Rooftop Party in Front of the ESB...

...Yesterday evening we have been on an amazing private rooftop party. Fortunately a friend of Markus has put us on the guestlist for this extraordinary event (Special thanks to Clemens). It was in the 27th Street, Fifth Avenue (230 Rooftop Gardens - check out the website) with perfect view on the Empire State Building and the rest of the city. The people there were all from a hostel organization - so most of them were still young and so the party atmosphere was great - drinks and food were for free :-) Later on the people were moving downstairs to a wonderful lounge with a dancefloor were the party went on.

These type of locations are well known from all different movies and are typical for big cities as NY. I think I could get used to this :-) but normally they are very $$$.

Basically I could try to write more about this place, but it's not possible to put this experience in words - so watch the pics below.

Rooftop Gardens:
Me with my first cocktail on the rooftop:
Party Crew - Two friends from Germany, Markus and me (it is funny, because you could get a bath robe, when you felt cold):
The very nice lounge:

First Baseball Match...

...Today I have been at my first baseball match of the MLB (Major League Baseball) where the New York Mets played against the Atlanta Braves. It was interesting to see baseball especially in the big Shea Stadium (Capacity 57,333), but it was my first time so I did not know the rules well. Furthermore we lived very American with hotdogs and Sprite. Unfortunately the Mets have lost but the atmosphere was also quite good. To summarize this afternoon it was a nice experience, but baseball is not my sport because it is too slow - the whole match took around 3 hours :-)

Interesting is also that the Shea Stadium will only exist until 2009, because a new stadium the City Field (Capacity 45,000 (approx.)), will be constructed next to the current one. You can see it on the last picture between the stands and the scoreboard.

So the plan is to see also a NHL (National Hockey League) and a NBA (National Basketball Association) game of the New York teams during my time in New York City.

Johannes and the Charging Bull...

...Yesterday evening we passed once again the Charging Bull or also called Wall Street Bull. Fortunately there were nearly no tourists and I took to chance to ride the famous bull.

It is a must for all economists :-)

"...The sculpture depicts a bull, the symbol of aggressive financial optimism and prosperity, leaning back on its haunches and with its head lowered as if ready to charge..."
Source: Wikipedia on 09/12/2008

9/11 - Tribute in Light...

...Yesterday evening on the 7th anniversary of 9/11 the two sky beamers did visualize the towers of the World Trade Center again.

In the morning we have been at memorial ceremony where a friend of us did read some names of those died during the attack. It was an extraordinary and really sad experience especially during the four moments of silence.

On the evening we made a trip through lower Manhattan in order to take some pictures of the amazing sky beamers. Unfortunately this Tribute in Light should not be continued and in 2008 it was the last year where these wonderful lights "completed" the skyline of Manhattan.

Favorite Indian Restaurant - Really Nice ...

...In case you are in New York City there is no way not to go and eat at this restaurant. A friend has suggested it and it is very special and you will never find this environment, etc. again. I have been there now for two times, but I definitly will visit this place more often. Moreover it is a cheap place where you do get very good food - see below some impressions:

Milon Bangladesh Indian Restaurant:
93 First Avenue, 2nd Floor
Between 5th and 6th Street
Up Stair Left Side

Find here some more reviews...

In case you want to have real fun just say that today is your birthday :-)

Top of the Rock...

...Stefan (the one we have visited last weekend in Washington DC), Christoph (brother of Stefan), Magdalena (sister of Stefan), Markus and I have visited today the famous observation deck of the Rockefeller Center (Wikipedia Link). It is not as high as the Empire State Building but you have also a very good view over the whole city and the biggest advantage is that it is not so crowded. Furthermore you can see the Empire State Building and the Central Park very good! Unfortunately the weather was today not as good as in the past weeks.

Rockefeller Center:
Travel group on the Top of the Rock:
(from left to right: I, Stefan, Christoph, Magdalena, Markus)
Central Park:
Empire State Building (in clouds):
Empire State Building:
Famous Christmas Star from Swarovski (Austrian company):
The Christmas tree in front of the Rockefeller Center is also very popular from many movies. For instance in Kevin "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" where he has met his mother in front of this tree. I will also spent some time during Christmas in front of this tree ;-)

So I have now visited the two highest observation decks in NYC during the day and I will also make one night session there.

US Open 2008 - Amazing Evening Session...

...Yesterday's evening session at the US Open 2008 (see also my previous posting) in Flushing Meadows (Willets Point–Shea Stadium/Citi Field stop on the New York City Subway's 7 Train) was very exciting.
At the beginning we had to wait before entering the biggest tennis stadium - Arthur Ashe (see here a list by capacity) on this planet, because King Rodger Federer had some difficulties coming into the next round. Due to that the match from Jelena Jankovic (SRB/2) vs. Sybille Bammer (AUT/29) - 6:1 6:4 - was held up in the Louis Armstrong Stadium, where we've got seats by luck in the FIRST ROW directly behind Sybille Bammer. It was amazing sitting nearly on the court to get really the feeling of this event. We were in a box where normally only the coach and the family of the players are sitting...
Furthermore I was quite excited, because of a nice ball girl directly in front of me :-)
After this match we watched Andy Roddick (USA/8) vs. Fernando Gonzalez (CHI/11) - 6:2 6:4 6:1 - in the big Arthur Ashe stadium.
Moreover Cameron Diaz was also in the stadium. She was in a VIP area and so we could not see here directly. She was only shown via an insert on the big video wall.

I made soooo many pictures which I need to upload to my web album in order that you guys will get a better feeling of this extraordinary experience. If you have the chance to visit an US Open match you have to do it. It is not cheap but definitely it will be great!

Trip to Washington DC and Road Trip through Virginia ...

...On Thursday Birgit, Christoph, Markus and I started our trip to Washington DC (duration with Megabus around 4 hours) in order to visit one of our best friends Stefan (see the related blog) who is currently making an internship there. We did a sightseeing tour for around one day and Washington DC is a very nice city which is completely different to New York. There are less people on the streets; everything is more relaxed; no skyscrapers, many government buildings and museums etc. – see below some impressions of the places we have visited...

The White House:

The Capitol:
Reflecting Pool with the Monument (remember the scene from Forrest Gump ;-) ):

Arlington National Cemetery with Iwo Jima (well known Monument - also from the movie "Flags of our Fathers"):

Maybe the future US President:
Moreover we have seen:
- The United Postal Service Building (Old Post Office)
- The National Archives (with the “Declaration of Independence”, “Bill of Rights”, etc.)
- Library of Congress
- FBI
- Union Station (very nice!!)
- Pentagon
- Some other memorials (Vietnam, etc.)
- Etc.

On Friday afternoon we rent a car (Toyota RAV4) and started our road trip with the first station at Manassas National Battlefield Park - quite impressive battlefield from the American civil wars.

After that we continued our trip on Route 66 to Front Royal where we entered the Skyline Drive on the next day. Front Royal is a little and typical US town. Quite small but you can find nearly everything there because of the tourists that make here a pit stop before entering the Skyline Drive. This road is one of the best driving routes in the States which takes you through the very nice Shenandoah National Park.
After this we visited Monticello where you can see the house Thomas Jefferson (3rd President of the United States (1801–1809)). He designed the whole house by himself and it is really worth to see. The garden of the house and everything in this area is very nice, but it was very hot when we were there (more than 30° and the humidity was amazing high). This house can also be seen on a US coin:
Moreover we visited Richmond, the capitol of Virginia. This town is not very exciting as it is small and there are not a lot of interesting buildings to see, but if you are in this area you should make a short stop there.

On the last day of our trip we visited Colonial Williamsburg (former capitol of State Virgina)
and Jamestown where the first settlement of America took place. In Williamsburg we visited the old village which has been rebuilt and the people are living there like in former days.
When you enter/leave this village you go over a bridge where you can find some nice texts - I liked this one very much:

After this we enjoyed the last hours of our road trip at the Buckroe Beach in Hampton, VA.

The whole trip was really exciting and driving in the US is better than in Austria. The people on the streets seem to be more relaxed and the gas price is still very low in comparison to Europe.

Johannes