Almost 10 years ago in June 2011 me and my wife visited New York City for the very first time. I thought it would be fun to post photos from our trip as a fun curiosity as the city has changed so significantly since then...
Our flight from Berlin arrived at JFK.
The LIRR train took us to Pennsylvania Station on Manhattan. Welcome to the concrete jungle!
First of our two accommodations in the city was the beautiful Hotel New Yorker which is full of art deco details.
We got lucky and were upgraded to a large 39th floor sub-penthouse suite that offered fantastic views of surrounding Midtown.
On breakfast next morning.
Our first destination a visit to Times Square only a short walk from the hotel. Times Square blew us away even after being some crazy parts of Tokyo! We absolutely loved the buzz of this area.
Little did we know at this time, but we would return to New York on the last days of 2018 to celebrate NYE here on Times Square, seeing also the famous ball drop.
That's all for part 1 of this photo tour of the city and its many sights. I took nearly 2400 photos during the trip, so there is much, much more to come!
Man it's just the same year and almost same month that I visited NYC in May 2011.
Man I wish I stayed at that killer view hotel room but I ain't that rich on budget.
Man why didn't I meet that naked cowgirl while strolling in Manhattan, I really liked her outfit...I would tip her $20-$30 to take photos with her...I love real-life naked women.
Klaus is a rich man and beyond middle class no matter how many times he denies it. The overall quality and aesthetic of photos stand on top on ssp forum.
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Great collection of photos! I especially liked your photos from the ESB of the Flatiron Building and the close-up of Chelsea rooftops with all the water towers. Next time I visit NYC, I’ll also have to visit the lobby of The New Yorker. Beautiful lobby & mural.
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Thanks for your comments. The New Yorker is a fairly inexpensive hotel for its beautiful architecture and the lobby alone is worth checking out. Location is also great nearby many transit options.
Yeah, I bet Times Square looks quite different these days, which is a shame, as there is normally so much life in that area!
After visiting the iconic Empire State Building, we enjoyed a nice stroll up Broadway all the way to Times Square. It was lunch time and as tourists we decided to try out the Planet Hollywood restaurant.
After a mediocre lunch we wanted to enjoy afternoon drinks and decided to check out the city's only rooftop revolving restaurant on top of the Marriott Marquis hotel. I am surprised by the absence of more revolving restaurants as the views were really nice.
Even though the restaurant is located on the 48th floor, the views are still obstructed by tall buildings around it.
To complete our day of doing touristy things, we visited Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. It was our first time and still the only time to one, even though one opened also back in Berlin later on. It was actually a nice visit and writing this makes me now wonder why we haven't visited another one?
The visit was certainly worth it as the was figures are very life-like and their posture allows for fun photos to take home.
Next day we would visit many key sights on the Lower Manhattan, so more to come...
Beautiful photos. It is amazing how the skylines of Manhattan, Long Island City and Jersey City have changed since your visit. You'll have to come back!
Terrific photos! There's an interesting distant view of downtown Manhattan early in the thread, and I was thinking "what part of the city is that"? I had forgotten One World Trade Center hadn't gone up yet, so I didn't recognize it as downtown. Also, the Wax Museum photos are a hoot
Thanks guys. We have been back once more in 2018 when we were in town to celebrate the NYE at Times Square. It was interesting to see One World Trade Center completed and see all the new supertall buildings of Midtown.
One day I will perhaps get to posting photos from that trip!
Our next day started off cloudy as we made our way to Lower Manhattan or "Downtown". Riding on the New York City Subway is somewhat of an experience as the system is just so vast with long trains departing every few minutes. To tourists like us it seems like an impressive and efficient mass transit system.
We boarded a train at Pennsylvania Station which is located below the world-renowned Madison Square Garden.
We rode a train down to City Hall Station which is surrounded by the beautiful Woolworth Building. Standing 241 metres (792 ft) tall, it was the world's tallest building between 1910 and 1930 and is still an impressive sight! I was hoping to visit the lobby but it didn't seem accessible at that time, so we only marveled at the architecture from outside.
As the station's name suggests, New York City Hall is located at the middle of the park with other city buildings around it.
Frank Gehry's 8 Spruce Street had just opened to residents few months earlier and was one of the tallest residential building in the city. This modern building has 76 floors and stands 265 metres (870 ft) tall.
This are is also where Brooklyn Bridge connects Manhattan with the borough of Brooklyn. It is possible to walk across the bridge and we would do that on another day.
Pier 17 is an interesting quick stop nearby with historic ships docked.
It being June, we were a bit surprised to find a store specialized in Christmas decorations being open for business.
Time to venture deeper into Downtown.
Being a first-time tourist in New York, one can't help but constantly look up to marvel all these skyscrapers.
Not too far from Pier 17 is where a fairly narrow street named Wall Street is located. It is the pulsating heart of the financial world with its famous stock exchange. There is no visiting the building but it looks nice from the outside.
From there we would continue our walk towards the southern tip of Manhattan with many more photos coming soon. I hope you are enjoying this blast from the past!
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