Day 34 - Museum's Sunday

On this Sunday morning I got up a bit later. I felt rather tired as the previous day had been quite intense going around town for about 12 hours. After a shower and breakfast I slowly started leaving into town. I took the A train from 207^th Street station and switched as usual at 59^th Street to the 1 train. I just missed a train and had to wait for the next one for about 10 minutes. I started to worry a bit whether I still could make it to the 12 pm ferry to Staten Island. It was almost noon when the subway finally reached South Ferry station and I was rushing up the stairs together with fellow passengers trying to still catch the boat. Arriving in the departure hall I was relieved as boarding hadn’t begun yet and a huge crowd was still waiting in front of the gate. It looked like this might still take a while so I used the time to quickly visit the bathroom. I was there for long but when I returned to the departure hall the entire crowd was gone and I could just see how they were closing the gate. Incredible, but I missed the ferry. The next boat was at 12.30 pm so I decided to use the time and have some lunch in the terminal. I got some really nice New York style pizza which I was eating while watching how ticket agents tried to sell tours to tourists in front of the terminal. I must have forgotten to keep an eye on the clock but when I finally finished lunch I couldn’t believe that it was already 12.37 pm. I didn’t want to wait until 1.00 pm for the next ferry and instead changed my plans for the day. I walked along the harbor and Bowling Green Park toward Pier A while taking pictures. I kept walking alongside the water until I reached the Skyscraper Museum which I had planned to visit after returning from Staten Island. The museum wasn’t very big but had a very interesting exhibition on the history of skyscrapers around the world and on the World Trade Center and One World Center in particular. Also it had an interesting section on future planned skyscrapers which these days are mainly been built in the Middle East and Asia. After I had gone through the exhibition I continued my walk alongside the Hudson River until I reached the One World Center. From there I got back on the subway taking the E line from the World Trade Center station. I went first to West 4^th Street, I wanted to visit Greenwich Village one more time. I went along Christopher Street and had a look at Gay Street. I took a few pictures before I got back on the subway taking the 1 train from Christopher Street station all the way up to 59^th Street. I passed by Columbus Circle and entered the Museum of Art and Design which was located right by the circle. I really liked the exhibitions and I was surprised to find so many works of Finnish artists there. However, what impressed me the most was the third floor which featured paintings of a New York artist that painted street views of New York that looked like photographs. A really neat museum which I can only recommend especially if one wants to stay away from the large and overcrowded galleries, but still want to see some real great art work. After the museum’s visit I got back on the subway on 59^th and went down to 47^th-50^th Street / Rockefeller Center on the D train. There I wanted to transfer to the M train but that line wasn’t operating on the weekend so I had to take the F train first in order to get on the J train on Delancey Street / Essex Street station. Finally on the J train I crossed the Williamsburg Bridge which had been the main reason for this trip. I had seen some pretty amazing views from the bridge in two of the paintings that were shown in the Museum of Art and Design and I wanted to find out whether the Williamsburg Bridge had a pedestrian walk so that I could walk across and take some pictures. From the subway I could see that indeed there was a pedestrian walk but it was fenced making in pretty impossible to get any good pictures. I got off in Williamsburg on the first station right after the bridge on Marcy Avenue. I switched the platform and got back on the next Manhattan bound J train crossing the bridge one more time. Back at Delancy Street station I was lucky because due to construction the A train had been rerouted and stopped at Delancy Street. This was very convenient as I could get straight back from Delancy Street to 207^th Street and the apartment. I spent the evening with writing some post cards to friends and watching some TV programs with my hosts.

Harbor of New York

At the Skyscraper Museum

One World Center

Museum of Art and Design

Museum of Art and Design