First Outing: Brooklyn Heights

Megan here, reporting on my first weekend excursion. While my initial agenda was a bit more ambitious, illness required me to scale back. This past Sunday I went to Brooklyn, dragging my also-sick roommate along, and mainly stayed within the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood.

My roommate and I took the A to the Jay St. Station, where we began our adventure with the NYC Transit Museum. (Note: the entrance is a bit tricky to find, though cleverly disguised as a stairwell into the subway.) Cost to get in was quite reasonable - only $7 for an adult - though it would've been cheaper if I'd brought my student ID along. I'll have to remember that for future museum forays. 

NYTM Entrance

We began by learning about how the subway was built way back in the beginning of the 1900s. What a dangerous job! With very little benefits, especially for those that suffered injury or death. It was an amazing fete by so many hardworking individuals to accomplish something I'm sure many people take for granted today. Being from the Midwest, I'm still pretty new to mass public transit, and I thoroughly enjoy it's convenience on a daily basis. Something about not having to deal with traffic (or constantly fill up the gas tank) makes exploring that much more appealing.

Wages & Cost of Living, circa 1915

After that we moseyed around and spent some time in the science-y part, where they demonstrated how transit is powered. We played with some gadgets and made our own electricity, among other things. I think this part of the museum would be most fun for kids because it's very interactive, but that's not to say it's not fun for adults too. :) We also ventured down to the lower level (similar to how you would transfer to a different subway line) where we were greeted with subway cars from all decades it seemed. We were able to walk around in them, sit down, and check out the authentic ads inside. Oddly, it didn't seem to me that subway cars have really changed or improved that much since they were first created.   

"On the Streets" Exhibit > Everything above ground in NYC, including buses and cable cars

They had an exhibit about the Miss Subways (requirement: be a NYC resident that uses the subway) whose pictures graced the ad space on the subways from the forties to the seventies. Some of them had follow-up pictures and stories which cast their original "ads" in an interesting light. I especially enjoyed this exhibit, being that I studied and work in marketing. 

Then, of course, we had some fun walking through the different turnstiles on display before popping in the gift shop and moving on. 

"Iron Maiden" turnstile (retired in 1991) ...people used to get caught in this bad boy

For lunch, we were planning on checking out Grimaldi's at its most famous location under the Brooklyn Bridge (next door to its original location). To get there, we took a route via the Brooklyn Heights Promenade to check out the Manhattan skyline and take a peek at the Statue of Liberty. While the construction marred the view a bit, it was quite lovely if you just kept your head up since most of it was along the riverbank. I'm assuming it would be even lovelier in the spring and summer, though also much more crowded. If it's a nice day in the winter (in our case, it was sunny and low 40s) I would definitely recommend a trip to avoid crowds.

Brooklyn Heights Promenade

Lady Liberty, as seen from the Promenade

Manhattan Skyline (some of it) - The building under construction on the left is the new World Trade Center;
Brooklyn Bridge to the right; Empire State Building across the bridge on the right

 Grimaldi's is considered one of the best pizza places in NYC (according to Zagat and The Food Network), so naturally I had to check it out. We were lucky enough to walk in and get seated without any wait. A bit of a line queued up as we sat there eating, but it was nothing compared to summertime (when people are undoubtedly more willing to stand outside). While the pizza was good, I won't argue that, probably my favorite part was the soundtrack. They played what seemed to be the greatest hits of the 90s almost the entire time we ate. I tried to resist singing along, though sometimes I couldn't help myself! :) They don't do slices at Grimaldi's (nor do they take credit cards, which thankfully their website warns) so my roomie and I split a small pepperoni and mushroom pie. Again, we liked it, but I don't think I'd go out of my way for it. 

Last stop on the agenda was to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. Yes, it's just walking across a bridge. But it's the Brooklyn Bridge and it's awesome. 

Some fun facts I just looked up: The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the U.S. and was completed in 1883. With a separate pedestrian walkway, more than 4,000 walkers and 3,100 cyclers cross the bridge every day.

I guess it's much more crowded in the summer (like most of New York City), but not so much in the beginning of January. Cold but relaxing - there are always pluses and minuses. We made it over in good time, neither of us getting hit by bicyclists nor by unwitting pedestrians. Then, with my Kleenex supply dwindled and my cough getting the better of me, we called it quits and took the subway back home. See you again soon, Brooklyn!