In 216, my wife and I visited New York for the first time and we were really impressed by the city. Before that I had travelled to the west of the USA several times (California, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona). I have travelled by bike, on Greyhound buses, by hitchhiking and also by car. I'm like many Europeans: New York and San Francisco are the cities in the USA that particularly appeal to us. I should actually show photos of these two cities on my website. But my photos from San Francisco are all analogue. Maybe I'll digitise them at some point.
In New York, we found the 9/11 memorial really impressive. It was remarkable how gracefully the New Yorkers treated it. We saw a tourist leaning on the edge of the memorial to look down. He was immediately informed that this was not allowed. What a difference to the Holocaust memorial in Berlin! There, a picnic is held at the memorial and children play tag. Berlin should take a leaf out of New York's book.
In the centre of Manhattan, a citizens' initiative has succeeded in re-establishing the "High Line" park. A great gain for the city. In Manhattan, where literally every square metre is being built up with high-rise buildings, it really is a great achievement to achieve something like this.
