Top of the Rock

Saturday morning Markus was woken up by a warm ray of sunshine at 0615 even though the night before was a rather long one. From his bed he could see a blue sky and that view provided him with so much energy that he got himself ready and went for a run in the Central Park. By no means was he alone with this thought. Not only was the Park crowded with many runners but there was also a bicycle race going on in the green lung of Manhattan. Markus did almost reach the very north end of the Park when he turned around and after 50 minutes he reached the hotel again. Not tired, but rather fresh. After a warming shower he crossed the street for a large Latte at Starbucks which gave him energy for his last day in New York.

It was far too nice to enter the Museum of Modern Art

As most of the shopping (damage) has been done already on Friday Markus targeted the nearby Rockefeller Center for a view over the city. The Top of the Rock viewpoint is probably the best place to overlook not only Manhattan but all the five boroughs and more. Within less than a minute he reached the 67th floor of the Rockefeller Center – which is home to TV channel NBC and famous for its Christmas tree every year – and once he stepped out from the elevator he was stunned by what he saw. Pictures of New York from a bird’s eye view are not uncommon, but seeing it with the own eyes is by far more impressive. The clue sky and sunshine enabled a wonderful view even in the distance and surprisingly it was less windy and warmer than at the bottom. Hence Markus spent more than an hour on the top, enjoyed sunshine and the great view of the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty in the distance, Queens, Harlem, the Bronx, Brooklyn , Staten Island, the Hudson and the East River.

Sunshine, no wind and THIS view. Just perfect.

Once he was back down in the streets of Manhattan he did some m ore shopping, had a Big Mac meal for lunch on Times Square and sucked up as much of the atmosphere of this vibrant city as possible before heading back to John F. Kennedy Airport in order to board his flight back home. After dinner on the plane and helped by a few glasses of red wine he slept for several hours waking up just in time for breakfast. Vienna welcomed Markus with a hint opf winter again - temperau=tures below 0even managed to get some sleep before landing in Vienna where he finally saw Jakob and Kerstin again. One thing after all is very clear though: "Markus and the City" will be continued. Most likely he will not be alone in the second season.

Jakob, Kerstin & Markus