New York is the best workout you can get: stepper and treadmill all day, for free: up and down to/from the subway (escalators are rare!) and miles to walk inbetween. After a a late start (at least, by our standards) in the morning – after 9 am – we decided to visit Roosevelt Island. It had rained all night, but in the morning the sun was out and it was pleasantly warm. First, we walked 125th Street in Harlem - to notice again, how much Harlem has changed (much more chain stores, fancy shops and restaurants) - and then, after a short train ride, crossed Central Park and checked out the newly opened Halley Sanctuary to get to the right subway station. How beautiful and colorful the park still was!
We haven't been on Roosevelt Island for many, many years, in the meantime there is a new air train running and lots of construction is going on. It's a narrow island (about 2 mi/3,2 km long and only about 240 m/800 ft wide) in New York's East River between Manhattan and Queens, accessible by an Aerial Tram, a "Seilbahn", constructed by a Swiss company, by subway or over the Queensboro Bridge from 1909 (see pic).
The island was settled by the Indians, later by Netherlanders and at the end of the 17th century it became "Blackwell's Island", named for the family, who acquired the island (their home is still to be seen). After the city of NYC took over in 1828, it became "Welfare Island" because of the hospitals which were established, especially for patients with epidemics like small-pox. Some of the historic buildings are still there, though pretty run down.
Named for Franklin D. Roosevelt, the latest addition to the island is the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park on the South tip, named for the president's famous speech. From the promenade which runs around the island, views towards Manhattan (and Queens) are fabulous. On the pic, taken from the new Roosevelt Park, the UN complex is to be seen, too.
Most of the residential buildings on Roosevelt Island are rentals, big complexes built in the 1970ies, when the island was considered an experimental playground, architecturally and socially. New (condominium) buildings were also added recently and the island is pretty densely populated. Also, in the center New York State's Cornell University is building a new campus with apparently spectacular architecture.
We took the train to Grand Central Terminal, the gorgeous historic railroad station, to check out the Transit Museum as well as the Vanderbilt Hall with its new part, the "Great Northern Food Hall" (Scandinavian food stands). Staying with the subject, we walked over to the new "Urbanspace Vanderbilt" then, another trendy new food hall in the historic Helmsley Building. Though, the ground floor of the building appears rather dull and cramped, it was packed with people. Fancy food vendors of all kinds are serving a variety of food, from sushi to burgers to tacos and lobster rolls.
We grabbed a bite and took the train to Bryant Park - with its ice skating rink and a Christmas market (rather artsy stuff) - on to Macy's with its famous Christmas window decoration (pic) and to Union Square (another Christmas market!). Last stop was Strand's, our favorite bookstore, where we spent some time before heading back to Harlem.
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