Tuesday morning surprised us with sun and a cloudless blue sky. So we went out early, a perfect day to climb the top of New York. First task was to get an explorer pass which is a ticket for several attractions at a discounted price. We decided to take the one valid for seven attractions based on a list we made during breakfast. We still are free to change...so let's see where it will take us eventually. However, the first use of this card was already determined:
Top of the Rock, the observation deck on top of Rockefeller Center. The building itself is pretty nice with it's Art Deco architecture. Even the elevator ride up to the 67th floor was an event: the ceiling of it went transparent during the ride and created the impression of looking through the windshield of a racing car. However, this was nothing compared to the breathtaking view from the top, overlooking one of the most impressing city skylines of this earth.
After circling the observation deck several times, taking hundreds of pictures and enjoying the sun for a while we went back down. Next part of today's plan was to dciscover the city from street level, as well, by just following 5th Avenue and later the Broadway all the way down to the south of Manhattan. Here are some impressions how it looked.
After passing the Triangle building we the look of the city changed. No more skyscrapers after we left midtown..although the houses still have many floors there. It's more a residential neighborhood compared to the tourist zone around Times Square.
On the way we got a glimpse of Chinatown but didn't turn this way. Then we unexpectedly went into a huge shopping district around Broadway and Houston Street, entering SoHo. But today we tried to look into the shops rather briefly to get as much of the sun as possible. Getting down further the building got higher again, the financial district made it much harder to see the sun.
We passed the 9/11 site which is a huge construction yard nowadays, nothing to see of the disaster anymore, although it still is a scary place somehow.
Then we went on to the Hudson, passing the World Financial Center, and enjoyed the skyline of New Jersey where many new office buildings were built as a replacement for the WTC.
As a highlight of today's post here's a short video clip of 5th Avenue at early afternoon. Unfortunately Blogger reduces the quality too much, I have to find a better way to publish videos next time.
After circling the observation deck several times, taking hundreds of pictures and enjoying the sun for a while we went back down. Next part of today's plan was to dciscover the city from street level, as well, by just following 5th Avenue and later the Broadway all the way down to the south of Manhattan. Here are some impressions how it looked. 
After passing the Triangle building we the look of the city changed. No more skyscrapers after we left midtown..although the houses still have many floors there. It's more a residential neighborhood compared to the tourist zone around Times Square.
On the way we got a glimpse of Chinatown but didn't turn this way. Then we unexpectedly went into a huge shopping district around Broadway and Houston Street, entering SoHo. But today we tried to look into the shops rather briefly to get as much of the sun as possible. Getting down further the building got higher again, the financial district made it much harder to see the sun.
We passed the 9/11 site which is a huge construction yard nowadays, nothing to see of the disaster anymore, although it still is a scary place somehow.
Then we went on to the Hudson, passing the World Financial Center, and enjoyed the skyline of New Jersey where many new office buildings were built as a replacement for the WTC. 
As a highlight of today's post here's a short video clip of 5th Avenue at early afternoon. Unfortunately Blogger reduces the quality too much, I have to find a better way to publish videos next time.