old tiger's Blog

As i said in my previous post..the WTC twin towers are no more..
in 1983 on a bright and sunny august day..I took the elevator..
towards the 107th floor??If I recall well??don't remember clearly..
it's a quick experience that lift up to view New York from the skies..
the view on that sunny day..is something I would call stunning..
there was a circular kind of room..with written on the windows..
what could be seen below..the New York bridges like Brooklyn..
or Verrazano bridge connecting Brooklyn to Staten Island..
could clearly be noticed..so was the whole town of Manhattan..
it was possible from the inside building to go out on the roof..
it was at a height of over 400 meters..I never went that high..
kind of observation deck in the open..one feels little on a skyscraper..
the usual flock of tourists were of course omnipresent...
it was a very good experience to view New York from above..
9/11 was a tragedy in human history..indeed..I feel sad..
to write these lines here..such a beautiful touristical landmark..
is gone forever..and that,my friends..is beyond my words to express..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center
we did not plan to visit the Empire State building..
next day..we walked almost the whole length of 5th Avenue Manhattan..
Tiger

So..we made our first steps into N.Y.transport system..
the famous New York subway..with it's well known graffiti..
it was a bit of an adventure going into the subway..
we had to take the statue of liberty island ferry..
so that meant we had to reach a place called battery park..
ferry ride was about 20 minutes..lots of tourists of course..
this famous landmark is world famous...we were lucky enough..
to be able to get quickly on the ferry..because it can be a waiting..
the ferry ride itself was fabulous..once you near the statue..
it's a very nice sight to view..we got down..and took our time..
for this visit..we went up into the crown of this monumental statue..
lots of spiraling steps to climb..bit claustrofobic at times...
it takes time as well..the view over New York is fantastic...
moreover we did it on a bright and sunny august day...
I still recall my visit to the statue quite vividly..we did not do Ellis
island..we took our time at statue of liberty island..
Ellis island had to do with the immigration into the U.S.A.
we went back to lower Manhattan by ferry..
and did some walking towards Chinatown via World trade center area..
Chinatown is near Canal Street..I recall the funny telephone boots over there...
we had Chinese food for a reasonable price somewhere..excellent..
the shops and the goods displayed were very interesting...
typical Chinese...little Italy borders this area..restaurants of course..
with spagetti bolognese,lasagne..anything Italian..
so..our first day in the big apple was worthwhile..next day...
we plannned a visit up to World trade center building..
sadly enough..WTC..is no more..it's a crying shame..
that this happened to not only the city of N.Y..but to humanity..
I'll try to find a good link on statue of liberty island..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Liberty
http://www.inetours.com/New_York/Pages/Stu_Lbty.html
www.statueoflibertyferry.com
Tiger

I always dreamt about America..New York..so..we booked..
a flight with Icelandair from Luxemburg to New York via Reykjavik..
this company gave good rates for flights..one nice day in august 1983..
we set off by train to Luxemburg city..then by bus to Findel airport..
we were in a good mood..it was a flight with a stopover in Iceland..
long flight to N.Y..I think it was 8 or 9 hours flying..
the transit in Reykjavik..was O.K..typical Scandinavian mood..
my wife bought one of these woollen sweaters..famous in Iceland..
it was extra luggage..she should have waited to buy this until our
return stopover of 3 nights in Reykjavik..but we didn't think..
my wife just saw this sweater...and she liked it...so we bought it..
the flight Reykjavik to JFK was allright..funny airhostess accents
of Icelandic English...uhuh..reaching JFK..was bit confusing for us..
it's a huge airport...my wife got a niece living in Greenwich Village..
so..free stay and food in Manhattan..my wife's niece recieved us
at the terminal exit..she was living in Barrow street=not far from the
Hudson river,little Italy,Chinatown or Washington Square...
driving into New York city..seeing that skyline...the bridges etc..
was an experience I still treasure in my mind today..it's impressive..
my wife's niece lived in a flat...we got our own key to get in...
because this lady was working..we got free time the next 4 days...
to discover Manhattan to full extent on our own...what an experience...
we made a walk to the Hudson that day..we were tired from the flight..
also..take in view the bloody time difference..jetlag etc...
I'll report you about my New York adventures...still recall it vividly..
http://gonyc.about.com/od/bestofnewyorkcity/tp/topattractions.htm
Tiger

day 2 in H?viz..well..not much different then day 1..
all one can do in H?viz is mostly swim in the lake...ahah..
it's so damn healthy..one feels same effect..as coming out..
of a real Finnish sauna...it's remarkable..how our body reacts...
to thermal baths...it must be the minerals in the water..uhuh..
the train trip to Vienna..went fine..goes via Szombathely-Sopron..
if I analyse this Hungary trip now..I must say..it was O.K.
but..I missed much more of this country..few days is NOT enough..
and I never went back there..pity..it's a nice place..
I did like the *palinka*=a brandy made from plums..it's 40 degrees..
watch out with this stuff..bit like the slivovitch in Yougoslavia..uhuh..
Vienna..well..we just changed trains there...and took that train..
which brought us back home to Belgium..next trip..was a 2 weeks trip..
flying from Findel airport(Luxemburg)to New York(U.S.A)via Iceland..
many hipforummers here are American...I can tell you all..
I did enjoy New York,Boston,North Andover(Massachusetts)
we did bit of New Hampshire..great country..
much different from what I had seen before...
I will give you peeps full report soon..
tiger

We took a bus towards Keszthely..nice trip..it gave us a chance..
to see the Balaton lake..popular holiday destination..for East bloc
citizens..but also for Western tourists..lots of campings,hotels etc...
Balaton lake is about a 80kms long and at least 10kms..
from one shore to the other one..around Tihany a peninsula cuts into
the lake itself..we did not visit this place..since our bus went straight
to Keszthely..Hungarian buses were not that bad..and not expensive..
Keszthely was a small provincial town with some charm..
we directly took a connecting bus towards H?viz..my wife was crazy
about thermal spas..this H?viz lake...is the biggest in Europe..
the bus ride from Keszthely to H?viz is a short 20 min.ride..
when we reached there..we went first to the tourist office..
checked out a bed and breakfast..but it was not to our liking...
and we took a 2 nights stay in a rather good style hotel close to the
lake...there was an indoor thermal bath as well..but we went to have
a swim in the lake itself..let me tell you all..it was damn warm water..
the lake is situated on a crater which must be deep down..
the water was about 30 degrees Celsius..it stays like that..
even in wintertime..it's a very funny site..the lake looks..
like giving out fumes..we took a protection inflatable tyre..
since my wife could not swim in deep water..I didn't..I could swim..
we really enjoyed swimming in that lake..there was a pavillion..
from which you could start swimming..one had to pay to get into the water..
after a good swim..one feels bit tired..effect of minerals which
are in the water itself...it's a health resort..so..lots of folks swim..
we went back to the hotel and we got some food..nothing special..
one can sleep well after a thermal swim in H?viz..next day..we planned
another visit to the lake..there's really not much else to do in H?viz..
I'll try to find a good link on H?viz..please visit this place..if you do Hungary...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A9v%C3%ADz_Spa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_H%C3%A9v%C3%ADz
Tiger