, da bova za kosilo jedla pizzo (obema se je zalustala) in tako sva zacela iskati pizzerijo, seveda je na najini poti ni bilo nikjer (nikoli si ne bi mislila, da je v NY tako tesko najti pizzo!?), ubistvu sva nasal prodajalno s pizzami, vendar nisi mogel sesti, ker je bila bolj “vzemi s seboj” varianta… no, da ne dolgovezim, pizze nisva nasla, zacela sem se kregati z Igorjem (ker pac, lacna sem cist drugacna), ko sva prisla do nekega shopping centra. Nic presenetljivo lepega, pravzaprav je bil kar precej star ampak “who cares”, ko si sestradan?! Torej, vstopiva, se po tekocih stopnicah (se ena nenormalna dobra pogrutavscina) odpeljeva v cetrto nadstropje, kjer ne boste verjeli – poleg pizze (!) slucajno naletiva na malo teraso z eno klopco (ki jo ze zasedel drugi zaljubljen par) z cudovitim pogledom na Brooklyn bridge! Torej, konec dobro vse dobro… splacalo se je cakati tako dolgo in iskati tako dolgo eno ubogo pizzo (ki sploh ni bila ‘svoh’), naju je nekdo tam zgoraj nagradil z res cudovitim razgledom. Hvala! ;)

Hitro sva nakupila se zalogo Vitamin Water, najine najljubse pijace v casu bivanja v ZDA, ter se odpravila z metrojem nazaj na sedmo avenijo.

V hotelu sva se poskusala kar najbolje spociti in pripraviti na novoletno zabavo… vec o tem pa v naslednje, drugem delu o New Yorku.

Torej, do tu – kako vam je vsec najino popotovanje po New Yorku? Kaj pa fotografije? Si ti ze bil/bila kdaj v NY?