Legs and Borders

New York City was my last stop before flying back to Europe. I've arrived at the Moore Hostel in Brooklyn quite early and since I couldn't check in until 3 PM I've left my backpack in storage and went to explore the city. My first stop was the Strand Bookshop in Manhattan, they had many trolleys loaded with discounted books located outside and I picked up two of them for 4$. After that I went along the Broadway towards the Statue of Liberty, it was one of those things that had to be done sooner than later. I've arrived at the pier around 2 PM and bought a 25$ ferry ticket to see both Statue and Ellis Island, the queue was enormous and the day very hot, luckily I've topped up my bottle with delicious NY tap water! After an hour wait, I finally got onto the ferry which took us right to the Statue, I've decided to only take few pictures here and carry on as the wait to board next one was just as long, ferries would st...

My third stop was in Philadelphia. I've stayed here at the Apple Hostel located close to Delaware river in quite central location. First place I visited was the Philadelphia Museum of Art featuring the famous Rocky Steps and two of his statues! Tourists were running up the stairs and raising their hands on the top as Sylvester Stallone has done in the movie, there was a sizable queue to take a picture with both Rocky statues as well. From here I went to see the top site on my list of things to visit in Philadelphia: Eastern State Penitentiary, Americas first prison which promoted solitary confinement and emphasized reform rather than punishment. It got closed in 1970s and was kept in the state of explorable ruin ever since it became a museum, it really scratched that urban exploration itch I had for a while. I'd say it was 23$ well spent! The following day I went to see t...

Second stop on my journey through American east coast cities was the nations capital, Washington DC. I've stayed here at the Caravan Hostel located just under an hour walk from the White House, Capitol and many museums located in the area. On my first short walkthrough I went by the Capitol, White House and bought my breakfast supplies in Whole Food Market for the next few days. Second day started with a guided tour through the Capitol after which I went next door to the Library of Congress which had few interesting exhibitions, most notably "Two George's" highlighting the two opposing leaders George Washington and George III. After a short walk though U.S. Botanic Garden, I've visited the National Gallery of Art which hosted paintings by Van Gogh, Monet, DaVinci, Dali and Bacon. I could easily spend there the whole day as it was huge with separate exhibitio...