Admiring the beautifully decorated windows of 5th Avenue, ice skating in Central Park and seeing the most iconic Christmas tree in front of the Rockefeller Center – just a couple of things I’ve always wanted to do. But I tell you what, Christmas in New York is not that special. Why? Well, because coming here this time of the year means crowds, crowds, crowds (and by crowds I mean crowds larger than in India or Bangladesh).

Just trying to fulfill one of my dreams was pure horror. Getting to the Rockefeller Center was one of the most uncomfortable situations I ever got myself into. If you’re claustrophobic, stay away! If you don’t go to festivals because of the crowds, stay away! And if you actually want to enjoy yourself, rather that being squashed, bumped into or pushed in all directions, stay away! I was pretty upset that it was like this. I mean sure, I knew that there’d be people, but this is madness (I’m exaggerating, I swear)! Still, I kept my spirits up and gave Christmassy New York another chance. So I continued with my exploration and made my way up to 5th Avenue. Yet again, this meant more crowds and a hell of a lot of kitsch. Nah, unfortunately didn’t enjoy this either…

It took 30 minutes and a whole lot of patience to get this photograph of the famous Christmas tree in front of the Rockefeller Center.

I decided to skip my fantasy and explored the way I usually do: away from the beaten path. Chinatown and Soho were my next stops and here I felt right at home.

Chinatown is its own destination: Great for bargain shopping, food, history, and the chance to soak in Chinese immigrant culture. It’s really a fantastic neighbourhood though maybe a bit confusion for first time visitors. If you’ve been to China or Hong Kong, you’ll know how to navigate though.

When strolling through New York’s Chinatown, you’ll sometimes wonder whether you’re really in the United States or after all in China.

The basketball courts just off of Grand Street in Chinatown are the perfect spots for people-viewing.

Exploring Chinatown was definitely a highlight during my short New York City trip.

Just like home: fresh fish is sold right off the streets in Chinatown.

Close to Chinatown (with Little Italy in between) lies Soho. The lower Manhattan hood, which refers to “South of Houston” is well known for its hip art galleries and trendy shops. Soho also is home to great New York restaurants for any budget. I enjoyed this part the most and therefore spent most of my time strolling through the streets of Lower Manhatten.

Soho is home to a vibrant artistic community, which makes this my favourite place in New York City.

In the other direction of Chinatown lies Manhatten Bridge and further south Brooklyn Bridge. Two iconic landmarks of the city along the East River. It was freezing cold, because the wind is quite strong here, but the views all made up for it!

Walking from one end of Manhatten Bridge to Brooklyn Bridge gives you an amazing view of both of them.

Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest of its kind in the United States and an iconic landmark of New York City.

So I was happy with what I got to see in Chinatown, Soho and Two Bridges neighbourhood, but still wanted more of the “must-visit touristy New York City”. Clearly, Time Square was on that list. It’s always been pretty impressive from what I’ve seen in movies or photographs, but in real life, not so much. After all, it’s just a lot of bright, flashy billboards with advertisements…

Times Square is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world and is sometimes referred to as “The Crossroads of the World”. If you forget about the road blocks, armed police officers and the 330.000 people crossing every day, I could start to like this spot after all.

Times Square has risen to fame through movies and the media, which unfortunately made me expect more than what I got.

Well, my “Christmas in New York city-trip”, turned out to be more of “trying-to-stay-away-from-Christmas-in-New York-trip”. Which doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy it. I honestly loved NYC! It just seems like a lot of the must-see sights are well overrated, especially during the holiday season. But this gives room for lesser known parts, which is great for city explores like myself. I’m leaving today, but New York, New York, I still want to be a part of you.

How to get rid of them.

So what do you do with old subways? You could either cut them up with machines and reuse the metal. But what if the walls and floors are polluted with asbestos (used as fireprotection)? Well, just throw it into the Atlantic!? Enraged environmentalists couldn’t believe this idea. What about nature!? Well, exactly that was the point: nature should profit from this “weird” idea.

That can’t be good.

Today, more that 1.200 old subways lie on the bottom if the Atlantic and even the environmentalists agree with this crazy plan. You’re probaly thinking the same thing I thought at this point: “So you can’t reuse the metal because of the asbestos, yet throwing it into the ocean is ok?!” Well, here’s how the situation looks: All the wheels, windows, doors and lubricants are cleared off the subways until only the covering is left. The asbestos remains but many researchers have found out, that it’s no danger to the under water life (I’m still not convinced but ok…). Just off the coast of New Jersey, Delaware and Virgina, huge derricks then throw the skeletons into the water.

Their new life.

As soon as the subways sunk to the ground, their new life begins. New guest arrive and settle down there. Where before there was only sand, there now is an artificial reef. Environmentalists are happy with this, yet still say that animals should live in their natural habitats…

My opinion: Out of sight, out of mind.

It’s clear that if you throw something into the water, fish and other animals will come. But (and this is a big but), why do we have the right to use the ocean as our dumping ground? Just recently I posted an article about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and even though the subways might be more “animal friendly” than plastic, the end result is still the same: We humans want to get rid of our garbage and therefore use every possible opportunity to do that;  “Out of sight, out of mind” is all I can say to that. In the long run, it’ll all come back anyway…

Subway Graveyard. © Photo credit: Stephen Mallon.

Subway Graveyard. © Photo credit: Stephen Mallon.

Subway Graveyard. © Photo credit: Stephen Mallon.

Subway Graveyard. © Photo credit: Stephen Mallon.