Our 2013 American Trip: The NYC High Line

Guess what, Folks.  We're at the end of our October trip to America, leaving you with the High Line of New York City as we wave good-bye to a fabulous vacation.  Just in time for the holidays!

It so happens this was at the end of our Columbia University day and the visit to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (last post).  So, as you'd guess, this was late afternoon - early evening on our last full day in NYC.

Because it was approximately 8km south from the cathedral to the High Line,

we took the subway.  How convenient!
(Astrid took the bottom-center pic of the lady in purple!)

And now we're talking about a one-mile walk along the former elevated 

New York Central Railroad spur, where two of three phases are completed.

Talk about someone with vision for a run-down section of the city!

Talk about transformation! People from all over the world come to see it and walk it!

It's like a park in the sky....

...full of art and leisure and rest against new architectural wonders springing up everywhere.

It's breathing new investment-life into the city.

Look what you get to see while you take your walk!

 

On all sides, you look below or across to what's there,

some almost at arm's reach.

 Wouldn't you be inspired to paint there?

And once back down on terra firma, world-famous icons are everywhere.

How can you not love New York City!

Many thanks to Robin who made all this possible for us.

We'd go back in a New-York minute!

Budapest: Our Hotel and Transportation

So, after walking around the Chain Bridge and Parliament that morning, and then saying good-bye to everyone at Viking Idun (last post), it was time to take a taxi ride some 30 minutes away to our Tulip Inn hotel, far to the east of city center on the Pest side of the Danube.

Too bad we didn't take more pictures but, the thing is, we knew they had a great breakfast and a fast internet!  We've used them before here in the Netherlands and were not disappointed.

You can see what was important to us.  HA!

Over the next days, we collected images on the Tulip Inn street.

The church next door, the lovely steepled building across from the metro, the street signs...
The church, btw, is the Oradea Square Presbyterian Church, from 1935.

 In fact, that very first day, Saturday afternoon, after settling in, we took a walk through the neighborhood.

Magnificent architecture, some with decay, having its own beauty.

Our walk was in the direction of what appeared to be a water tower, seen from afar.

But later we discovered it's the Bible Speaks Church, found via Google Maps.

Don't you wonder!

A couple days later, when the sun was shining, we went back to the domed church nearby.

It's Our Lady of Hungary Church, from 1931, not to be confused with the Matthias Church in city center,

which is the Church of Our Lady (visited the previous Friday here).

The service inside (middle pics) was on the Monday after Easter, with travelers from a bus standing inside.

How we wanted to know more, especially seeing their luggage!

But we did get to enjoy g'ma and g'son playing nearby!

No translation or explanation needed.

Since our hotel was so far out from city center, we relied on the metro and tram lines each day.

Just a couple of blocks from our hotel was our metro station, flanked by the eagle landmark.

It always felt like she was welcoming us, coming and going.

Metro stations are the same everywhere, aren't they!

Get a good map and memorize which ends are which to decide your direction.

Easy peasy.

They really are the same...cultural experiences!

Even down to the buskers inside.

Once closer to city center, we took the trams from here to there.

Totally reliable and...necessary.

And just like what you'd expect anywhere!

So, now you know how we got from one place to another for the posts ahead

...coming up, as we speak....

The Stuyvenbergh Stop

First of all, I had the good luck and pleasure of being in Brussels the last two days! Donica had to be there for business meetings and since she finds it easier to get there by train than plane (seriously!), this time she asked if I'd like to join her. Are you kidding me??!!

And because Dutch-friend Astrid loves to do photo-hunts with me, we asked her to join me for the day on Tuesday, which she did! Two crazy women with their cameras!

Okay! That's the introduction.

As we were going from here to there on the Metro, we passed through the Stuyvenbergh station and noticed several "statues" lining the metro/underground walls on either side of the tracks. We didn't have time to stop but both of us mentioned that we wanted to, to see them better and take pictures.

So I took the mental note and went back on my own the next day (yesterday) to see them for myself...all 7 of them, as follows:

While on the train back to Amsterdam, as I PhotoShopped the images, Donica tried to find info about them on the Internet. You can read more about them here, but basically they are life-sized terracotta statues "which refer to Queen Elisabeth's last residence, the Stuyvenbergh castle" and are an "homage to the queen's love of art but also to the royal family." The artist is Yves Bosquet.

In the process of discovering this art at this station, Donica found out that there is art at ALL the Metro stations, making the Brussels Metro its own underground art gallery. In fact, you can take your own tour and buy the book and/or download this file to see it all for yourself.

So, Donica, when did you say you have to go back to Brussels again??!! I know two crazy women who have another photo-hunt in mind!