When the morning fog has not yet lifted, when the sounds are still muted and when the unimaginable grandeur of the city has not yet appeared, then this is the time just before the curtain opens to one of the most grandiose theatre productions in the world: The city of New York, also known as “The Big Apple”.
A MULTICULTURAL MICROCOSM
It is a city of stereotypes and is so well-known from the big screen and television that visitors have preconceived notions even before arriving in the city. What is astounding is that these stereotypes turn out to be real! You arrive there and suddenly it feels as if you are in a huge movie theater right in the middle of a 3D movie screen with maximum surround sound. A lot has happened since 1624, when a Dutchman named Peter Minnuit founded a settlement originally called “New Amsterdam”. At the time, no one imagined that this island, which he purchased from the American aboriginals for $25.00, would eventually become the heart of one of the most fascinating cities in the world. Forty years later, the Dutch signed over New Amsterdam to the British during the Anglo-Dutch wars, and the British named the settlement in honor of the Duke of York. Take your time to explore and be in awe of this city of legends. It will help you to comprehend the buzz of the city. Here the “American Dream” consists of miniature worlds such as SoHo, Little Italy, Tribeca, the Financial District, Chinatown and Harlem, which together represent the largest melting pot of the world, where more than two hundred different nationalities come together. At one moment you see homeless people hoping to get a warm meal for the day, the next Wall Street brokers feasting on a sumptuous meal to celebrate the day’s business triumphs. If the narrow gorges between the skyscrapers make you feel closed in, you can venture further out to Long Island, which extends two hundred kilometers out into the ocean. Here you will find a quiet café on the beach, where you can sort through the day’s many impressions.
