By the way, I must point out that we are both renowned for intensive, long-lasting, delicious and exquisite meals wherever we emerge as visitors. This was definitely demonstrated again several times in Germany.
There is no free lunch, which is why I had to ‘deserve’ this unique Thanksgiving gathering, that is, I had planned to pass by a friend of mine, who participated in the summer courses at the University of Regensburg a year ago. Her name is Lisa and she lived in Upstate New York in Albany.
Since I arrived before the official Thanksgiving date, I had a lot of time to branch out. To get there I had to take the LIRRT (Long Island Railroad Train) from Northport to Penn Station in downtown New York. Needless to say, I didn’t want to miss out on a glimpse of MACY, the world famous shopping mall without being subject to dominant tastes.
However, he was quite baffled by the wealth and riches strewn all over this glamorous alley along Fifth Avenue. After spending a few hours in Albany, where Mario Como preferred to work at the Local State Capitol at the time, I was forced to take the 4 o’clock train back to New York.
Enjoying a very uneventful train ride so far, something happened that could have happened in an action thriller as well; our train suddenly stopped the engines and could not go any further. We were crossing a bridge somewhere in the Bronx, but the overall atmosphere didn’t seem to be very inviting.
In fact, I also felt a bit scared, because no one knew exactly what was going on during the first half hour. What a pleasant nighttime surprise! In any case, the temporary location was not the best, as someone whispered to me. Looking outside, it was already dark, I had this mysterious feeling, as I saw some people scattered under this endless bridge very close to our car, who were involved in a shooting, a drug deal or whatever else you might have . easily imagined at the time.
Without a doubt, the passengers did not feel comfortable at all, not knowing how long they would endure this hectic situation, excluded from the outside world and literally sentenced to the inside; this gave me the impression of being in a small tin box, without having had the opportunity to act but only to react. Meanwhile, the passengers got through the tedious wait with small talk, playing cards, reading and getting to know each other, which worked perfectly as an effective means of distraction. Finally, after 3 hours of uncertainty, we started moving again and happily arrived at Grand Central Station. Upon arrival we were told that there had been a fire at Penn Station, causing us to take this detour on an unintentional basis.
After recovering from this shocking experience, Mathew and I took the opportunity to walk around Long Island the next morning, showing me some admirable places, such as the private homes of Billy Joel or Barbara Streisand.
After seeing the wealth materialized in downtown New York, I was able to briefly see another Vanderbilt mansion, which included a museum, planetarium, and a cross on the golf course that started at the top of the roof. This was too much for me, although I was very proud to have been able to reach my ‘donor property’.
Eventually, time flies when you’re having fun and so we had to backtrack to take our seats for the start of Thanksgiving Dinner.
Oh God, the next few hours would end in paradise. It was just fantastic: Mathew’s mother prepared almost everything you would have never imagined in your smallest dreams. Never before have I seen such exceptional rich food, well decorated and spread across the large table.
I believe that on Thanksgiving there is always an exactly tailored table available that can handle the incredible amount of nutritional treasures, let alone the added ingredients. The feeding procedure is the most important feature of this day, followed by a short period of relaxation and rejuvenation, such as a nap. Then everyone automatically moves to the living room where the TV is already set up to watch the traditional Macy’s Parade, the largest parade in the US, which takes place on Fifth Avenue and snuggles into the city center.
Finally, the beginning of the football game surpassed everything I said before: at this stage, all the members of the family more or less are on the ground without being able to move anywhere. They basically idolize these games a lot, which I still couldn’t understand at this point in my stay. Sooner or later my understanding of the philosophy of football had changed radically, especially since some teammates accompanied me, who made all kinds of efforts to explain it to me.
Of course I needed a half day of recovery, but then I intended to use the remaining time efficiently wandering through downtown New York City.Due to obvious time constraints, I concentrated on a few important sites like the Empire State Building. Building, Rockefeller Plaza, the New York Public Library, St. Patrick’s Church, the Soho area, including Canal Street, and United States Avenue connecting upper and lower Manhattan. I also favored the Brighton Beach area of Brooklyn, where the majority of Russian immigrants have settled.
However, the most impressive place, which I was glad to go to, was the WTC, which according to the latest story no longer exists. So thank goodness I was able to do it and adore the top of the skyscraper and experience 30+ miles of visibility on that beautiful day. Looking back from now on, I still have a strange feeling remembering this once architectural masterpiece and the sad outcome of 9/11 without neglecting its impact on global politics.