Dry and rather warm weather again from Wednesday on. Instead of visiting the Bronx, as originally planned, we took the subway to Queens this morning, to check out part of the borough for its touristic appeal. One highlight is the waterfront in Long Island City with its large, historic Pepsi Cola neon sign, surrounded by huge modern condo buildings now. The old railroad iron constructions to load train wagons on ferries are still there, and, the view across the East River towards Manhattan – with the large complex of the United Nations in the center - is spectacular!
Queens is spread out and it's sort of hard to get around. One of our favorites in Queens is the contemporary art branch of the MoMA, called "P.S.1", always showing highly innovative and creative modern exhiitions in an unusual setting: a former schoolhouse.
We spent quite a bit of time in the museum and therefore skipped Astoria - the Greek neighborhood of Queens - and drove straight on to Greenpoint/Brooklyn (a predominently Polish neighborhood) for a little walk and then to Williamsburg, the "hipster heaven" of NYC. Couldn't pass "Mast Brothers" (a small chocolate producer) and our favorite whiskey shop to get a bottle of local rye whiskey (Breuckelen Distilling) for Christmas. More and more fancy shops, restaurants and bars coming up in this neighborhood, rents and real estate skyrocketing. Murals on the pics below were taken here and in Greenpoint.
From hip Williamsburg to sophisticated Brooklyn Heights, an area consisting of beautiful brownstones and big mansions along the waterfront, elevated and therefore with a great view. The Brooklyn Promenade (see pic) is still one of the very best points to watch the sunset - including the Statue of Liberty - and that was what we did. Directly below the promenade is the new Brooklyn Bridge Park, former piers transformed into playgrounds, nature areas and parks, a development still in progress and a great addition to the formerly rather inattractive waterfront.
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