New York City Pt 1

We have now been ensconced in NYC for a few (hot!) days and having a hoot of a time. The apartment is all set up and going well. So far we've been down to midtown to visit the High Line and bits of Chelsea, as well as over the East River to Brooklyn Heights. Public transport is easy to use and we've been on subways, buses and ferry's - all of which are efficient. As before, it is amazing how many people there are in the city - any street or park has lots of people, which rather than being oppressive is vibrant and exciting: because its not overcrowded at any particular place, just busy everywhere. This makes it seem comfortable pretty much anywhere you go (at least in Manhattan where we are focussed). The city authorities have made many improvements over the years and the environment is generally well managed and looking good (a bit like London in that respect). But the key take-away is still the extent of 'humanity' on the island of Manhattan (let alone the other 4 boroughs of New York City which tourists hardly visit). It is a world-wonder how many buildings, people and activity occur here - and how it has evolved over time to become what it is. Here are some pics...

This first image is a comparison I've conjured of Manhattan and the Brisbane CBD (at the same scale). The blue line shows the distance from the Riverside Expressway to Teneriffe, being about the same as from the High Line (midpoint) to the bottom of Central Park. Manhattan (as shown here) is over 12km long - the same distance from the Brisbane City Botanical Gardens to the Aspley Hypermarket. Manhattan and NYC are huge....

Central Park, with the more recent slender ('pencil') residential towers reflected. Those typically have one apartment  per floor - going for $10m to $90m....

Random sign from bus down 11th Avenue....

The Vessel in Hudson Yards, a development at the northern end of the High Line. The High Line is a fantastic walk any time. This year we noticed more public art...

After lunch at Chelsea Market (had a fantastic hot asian dish) we went over to Little Island near Pier 57 - this is the view south (highest building is One World Trade Centre)...

Today we headed back across Central Park to the Upper East Side where we caught the Roosevelt Island Tramway, then a ferry to Brooklyn. This is a mansion built for a Vanderbilt back in the day - a fabulous Beaux Arts extravaganza - inside must be amazing. The interesting 'porthole' building to the left (through the trees) is a Synagogue built in 1958 - quite a progressive bit of design...

The short building is The Links Golf Club, one of the most exclusive clubs in NYC. You need 5 member recommendations to get in - plus the ability to pay the fees. Obviously there is no golf course! Established in 1927...

The ferry down the East River is fantastic and we had a great morning for it - although hot. This is the Queensboro Bridge from Roosevelt Island, looking west back to the Upper East Side. The tramway is in the picture top right...

View south-west from the ferry to One World Trade Centre, showing characteristic New York water towers....

Looking north-west toward midtown under the Williamsburg Bridge...

View downtown looking south-west across the Manhattan Bridge....

Downtown across the Brooklyn Bridge...

Brooklyn with the Manhattan Bridge in the background - this area is called Dumbo (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). We visited a busy flea market here...

Nice shadows around the corner...

Manhattan Bridge...

Walking around Brooklyn Heights is always a treat. It's a large and hugely historic area - surprisingly quiet even on the weekend - but only one stop to Wall Street on the subway. It still has something like 600 pre-civil war (1860's) townhouses, mostly renovated and worth a fortune. This looks like a typical townhouse row but it isn't - the one in the middle is a ventilator shaft for the subway 8 levels below!...

These look like Gone with the Wind, but they are historic townhouses, with ostentatious wooden pillars in front of the facades (set back just behind)...

The tour group on the Brooklyn Promenade looking west toward Downtown across the East River...

There is a variety of building styles - mostly brick but some weatherboard (eg. the grey one)...

Walking west on the Brooklyn Bridge, back toward Manhattan...

We went to a great comedy show tonight in Greenwich Village. On the way we passed this game on a community court in a prime location - lots of spectators and passers-by, and some great play too...

Iceland Pt 5

This is the last post for Iceland, as we have now arrived in New York City, our home for the next 7 weeks. Marian and I continued 'solo' to finish off the circle around Iceland - travelling west around to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula then back again to Reykjavik. This part of the trip was intended to have a focus on birds and we did very well on that score - with time to also see some museums, including a traditional farm with turf buildings and the National Museum in Reykjavik. Here are some pics...

Up until 1920 over 80% of rural farm dwellings were constructed of turf. Now there are very few. They require significant maintenance and renewal, so modern construction materials led to their demise. It doesn't take long for them to fall into the ground. This farm at Glaumbaer was used up until the 1940's when, just in time, it was taken over by the National Museum and has been maintained every since. It was very interesting - most little buildings were interconnected by a central corridor - so it was quite a large rabbit warren, likely pretty toasty in winter. Apparently they didn't need much heating....

The 'bed boards' kept the bedding in place overnight, noting that 2 people slept in each bed. The boards have religious inscriptions that are read aloud each night when going to bed. Women slept on the left, with the windows, as their work was more sight intensive (sewing etc)...

Many farmers were also pastors, as was the case at this farm. Iceland was settled from the late 800's and Christian from 1000AD (approx), although pagan worship was permitted to continue (then faded out). Initially Catholic, it was converted (with force) to become Lutheran in the 1600's. Religion was a central part of life in Iceland up until recent times....

One of only 5 extant turf churches in Iceland (near the above farm), also managed by the National Museum since the 1940's....

On our way westward, we visited Kolugljúfur Canyon, with a fine waterfall...

Our first night was at a great little house on a fjord at Hvammstangi on the Vatness Peninsula, with distant views across to the Western Fjords. We didn't go there due to time. The northern part of that district is the most remote in Iceland: a huge area with no roads or services...

There are often craters in Icelandic scenery and sometimes they occur close to the road and you can walk up them. This one is at Grabrok Crater. The photo shows a nearby crater a little smaller than the one we walked up (from where the photo is taken)...

We took an afternoon boat trip at Stykkishólmur (on the northern shore of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula). As the weather was great (surprisingly!) it was fantastic. We saw lots more puffins, but this time with a focus on them on the water which was very interesting, plus lots of other critters (seals; eagles etc). The scenery was tremendous. The first photo is a pair of Eider Ducks - there are many in this part of Iceland - the source of eiderdown...

The town of Stykkishólmur is tidy and colourful on the waterfront...

On the way further west we saw a famous mountain in Iceland: Kirkjufell. It was in the Game of Thrones and appears on a lot of tourist images. It's a bit like a blade - long on one side and skinny on the other. There's a waterfall nearby with a fetching view of both. The setting for the waterfall is epic even without Kirkjufell....

Svöðufoss, near our accommodation for 2 nights at Rif on the very western edge of Iceland...

Snæfellsjökull is a huge glacier on a mountain at the western end of the peninsula. Its usually covered in cloud/fog but this day was quite clear. This is a typical Icelandic church design set agains Lupins beneath the glacier...

Most of the western part of the peninsula around Snæfellsjökull is volcanic. This has resulted in dramatic sea cliffs with, in various places, prolific bird life...

This unusual black church is very fetching in the landscape - even more so in winter (seen in various tourist images). It is mid-way along the south coast of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, next to a lava field that is a nature reserve, due to the unusual flora that survives in the crevices (out of the wind)...

One of our several final stops before returning to Reykjavik was to Ytri Tunga, a seal beach. Unfortunately, it was a bit sad as there were only 7 seals hiding out in 2 groups. Happily, most tourists (there were a lot) only went to the bit of the beach with 3 seals. The other 4 were relatively undisturbed. There are far fewer seals in Iceland, compared to significant numbers in the past. Up until recently there has been continuous seal hunting and it still goes on, but to a lesser extent. It's had a huge impact. There were only a few seals in other places as well, where they are meant to be easy to see...