Studienreise 3ABC Schwerpunktfach Englisch New York
Day 0
Today was finally the day we had been waiting for for so long. We met in Basel and took a train to the Zürich airport. After having a few struggles like a classmate having to do an express visa and a 10min delay, we could all fly to Reykjavik. We can all say that we’ve been to Iceland now. After having to answer some questions like if we’d packed our bag or if we knew what was in it, we could finally get into the plane for New York. We were welcomed there by a two-hour queue for passport control, giving time for the excitement to grow. A bus was waiting for us and brought us to our amazing villa. Where we all appreciated our king-size bed and hot shower, after a 16hour trip. Of course, this was not the case but we were still able to appreciate a good night after the long travel.
Day 1
After a good night of sleep, we went to explore the morning streets of New York to find a perfect breakfast place. We met as a class at 9.00 am and went to the Plaza Hotel, where we had the chance to listen to the presentation of two of our classmates. We discovered how Corona has impacted New York as we wanted to go to a food market under the Plaza Hotel that had been closed since then. Our second stop was Central Park where two other classmates had their presentation and offered us a guided tour. After walking past the Alice in Wonderland statue and through “Strawberry Fields”, we went to Ground Zero. We took the New York Subway for the first time and after getting lunch in small groups, we visited a heartbreaking guided tour in the 9.11 memorial museum. We finally listened to our last presentation of the day, after which we took a small photo shoot break, and afterward went to Chinatown. As this was during our free time, we split up into two small groups and all had dinner wherever we wanted. We decided to go to a cute diner and ate our first New Yorker Mac and Cheese. After that, we went to Times Square and enjoyed the energetic atmosphere there. A storm brought us back home in a hurry. Day 1 was really fun, filled with joy, different emotions, a lot of laughter, and of course some cute pictures ;)
On the morning of the first day, 3BC visited Madison Square Garden. This is a sports and event venue and is also the home of an NBA and an NHL team, the Knicks and Rangers. Xavier and Niklas gave a presentation about MSG and we walked around the outside of the stadium. Sadly, we were not able to go into the building.
Day 2
Again, we met at 9 after having breakfast in small groups. We started with analyzing a poem about the Brooklyn Bridge and then headed to 5th Avenue. We visited the Trump tower (for a restroom break), and Saint Thomas Church and then headed to Times Square. There we perceived a totally different atmosphere than the previous day, as it was during the day and not at night. After a quick lunch break, we finally took a ferry to the Brooklyn bridge and crossed it on foot. From 15:00 to 20:00 we had free time, which we decided to spend in thrift stores, exploring cute little streets, going to a Japanese supermarket, and having a slice of pizza for dinner. We met at 20:00 at the Empire State Building and enjoyed a presentation from our classmates with a view of the entire city. The many lights in the city and the height of the building were impressive for everyone and had to be digested by a good night of sleep.
Day 3
The same ritual as the previous days: we met at 9 after having breakfast individually. Step one was Central Park, where we listened to a presentation about the Mafia in the US. After this, we headed to the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum. Before enjoying a guided tour inside explaining the history of the Intrepid (aircraft carrier) we listened to another presentation while having a quick lunch. We then walked across the beautiful “high line” before we could enjoy our free time. The walk was mesmerizing with the great view and architecture surrounding us. During our free time, our group first went to have dinner at a cute cafe and then split up again into smaller groups. Some of us went back to the hostel to get ready for our night where we went to the NYC Ballet. This was one of the most incredible experiences of our lives. Combining the atmosphere of NY at night, the absolutely stunning Lincoln Center, and the great show, we had the chance to see something incredible, which we will never forget and will forever be engraved in our memories. We met the group again at 22:00 and went to bed to be ready for day four.
Day 4
Half of the trip was already over! Day four started with a visit and guided tour in the Guggenheim Museum, 2 presentations, and a visit to the Jazz Museum in Harlem before having free time at night. In the Guggenheim Museum, the guide made us draw the architecture and explained its history. Furthermore, we had to find a partner and draw them from different perspectives with a pencil before choosing our favorite traits and drawing them with colors to create an abstract art piece. The location of the Jazz Museum was very interesting as we could see a quarter we had never seen previously. In the museum, we listened to the presentation of an Emmy award-winning pianist and saxophonist who told us about his life story and the history of jazz. We then had free time again, so we split up and our group went shopping on 5th Avenue before having dinner at Applebees.
Meanwhile, 3BC also started day 4 with a guided tour, discovering Greenwich Village. We saw a lot of memorable landmarks there, including the night club “Bitter End”, where famous singer Lady Gaga started her singing career. We also walked past important parts of New York’s history and learned about their connection to literature and the entertainment industry. For example, while walking to the Cherry Lane Theater we came across the building seen in the famous TV series Friends.
In the afternoon, having had a cultural warm-up in Greenwich Village, we went to see the Broadway show Death of a Salesman at the Hudson Theatre near Time Square. Originally opened on 19 October 1903, it is one of the oldest and most beautiful Broadway theatres. The three-hour drama by Arthur Miller tells of the darker side of the American dream and its elusive promise of equality and opportunity for all. After the play, we were all a little appalled by the tragic ending, but the visit was worth it!
Day 5
On day 5 we woke up early in order to be on time to take the boat to the Statue of Liberty Island. We went up to the pedestal because going up to the crown is closed since Covid. After that, we visited the museum that was underneath the statue explaining how the statue was made. Then, we took the boat to Ellis island which is the island where the former New York State immigration station is located. There, we had time to visit the immigration museum and eat lunch. However, as we were eating lunch, we spoke to four women that were sitting at our table and realized that they were actually childhood neighbors of our English teacher. The museum gave an interesting insight into the complex history of immigration into the United States and the symbolic meaning of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. After coming back to the mainland, we went to visit the Jewish Heritage Museum where we had a guided tour of the exhibition about the Holocaust. We then went home to prepare ourselves to go out for dinner. We had delicious acai bowls in a cute spot next to time square and walked around there. We then came back to the hostel and went to sleep.
To continue exploring the topic of immigration, 3BC spent the nice, sunny afternoon on a guided tour through Soho, Little Italy, and China Town. We saw many representations of different cultures, ate Italian pastry and dined in a Chinese restaurant. We learnt that Soho and the area are very trendy. There were also many stores, from high-end to streetwear.
Day 6
On day 6 we had time in the morning to sleep. We went to the gym and then got prepared to leave the YMCA. We first had an hour long busride to get to the Bronx Zoo. In the zoo, we had a presentation about it by three classmates and then had time to visit it. This took the entire afternoon, so when we came back to the hostel we just had to change before leaving to go see a Yankee’s baseball game. The stadium was enormous and there were a lot of people. We had a lot of fun and then had a good night of sleep to enjoy the next day.
Before the baseball game, and after one hour of waiting for our guide, Mister Harlem, 3BC got a fantastic and funny tour around Harlem. We learned about its significance to NYC and the black community. The guide made us go back in time and see how Harlem developed and improved over time. We also stopped at a small but well-decorated church, where Mister Harlem talked about Billie Holiday. The singer contributed a lot to the Harlem Renaissance with her works. Mr. Bächli and Mr. Hartmann recreated an old picture of Billie Holiday.
Day 7
We started off our morning with a presentation about the New York ballet and then had free time until 5 pm when we had to leave for the airport. We all split up: some went to the cinema, others went shopping, and others visited museums such as the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art).
Walking to the MoMA, we had to challenge the pouring rain. After drying our clothes as best as we could in the artistic but crowded toilets, we were left free to roam.
After a few hours of trying to interpret the most varied and controversial art pieces, we needed to relax and do some quality shopping. Thankfully the two museum shops got the job done.
It then was time to take the bus back to the airport. We said our last goodbyes to Ms. Pieck and the few classmates that stayed in the US for the holidays. Overall a truly memorable and awesome study trip!!
