New York

The city that never sleeps. It’s true! With more than 8 million people living here it’s no wonder. And there is so much to see and do. For me, being in America for the first time, it’s like I stepped into the television: everything seems very unreal, but people are extremely kind and I feel very welcome.

On the ferry from Manhatten to Staten Island you have an amazing view of the city and the Statue of Liberty. The fog on a cloudy day makes it look very mysterious.

Some history

The Dutch started to settle here in 1609 calling it New Amsterdam. Many dutch streetnames still refer to this period. A few of the original Dutch place names have been retained, most notably Flushing (after the Dutch town of Vlissingen), Harlem (after Haarlem), and Brooklyn (after Breukelen). Few buildings, however, remain from the 17th century. The oldest recorded house still in existence in New York City, the Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House in Brooklyn, dates from 1652.

In June 1665, the town was reincorporated under English law and renamed “New York” after the Duke, ending the 50-year history of the Dutch colony. The war ended in a Dutch victory in 1667, but the colony remained under English rule. The Stamp Act Congress met in New York City in 1765 in the first organized resistance to British authority across the colonies.

British occupation lasted until November 25, 1783. George Washington returned to the city that day, as the last British forces left the city. The city served as the national capital under the Articles of Confederation from 1785-1789, and briefly served as the new nation’s capital in 1789–90 under the United States Constitution. Under the new government the city hosted the inauguration of George Washington as the first President of the United States, the drafting of the United States Bill of Rights, and the first Supreme Court of the United States.

Brooklyn

I start my trip in New York in Brooklyn. It’s a more quiet part of New York, compared to Manhatten and it’s near the music festival at the Well (small venue). Walking on the Brooklyn bridge is amazing.

The Well

Augmented reality workshop

Coney Island

Coney Island is located south of Brooklyn, next to the beach and features an amusement area that includes 50 or more separate rides and attractions.

Manhatten

Harlem

Harlem is a neighborhood in the northern part of Manhattan. Originally it was a Dutch village from 1658, named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands. Harlem was predominantly occupied by Jewish and Italian Americans in the 19th century. During the Great Migration in the 20th century African-American residents began to arrive in large numbers and in the 1920s and 1930s, Central and West Harlem was the focus of the “Harlem Renaissance”.There are still many theaters like the Apollo. In the 2010s, some real estate professionals started rebranding south Harlem and Morningside Heights as “SoHa”.

Central Park

Last but not least my favourite part of New York: Central Park. It’s a huge park with so much to see and many animals. If you want to walk all the way from the north to the south it will take hours. The park is laid out on the same natural rocks the city uses as a foundation to build the heavy skyscrapers on, which are still visible here.

Construction of Central Park began in 1857 after landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and architect/landscape designer Calvert Vaux won a design competition to construct the park with a plan they titled the “Greensward Plan”. The park’s first areas were opened to the public in late 1858.

Main attractions of the park include the Ramble and Lake; several amusement attractions including Wollman Rink, Central Park Carousel, and the Central Park Zoo; Sheep Meadow; the Central Park Mall; Bethesda Terrace; the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir; and the Delacorte Theater that hosts Shakespeare in the Park programs in the summertime. The park also has sports facilities, including the North Meadow Recreation Center, basketball courts, baseball fields, and soccer fields.

And off course I fell in love with the squirrels in Central Park because they look so cute.