Another day, another place, another adventure, another borough explored.
It was a hot Saturday afternoon and it would be a waste not to take advantage of the summer while it lasts. I decided to take the train to Brooklyn. I haven’t been to Brooklyn all my life so I figured it would be great to step foot there and see the Manhattan skyline from the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a 30-minute train ride to York St. station.
And from there I walked to the Brooklyn Bridge Park. I usually don’t bring a map with me when I travel because I like the feeling of being lost and really “travel” I mean, I like asking people questions and directions. I enjoy interacting with strangers though sometimes when it’s late GPS becomes my best friend.
When I was walking to my destination the first thing that I noticed was the roads. They were so ancient just like the ones in Wall Street and not only that, embedded in those roads are old and rusty train tracks that we no longer use. It’s so different from Queens where I currently live; it’s also full of art galleries and stores that sell musical instruments.
For an artist like me it was difficult not to fall in love. It was the perfect neighborhood.
After a couple of minutes, I reached my destination. The first thing I saw was the playground and Jane’s Carousel from afar. I’m saving that for later. I went to the park where the playground is but I didn’t go inside and play, instead, I went further towards the bank where my feet touch the shallow ends of the East River and enjoy the view of Brooklyn Bridge from where I’m standing.
I even took a picture of my shadow.
It was early in the afternoon and I have lots of time to explore around while waiting for everything to be silhouette and golden yellow.
To begin with there are lots of people, tourists and locals, but not crowded. There’s a couple of photographers armed with their tripods and expensive DSLR’s I bet they are also waiting to capture the beauty of Manhattan skyline from Brooklyn. There are also professional photographers doing photo-shoots of a wedding.
Maybe this is a good place to have my own photo-shoot one day.
I walked and walked and explored whatever there is to explore until I reached the other side of the park where the famous Brooklyn Ice Cream is. I wanted to taste the ice cream but the line was longer than that of a blockbuster movie. It’s crazy how some people wanted to buy the ice cream just to take a picture of it with the Manhattan skyline as the background and post it on Instagram. It’s even extra funny to just walk and observe all the people you’ll be surprised by your own observations.
On the deck where BIC is there’s an overlooking too. Lot’s of kids are playing and running and some are taking turns to take a picture of each other. The view is great over there. It makes you appreciate the Freedom Tower on the other side.
You can also rent bikes and there’s a charging station if your iPhone or Smartphone is desperately in need of a battery.
The most magnificent view is on the other side of the park. It has a long walkway with barricades overlooking the East River and benches that you can sit on.
I walked through the end of the walkway observing and taking pictures of the great view before me. As I reach the end, I saw a massive staircase that leads somewhere up there. By the stairwell, covered by leaves and plants, is a smaller stairs that connects the two.
I went up the small stairs and it opens to a lawn where lots of people are laid on their backs under the scorching heat of the sun. The left side leads to the upper opening of the massive stairwell…and the view up there is extra beautiful. It’s more leveled up and you can see the tiny silhouette figure of the Statue of Liberty.
I explored further and further and discovered more hidden stairs and explored each of them. One stair leads to a road with another set of benches overlooking a ramp that joins the river. Lumps of woods are sticking out of the river which, I assume, are used for the yachts to stay in place. I sat on the benches because I thought it would be nice to photograph that view wherein the camera shutter opens for 30 seconds focuses on the lumps of wood with the skyline as the background and the smooth still water. But I have a crappy camera so I wasn’t able to capture it like I imagined it.
I went back and forth to kill time. I have to say that the park is much bigger than I expected. There’s a lot of hidden pathways, small and large lawns and different re-creational activities.
I went back to the big stairwell and sat on the top most step against the railing. I watched the sunset until it transitions to a muted shade of orange and yellow.
I continue to sit there and wait for the night. I wanna see the Manhattan skyline from Brooklyn. As I wait, looking at the sunset, different thoughts entered my mind. This is a good time to reflect and think about things and plans and life and everything in between. It’s just impossible not to think of any with that kind of view.
Moments later, the glass windows of the buildings in Manhattan light up one by one until it illuminates the river. Private yachts passing by playing up beat music people in there are partying and enjoying the weekend. Wow! I would love to experience that one day.
I sat up and went down back to the walkway through the benches by the railings and took a picture of the famous skyline. I took a couple of shots until I’m satisfied.
Until next time Brooklyn!
wanderlass 