you are suddenly in the middle of Time Square. My timing couldn't have been better, it just got dark when I arrived there. And really, this is no square to see during the day :-)
It is a bombardment of lights and advertisement boards. And it shows the other side of the western capitalistic system: the constant creation of needs. There was absolutely nothing on those big boards that had any real value. Only things you 'need' to have, 'need' to see.
They even apply tricks to lure people in: camera's are pointed at the crowd and these people are shown on a big screen. This has the amazing effect that most people go crazy if they see themselves on a big screen, especially at Times Square. And if you then link any type of reward to it, they will flock to your banner, guaranteed. Everybody wants their 'fifteen minutes of fame' (thank you Andy Warhol, who actually said: "In the Future, everybody will be famous for 15 mintues"), saw that quotes in 2008 in Brisbane.
After that I just wandered back home to my hovel, where I had a good night read. No way you can sleep there, too much noise :-)
On Sunday, I wanted to do the south tip of Manhattan. But I didn't have that much time left, since I had a plane to catch, so I took the subway to get there.
Had to chance twice, because of some maintenance work and had a nice chat with a very friendly couple from Alaska. They were convinced Belgians are great travelers since they just met a week before another guy from Belgium (this country they hadn't heard from before). Sure we are.
And there was this Russian guy who had no clue how to get to some street I had never heard of. But he had this feeling I was one of the locals as I was standing on the platform waiting so he asked me. He was rather surprised to hear that I had only arrived less then 48 hours before :-)
I actually went straight for Battery Park, the most southern point of Manhattan,
from where you can take a ferry to Ellis (were millions of immigrants entered the US from 1890, officially from 1892 with Annie Moore a red headed Irish girl being the first official immigrant to be registered there, until WWII), Staten and Liberty (with a statue on it you probably have heard of) Island.
I was really looking forward to standing face to face with the most icon statue in the United States and one of the most iconic ones in the world: The Statue of Liberty (the number of pictures that one was is is very very long).
Unfortunately, this is the closest I got to it:
There was a 2 hours queue for the ferries. Even if I would have had more time (and no plane to catch), I still wouldn't have done it, definitely something to do during the week ;-)
And although I didn't see Ellis Island and the statue of Annie (by the way, wasn't the lead character of the musical 'Annie' a red headed girl?) there were plenty of tributes in Battery Park to the immigrants reaching the US as the promised land.
I started walking from Battery Park up north and passed Trinity Church
which used to be (as we have in many other smaller cities and villages) the highest building and a beacon for people reaching New York in the earlier days. Now, you can hardly see it amongst the huge skyscrapers.
And then I felt a presence, a disturbance in the Force, there were clear signs
I approached it, the Mecca of capitalism (pun intended): Wall Street, home of the New York Stock Exchange.
By the way, the name Wall Street comes from the fact that the Dutch built a wall at that line, to protect the northern border of what was then called New Amsterdam.
This is probably the most impressive building in Wall Street, certainly not the tallest, it is only 4 floors. The Morgan Bank, ordered by JP Morgan, the ultimate capitalist and one of the richest man in the States. To give you an idea, he was behind the creation of General Electric and The United States Steel Corporation and he directed the banking coalition that stopped the 'Panic of 1907'. Build on the corner of Broad St and Wall St, probably the most valuable part of NY. But still they only built it 4 floors high, as to show that he could afford that. The kind of place countries go to when they need money.
And among all the financial monuments in that street you have this building, Federal Hall, where George Washington took the oath as the first official president of the United States of America. It is almost ironic that this building should be in the same street as those enormous financial monuments.
Because in the end, the United States was founded on the most democratic principles of freedom any country has known. Many people do not associate that any more with the current state of this country but it is true. Freeing themselves from a very ruthless regime of Britain, the founding fathers swore that this country would have absolute freedom of believes and freedom to express oneself (most specifically the 5h amendment). They tried to rid the country of the oppressing of tyranny, religion and a centralized monetary system. Oh well, it was a noble effort, but as John Adams said: "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself."
I wandered on and after a delighful lunch went towards the last icon I wanted to see before I left:
The Brooklyn Bridge. It crosses the Eastern River towards oh yes, Brooklyn :-)
If you walk or cycle across, you are actually on a level higher than the cars.
Around the huge pillars people have started to leave padlocks behind.
Different from graffiti tags.
After that, back to the hotel, get my stuff, jump in a yellow cab and head for the airport.
And to end the tribute of this magnificent city, here is
Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind
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