The Australian adventure begins

After a two day saga of dodging a blizzard and other airport debacles that I'm eager to forget, I finally made it to Australia, only one day later than planned.  Upon deplaning in Sydney, I had the distinct displeasure of having to wait in the passport control line behind Kate Gosselin, her eight children and various other entourage members (who were all on my flight), which took ages longer than I would have expected.

But now that all the craziness is behind me, I am looking forward to a fantastic two month adventure.  After unwinding at the hotel and enjoying a much needed shower and change of clothes, we headed out to explore Sydney Harbour.  Seeing the iconic Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge made me beyond excited to be here.  The Opera House is even more impressive in person than in pictures.

After just one afternoon of walking around, we have realized that the sun here is extremely strong.  Given that I'm already slightly pink, I need to be sure to slather on the sunscreen if I plan to be outside for the next two months...

In the evening, we wandered around the Darling Harbour area, where our hotel is located.  Darling Harbour is an area of docks, factories and warehouses that have been converted into a waterfront park, lined with shops and restaurants.  Based on even just my first dinner here, I already know one thing - the seafood here is amazing and I can't wait to try a lot more of it.

All in all, the epic struggle I went through to get here was entirely worth it.  I even seem to have completely conquered jet lag, although I'm hesitant to speak too soon. 

It is already New Years Eve here in Sydney, and I'm excited to see all the festivities and fireworks tonight.  But first, breakfast...

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

I was supposed to be at JFK right now, waiting for my plane to LA to take off and transfer me to my flight to Sydney.  It seems that mother nature wasn't a fan of this plan.  I took a train in the middle of the night from DC back to New York on Sunday to get back home before the big blizzard hit.  And hit it did.

The snow is pretty, but the downside of the storm is that the airports are crippled.  Even though the snow has stopped and the skies are blue, my flight today was one of hundreds that were cancelled.  Rebooking was a nightmare.  Originally they told me that there was no way they could get me out of New York until Friday, which would mean that I wouldn't get to Sydney until January 2 (which kind of defeats the purpose of booking a New Year's trip to Sydney).

Not ready to give up so easily, I talked to four different people at the airline until I was convinced that they had exhausted all of my possible options.  Finally, the last woman came up with something that works.  So now I am about to get on a train back to DC, where my ever-helpful parents will pick me up and let me crash until they drive me to the airport in the wee hours of the morning for a flight out of DCA tomorrow at 6 am.  From there I will stop over in Chicago and continue on to Orange County, where I will figure out how to get to LAX and then hang out in the airport for about 10 hours until my Sydney flight.  Good times all around.  But in the end I will only be getting to Australia one day late, which at this point seems like a miracle.  Provided everything goes according to plan, that is.

So basically I left DC to come to New York and watch it snow, only to go right back to DC as soon as it stopped.  With my travel luck, I wouldn't expect anything less.

Fingers crossed for a December 30th arrival in Australia...

Christmas in Dyker Heights

For a few years now I've been hearing stories about the outrageous Christmas light displays that are put up in the Dyker Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn.  This year a couple friends and I finally decided to hop on the subway to see what the fuss is about and to enjoy some authentic Italian food.

I admit that I wasn't expecting much, but what we found was incredible.  And borderline insane in some cases.  Words can't really do justice to the decorating extravaganza, so I will let the pictures do the talking.  Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas Time in the City

The holidays are always my favorite time of year to be in New York.  The weather turns cold and crisp and trees and light displays start appearing everywhere as soon as Thanksgiving is done.  Tonight I headed out for my annual visit to midtown to see the holiday windows and the big tree before the hordes of tourists start descending upon the city.

We started in Bryant Park, where every year they set up a Christmas market selling a variety of crafts.  Unbeknownst to us, tonight was the lighting ceremony for the tree in the park, and we happened to stumble upon the festivities just before they started.  We got to see most of the dress rehearsal and stayed for half of the ceremony, until we couldn't feel our toes any more and had to move on.  The line up included ice skaters, performances by casts of a few Broadway shows and other musical numbers, not the least of which was a random appearance by the 90s group Wilson Phillips.

After leaving Bryant Park, we headed up to see the windows at Saks Fifth Avenue.  Traditionally the windows tell a story and have a cute Christmas theme.  This year, however, they were quite strange.  Apparently the theme was "The Snowflake and the Bubble," but we couldn't ascertain any sort of story line or really anything that had anything to do with Christmas or winter or the holidays.  Each of the windows involved some kind of animal, bubbles, a mannequin and a somewhat creepy child doll.  Also unrelated to Christmas, one of the windows featured a dress worn by Lady Gaga.  It was all very bizarre and left us feeling rather confused.

While the windows were not very satisfying, we did get to see an impressive, huge ice sculpture menorah on our walk up Fifth Avenue.

And unlike the Saks windows, the decorations at Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall were wonderful, as always.

We wrapped up the evening at a cozy little Russian restaurant called Uncle Vanya, one of my favorites in the city.  The restaurant was warm and the food was delicious and we finally regained feeling in our fingers and toes.

And now I officially have the Christmas spirit and am ready for the holiday parties to begin.  Now if only I can channel that spirit into finishing my Christmas shopping....

Up North Manhattan

After being thwarted by weather in our attempt to take a road trip on Monday, a few friends and I decided to take a long subway ride up to the northern tip of Manhattan today to visit the Cloisters. The Cloisters is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art constructed from actual pieces of medieval European art and architecture, reassembled in a scenic park along the Hudson River. The park itself offers stunning views across the Hudson, and feels miles away from the craziness of Midtown Manhattan. It's like getting out of the city, but for the cost of a metro card swipe.

The Cloisters houses an impressive collection of art and artifacts, selectively plucked from countries across Europe and collected in an ornate building made from recovered remnants of medieval European structures.

After absorbing the culture and solitude of the Cloisters, we headed back down to Harlem for some authentic soul food.

Our restaurant of choice was Amy Ruth's, which has become a modern Harlem institution. Amy Ruth's specialty is waffles, and there's an impressive variety of waffle platters from which to choose. I personally opted for the traditional fried chicken and waffles, with a side of cheese grits. The food was delicious -- an excellent first chicken and waffles experience.

Amy Ruth's outstanding reputation is well-deserved -- and well worth the long subway ride.

Our final stop of the day was (quite literally) the icing on the cake. Despite being stuffed full of southern fried goodness, we made a pit stop at the Harlem bakery Make My Cake, which offers as many cupcake choices as Amy Ruth's offers waffle options.

The staff was amazingly friendly and patient as we considered our choices. We opted to get our cupcakes to go, being too full to eat any more after our waffle extravaganza.

But now seems like the perfect time to break open the inviting pink bag. The only question is which flavor to sample first...

Deserted beaches and Moscow flashbacks

Unlike most people, I prefer the beach in the off season. For me, there's no place better to clear my head and just take time to think than on an empty beach, with miles of ocean stretching in front of me and nothing but the sounds of crashing waves and seagulls to block out the crushing din of everyday life. The isolation stirs in me a sense of peace and calm that is hard to find in the city.

I've been feeling like I could use a good dose of tranquility this week, so I decided to head out to the Coney Island boardwalk and Brighton Beach to recharge. But first I had to make an obligatory stop at the always-reliable Nathan's for an original Coney Island hot dog.

After eating, I headed to the beach and the boardwalk, which were as deserted as I hoped they'd be. I love Coney Island in the summer, but I had never ventured out after the beaches and amusement park had closed for the season. The sun was bright and the sky was blue, and I largely had the place to myself, save for a few other solitary people who seemed to be doing exactly what I was doing.

If you've only ever been to Coney Island in the summer when it's jam-packed with people, it's worth a visit in the fall or winter to experience the empty boardwalk and beach. If you've never been to Coney Island at all, I recommend a visit soon (even though it seems that some of the oldest and best establishments on the boardwalk sadly disappear each year in the name of "progress.")

The lack of crowds also made it much easier to take in the familiar sights of Coney Island. Thankfully the Wonder Wheel and the Cyclone have landmark status, so at least some things will always stay the same.

Most people, myself included, usually stop about halfway down the boardwalk rather than venturing through the next mile-long stretch of Brighton Beach. Today I did not make that mistake. Brighton Beach, sometimes referred to as Little Odessa, has for decades been a Russian enclave in Brooklyn, and is supposedly home to the world's largest Russian population outside of Russia itself. If you walk down this stretch of the beach, you'll hear very few people speaking English and will be met with numerous restaurants offering traditional Russian cuisine.

When I reached the far end of the boardwalk, I decided to take a stroll down Brighton Beach Avenue to check out the Russian stores. Having studied Russian in college and spent a summer in Moscow, I can't believe it took me 11 years to finally explore Brighton Beach. The stretch of stores is not long, but it's like walking down a street in Russia. Most of the signs are not in English, and everyone will speak to you in Russian, assuming that you're a local until the lack of comprehension evident on your face gives you away.

My greatest find was a huge Russian market called Brighton Bazaar. I felt like I had been transported back to my summer in Moscow (except this time there were a handful of signs in English here and there). There were bars full of freshly made blintzes, overflowing meat counters, and freezers full of numerous varieties of Russian dumplings. The store was stocked with things I haven't seen or eaten since the summer of 1998.

I admit that I was overly excited and wanted to buy everything in sight. I stuffed my grocery basket until it wouldn't hold another thing and I could barely haul it to the checkout counter with two hands. I don't think grocery shopping has ever made me so happy.

And now I have just finished a lovely dinner of authentic Chicken Kiev. My freezer full of Russian goodies should keep me smiling for quite some time. Suddenly, relearning my Russian has made a significant jump up my to-do list.

Happy Halloween

Halloween 2010 proved to be a weekend packed with activity.  After spanning the spectrum of class by dressing up as Marilyn Monroe one night and Jersey Shore the next, I decided to spend Halloween day in a more traditional way by venturing with a friend to one of the largest cemeteries in New York.

Calvary Cemetery (actually two cemeteries, Old Calvary and New Calvary) is located in Queens - anyone who has taken a cab to JFK or LaGuardia has likely noticed the seemingly endless sea of tombstones on the hills next to the highway.  It is impossible to adequately capture the size of the cemeteries in a picture.  We spent a few hours exploring and didn't even come close to seeing everything.

What we did see, however, was amazing.  It was a beautiful fall day, and the changing leaves and blue skies made the cemetery seem anything but scary.  In addition to fascinating statues and buildings, Old Calvary cemetery offers stunning views of the Manhattan skyline.

And with that I am closing the book on Halloween 2010, a fun but very tiring three days.  Now if only Halloween still ended with a big bag of candy...

The High Line

It may have come through in my last post that I've been in a little bit of a funk about being back home after vacation.  It was partly due to jet lag and the usual letdown of not being on vacation anymore.  But there was another part of it that stemmed from feeling disconnected to New York for the first time since I moved here - for 11 years I've had either school or a job or something else concrete tying me to the city.  While I don't miss my job, I've honestly been feeling a bit lost these last few days.

But now I'm bouncing back.  After a week of rest and a few heart-to-hearts with my most optimistic and supportive New York friends, I've realized that I have nothing to be in a funk about.  I've always been really tough on people who decide that they hate New York when they've never bothered to really give it a chance and take advantage of the good things New York has to offer.  And while I will never fall into that category because I love this city, I realized that I could point some of those same criticisms right back at myself.  For years I've wanted nothing more than to have free time to enjoy my life here.  If I don't do anything with my free time now that I finally have it, I deserve to be in a funk.

So I've decided that I'm going to try to do at least one uniquely New York thing each week.  Today's adventure was the High Line.  For those who don't know, the High Line is an elevated park on the west side of Manhattan, on the site of old freight rail tracks that began operating above the streets of New York in the 1930s.  The last trains ran on the High Line in 1980.  About 20 years later, a private group initiated plans to preserve the High Line and turn the abandoned tracks into public park space.  The park is now home to 210 plant species, and offers a stark contrast to the highway and skyscrapers that otherwise define the west side of Manhattan.

The first section of the High Line (currently the only section completed) opened last year, with plans for Section 2 to open next year.   If you're looking for something to do in New York beyond the typical tourist attractions, I recommend a visit.

So, with this one simple excursion I can feel my funk starting to lift.  Now I'm off to make a list of all the other things in New York I've been wanting to do.  And if anyone has any recommendations to add to the list, suggest away!

Back to life, back to reality

I've been safely settled in back at home in Brooklyn for the last day and a half, and jet lag has started to rear its ugly head.  Yesterday I thought I was fine, but today the adjustment back has been a bit more rough.

My flight back was, of course, not smooth sailing.  I was supposed to fly from Vienna to Warsaw, with a layover of an hour and 40 minutes before my flight to Newark.  But Vienna had one last treat in store for me.  I didn't see a single cloud for the entire 5 days I was there, but the morning I left was completely cloudy and foggy with minimal visibility.  Our flight finally took off 2 hours later than scheduled, conveniently touching down in Warsaw 5 minutes after my flight to Newark was scheduled to take off.  I was fairly certain I'd be spending an unexpected day in Warsaw.

I rushed to the slowest security line ever (there was additional security for flights to the US because security for the flight from Austria to Poland was practically nonexistent), and then to wait in an equally slow passport control line.  Once I was finally cleared, I ran to the gate to find that the flight to Newark miraculously hadn't left yet.  I walked on under the "final call" sign as they essentially closed the airplane door behind me.  I still have no idea why that flight left an hour late, but I'm thankful.

My flight on the Polish airline was an interesting experience.  I think I was one of about 6 people on the plane who spoke English, which did not stop everyone from speaking Polish to me and assuming I understood.  And like a good Polish grandmother, they fed us - a lot.  I even got a meal on the one hour flight from Vienna to Warsaw.  The opening safety video was also a little different than what I was used to.  The most entertaining part might have been when we were informed that we were not allowed to use walkie talkies or remote controlled cars on the plane...

But all in all I have to give LOT Polish Airline a positive review - the service was great and there was more than the usual amount of leg room.

And now that I'm back, I need to figure out what my normal post-work life will be.  Unfortunately, I have no clue what the answer is just yet.  In the meantime I have approximately 2000 vacation pictures to sort through...

Vacation can't last forever

It is hard for me to believe that three weeks have already passed since I first started out on this trip.  If I had access to a laundromat, I could keep going for a while.

On my last day in Vienna I decided to go way, way off the beaten path - even more than intended thanks to some complete misinformation provided by Google maps - in search of a small cemetery called Friedhof der Namenlosen (Cemetery of the Nameless).  The only reason anyone outside of Vienna (including myself) may have heard of this cemetery is likely because it was featured in the movie Before Sunrise.  Getting there is quite a trek, requiring a subway, a tram and a bus, and then a walk past a bunch of factories.  It really is in the middle of nowhere, and I can't imagine many tourists, or even locals for that matter, have made it there.  And for the record, I can guarantee that Jesse and Celine could not have made it all the way out there in their 24 hours in Vienna without the magic of cinema.

The Cemetery of the Nameless is located along the former path of the Danube in the place where all of the bodies of those who died in the river, whether by accident or suicide, would wash ashore and were buried.  Many of these people were never identified, hence the name Cemetery of the Nameless.  It is a small place containing little more than 100 graves, each numbered.  Some of the deceased were eventually identified and the graves are properly marked.  However, most the the deceased remained unidentified and a majority of the crosses simply bear the words "unknown" or "nameless."

Between the reason for the cemetery's existence and its extremely remote location, the feeling of isolation and sadness is palpable.  Much like Celine in the movie, this cemetery made more of an impression on me than anything else I saw in Vienna.  It may take a lot of effort to get there, but it is worth the visit.

To finish out my trip, tonight I attended the opera.  Tonight's show was The Barber of Seville.  I've never been to the opera before, and it was a great experience.  I had the cheapest nosebleed seat available (also the only seat available - apparently it sells out nearly every night), but I was dead center and had a great view.  The opera house has installed small LCD panels in front of every seat which provide the text of the opera in either German or English, so I could even follow along.  The opera house itself is gorgeous and ornate.  Definitely a great way to end my trip.

It really is hard for me to believe that my trip is over.  I've had a fantastic time.  Although I would have prefered to spend my last week in a city that I enjoyed a lot more, Vienna has not been a total wash.  I've gotten to see a lot of great things.  And to be honest, if I had loved my final stop I would not have any desire to go home at all.  It wasn't until my third day here that I started thinking about home and the things I miss there for the first time.  So perhaps it was for the best.

This is always my least favorite part of any trip.  My bags are packed and I know it's time to go, but it is still a long time until I will actually be home.  Since I have a brief stop over in Warsaw, I have a good 12+ hours of traveling ahead of me tomorrow.  Once I know that vacation is over, I just want to be home. 

So, all in all, it was a great trip.  Now the only question is, where should I go next?