Reset search
USA April 2018USA April 2018
SatelliteEdit route

USA April 2018

April 2018 - April 2024
First time really far away from home Read more
Currently traveling
  • 18footprints
  • 3countries
  • 2,200days
  • 101photos
  • 0videos
  • 11.1kkilometers
  • 10.5kkilometers
Follow Calendar Share Bucket list
Date ascending
  • TravelerUSA April 2018
    Day 1

    And so it starts...

    April 13, 2018 in Germany ⋅ 🌫 9 °C

    So many stories - both good and bad - about the ‘Country of all possibilities’, about the ‘American Dream’. I am curious how this trip will develop and what will it prove.
    Let us start with a coffee: probably the last “normal size” coffee in the next 2 weeks.Read more

  • TravelerUSA April 2018
    Day 1

    Just arrived.

    April 13, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

    It feels like I lived my longest Friday 13th ever. Finally, though, we landed in Boston. After a quick taxi-drive to the house where we live in and after meeting our host, Eugenio, we decided to have dinner. We were told to go to an Italian restaurant nearby: small place, good food - packed with people. Pasta & wine followed by a short walk along the Mystic River that is right in front of our house. Long day, short evening, low on energy, but can’t wait for tomorrow :)
    Let the “American adventure” begin!    Read more

  • TravelerUSA April 2018
    Day 2

    First day in Boston.

    April 14, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C

    Still under the influence of the jet lag, the day started for me around 5AM. A 9k run, breakfast provided by our host and then we were on our way to downtown.
    Driven by our need for a second coffee, we first stopped to the Boston Public Market: an indoor place where you can basically find everything: fresh fruits&vegetables, meet, fish and other related to the sea, sweets, bagels, cheese, coffee and french cakes.
    As my friends had to pick up their BIBs for the Marathon, I had the opportunity to witness what a perfect money machine the sport industry is. Especially when it is done right.
    On the way to and from the Seaport WTC, we walked through the Boston Harbour, saw the city center (impressive combination of old and new, of big and small, of glass and concrete) and passed by the Granary Burying Ground - the 3rd oldest cemetery in Boston (1660). Among the people buried here are 3 of those who signed the Declaration of Independence on 4th of July 1776.
    This city has something special - I can’t find the right words to describe it just yet, but for sure I will till the end of the trip.
    The very cold, strong wind that is suppose to bring some snow into the city tomorrow sent us home a bit earlier than expected, so no disco night stories yet :-)    Read more

  • TravelerUSA April 2018
    Day 3

    Boston Celtics

    April 15, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 1 °C

    The cold wind and icy rain made us choose an indoor activity for today: go see a basketball game. We were lucky enough to find tickets for the 1st playoff game - Celtics vs Milwaukee Bucks and it was definitely worth it! Great game, extraordinary atmosphere: more than 18000th people cheering and singing, being very passionate about their team - which, by the way, won in the overtime, after a dramatic end.
    After the game, we went to Chinatown for dinner, at one of the best Chinese restaurants in US (2nd, they say): Gourmet Dumpling House. And yes, it is true: the food was extremely good (did not make it to No. 1 on my list, though), but in rest, it was purely Chinese: loud employees (talking to each other), totally disrespectful, dirty toilets. If ever there, I recommend take out order instead of staying in.
    The rain did not stop, the wind is still crazy blowing and my friends will have to run the 42k tomorrow...But this will be another story.    Read more

  • TravelerUSA April 2018
    Day 4

    The oldest marathon in the world.

    April 16, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Today it was all about the Boston Marathon - the oldest one in the world that today had its 122 „edition“. Tough conditions, with no more than 7 degrees, cold, heavy rain and strong wind. On the way to meet my friends close to the finish line, I witnessed great/ emotional moments: people looking terribly weak, people crying of happiness, people crying because of pain and frozen hands, people barely walking, people. The entire city was under a common feeling of „we‘re in this together“. For sure I still have a lot to learn about them (good and bad) and for sure they are not perfect; but now I did understand, at least partially, how they got over all the shit they have been through: by sticking together. The way they all support and help each other, talk to each other, ask and answer, say please and thank you and smile at you, are so visibly passionate about what they do and interested in what others do...well, it is a bit overwhelming and emotional. Because it is not in one, two or ten people; in one public transport or in one store, on the street or in a restaurant (except for the Chinese one🙂) - it is everywhere.Read more

  • TravelerUSA April 2018
    Day 5

    Culture in Boston

    April 17, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    Today we decided to feel more of the cultural part of the city, so we visited Harvard, MIT and the Boston Public Library.
    Harvard was always for me one of the most prestigious colleges in US and of course the place where Oliver and Jennifer met (Love Story). It is different though to get the real feeling: to see the campus, the main buildings, the Library, to hear the stories, to learn about the history of the place (e.g.: the college, the oldest institution oh higher learning in US - founded in 1636 - was named after John Harvard because he donated £780 and his collection of 400 books to the college). It is a special place...you can feel it just by being there.
    MIT - you can see it directly from the campus site that it is an „IT base“. The Museum, super interesting - makes you realize how many things the human brain can develop. It is not the technology that develops, it is humans that do that. We evolve and with us, everything around us. If and how we want it.
    The Boston Public Library - 19mil. volumes and electronic resources, free for all. What can I say more? As a lover of books and libraries, I was “at home“ there. It is the second biggest in US (after the Library of Congress; Harvard Library being the 3rd). I find remarkable the idea of having such an immense source of knowledge available for everyone to access.
    We still have some top attractions to check off our list, so tomorrow, our last day of the Boston trip, will be a full day. Hopefully less windy.    Read more

  • TravelerUSA April 2018
    Day 6

    Freedom Trail

    April 18, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 6 °C

    We left the Freedom Trail for last. What is it, more exactly? Well, it is a marked road that leads you to the main 16 historical places in Boston. We walked again close to 20k, making of today another interesting, full & perfect day. The Freedom Trail starts in Boston Common and ends with the Bunker Hill Monument. Through it all you can see the oldest buildings in Boston, the oldest graveyards, the oldest churches. It is a “walking museum” through the city where the American revolution started, the city where every step tells a story.
    Once again we were highly impressed by Copley - a very nice (a bit fancy) area in Boston and we ended the day with a very tasty dinner at Coda, a small restaurant close to Trinity Church.
    Tomorrow we will travel the Greyhound to NY, starting the second part of our American adventure.    Read more

  • TravelerUSA April 2018
    Day 8

    Travelling to New York City

    April 20, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 3 °C

    Today we left Boston (not before having a „real“ breakfast in an American dinner) and headed to New York. I have to admit that everything I lived today was something that I had seen only in the movies before: the American dinner - with pancakes and coffee -, the Greyhound „that takes you wherever you want“, the city of New York. The bus left us in Manhattan. Having an hour delay (mostly in New York), we got a chance to see parts of the city. Yes, Boston was really special, but New York is f...ing crazy! You can not understand until you have seen it. Light and noise and people and cars and...life. 100% Life. I do not know if happy or sad or poor or rich... it is just pure LIFE!
    First stop was Hard Rock Cafe - directly in Times Square. Good drinks and food - but still not better than the one in Bucharest. Or maybe I am just subjective?! We just got to our apartment - a very nice one in Brooklyn area. Eight days are waiting ahead...and we are eager to live every single one of them.    Read more

  • TravelerUSA April 2018
    Day 9

    Dreams come true.

    April 21, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 3 °C

    Beautiful, emotional day today!
    Since my first memories of US, I had three things I wanted to see: Brooklyn Bridge, WTC (before the tragedy) and Empire State Building. Today I saw them all! We started by crossing the Brooklyn Bridge (first opened in 1883) to Lower Manhattan. From there we could see an impressive, extraordinary view over the island!
    Once in Lower Manhattan, we headed to Ground Zero. I have to say I am still astonished by what people can do to each other. It was for me very intense to be there... I found it very appropriate the way they built the monuments: twin Memorial pools, located in the footprints of the Twin Towers, surrounded by bronze parapets where they inscribed the names of the 2983 people killed in the attacks. For me it really was more than just a place to check on the NY to do list: it was a reminder that everything can stop in a second. So brutally and sudden...
    In the evening we decided to „climb“ the top of Empire State Building (up to 86th floor) A dream come true for me! The view of New York by night leaves you speechless. There is nothing much you can do or say, than just be amazed. It is a joy for the eyes, as well as for the hearts of those who dreamt about it since they were teenagers.    Read more

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English