New York 2006

A rocky start to the trip

We were supposed to leave for Frankfurt Airport at 5 a.m. in a VW Bus (T5). Everyone was there on time - except Vinzent. He overslept and wasn’t answering his phone. So we drove over to his place, and lo and behold, he woke up just as we arrived and rushed out to meet us.
So we set off right on time at 5:30 a.m. ;-) and, with no traffic, arrive at the airport around 9:30 a.m.
The flight leaves at 12:10 p.m.

After a flight of about 8 1/2 hours, we arrive in New York (JFK) around 2:30 p.m. (local time). The weather is miserable, it’s been raining all day, and we can’t see a thing of the skyline.
At customs, we not only had to show our passports, but they also took our fingerprints electronically and snapped a photo (no comments).

Around 4 p.m., we left the airport and took an unlicensed taxi (75 USD) to the World Trade Center (WTC). Looking back, we realize that was pretty crazy. It could have been anyone, after all.
Well, everything goes well and we meet up with Stephan at the WTC. Stephan is a friend of ours who is in New York for six months for an internship. He lives in New Jersey, and so do we now. That’s very convenient, of course :-)

So we take the PATH over to Jersey to drop off our luggage first.
But we don’t stay long and head back to Manhattan to grab a bite to eat at one of the many fast-food restaurants in the Manhattan Mall.
It’s now around 10 p.m., and we walk a bit more, armed with umbrellas, through Manhattan, which is still rainy.
From Times Square, we'll head back to Jersey.