Wouter Verhelst, Tourist

So for one day a few days ago, I wasn't Wouter Verhelst, Debian Developer, but rather the above. I'm not usually very much interested in doing touristy things, but then on the other hand I'm of the opinion that you can't really claim to have been somewhere if all you've seen is the inside of a certain specific university campus.

So, well, touristy things. I took the subway to about 10 blocks away from the very south of Manhattan, and then walked. I passed by city hall and what used to be the world trade center, but there wasn't much to see there—construction sites are the same everywhere in the world. I moved on to "the battery", the south tip of Manhattan, and had an... interesting look at the Statue of Liberty in the distance. I thought about going there, but the tickets were sold out, so scratch that.

Instead, I walked on to the Brooklyn Bridge (passing by Wall Street on the way), spent some time looking for the pedestrian's entrance to that bridge (which was slightly harder than would've thought it to be), and walked partway up the bridge. I wasn't interested in crossing over to Brooklyn, but it's an interesting bridge to walk on, and I had an interesting time.

When I left the bridge again, it started raining. I don't mind a few drips on a warm day like that day, but this was more than that, and it started to bother me. So, rather than walking to the Empire State building, as I'd been planning, I decided to take the subway there. This did mean I missed out on the SOHO area, which I would've liked to see, but well, you can't have it all.

The Empire State building is something you grow up hearing about, and I'd seen pictures of it. It has a somewhat distinctive silhouette, shown on several comparative graphics of high-profile skyscrapers. But none of that is even close to the real thing. Not that it's higher than I expected; on the contrary. But it does look different; its color is much lighter than I thought, and the distinctive silhouette isn't as distinctive once you're standing right next to the building.

But, well, going up the building clearly shows that it is the tallest building of New York. There are other skyscrapers, but most of those seem to be little dwarves in comparison. The view is nice, up there, and I took some interesting pictures. The tickets aren't very cheap ($20), but not insanely expensive either. I don't regret doing this.

(in case you were wondering: yes, the above picture is in the point of view of the one above that, and vice versa)

By that time it was around 4 pm already, and I thought about going back to the Columbia campus. As I checked out my map for the most efficient route, I found that it probably would've been easier to walk to Times Square and take the number 1 train there which stops right in front of Columbia (but below the surface, obviously). So since I was going to have to go there, I figured I could just visit Times Square while I was at it.

I must say I'm not very impressed by it. For starters, Times Square isn't actually a square, at least not as I'm used to that word. Broadway and 7th avenue happen to cross at a, for Manhattan, uncharacteristically sharp angle, which results in more space between buildings than usual. But it's still fairly small as a "square". They've fenced off a part of that space and put a bunch of chairs and tables there. This would be a cosy and inviting, "gezellig" place, if not for the very audible noise of the traffic still going on all around it, and the fact that everywhere you see, there's three layers of brustling and visually noisy adverts. It could have been a relaxing oasis in the middle of the city, but instead it's just as busy as everywhere else in Manhattan.

But then, I guess that's what New York City is all about.

At any rate, after spending about half an hour or so there, I walked over to the subway to get back to the venue—just in time for dinner. The end of a nice, touristy, day.