Visiting NYC soon!

[schneefink]

I have relatives in New York and New Jersey (my grandfather's cousins, iirc, but we're still in frequent contact.) They visited us in Vienna several years ago and ever since then have repeatedly invited LB and me to visit them. There never seemed to be a good opportunity, unfortunately.

Until now! I'm going to visit them soon :D
I've never been to North America before, I'm excited. I have barely any plans yet, now I know what I'll do in the next few weeks. I'd like to go relatively soon, before I get a job/job search intensifies; we signed up for a family relay at the Vienna City Marathon on April 10th, but possibly immediately afterwards.
I'll definitely spend several days in NYC, visit New Jersey, possibly Boston, and other than that I don't know. One of my great-aunts has a granddaughter she'd like me to meet, but she's studying in Vancouver so that might be tricky. I'll have to check how expensive intercontinental flights are; my parents are paying for my flight to NA as a graduation gift so I can afford more travel than I could otherwise. My parents also told me a lot about the gorgeous national parks, maybe I could include at least one. I'd love to go to at least one hockey game, but the regular season will have already ended so maybe an Islanders playoff game? (And of course I'll try the Hamilton lottery but odds aren't good.)

I would also love to meet up with people I know in the area :) Until teleportation is invented it's an unfortunately rare opportunity. Let me know if you're interested!

Comments

[doctorskuld]

I agree with Naye has said.

I wouldn't do Boston if you're only going to be in the US for a limited time. Having been to college there, there is not as much to do in terms of tourism, and it's a similar enough vibe not to make the trip really worth the trouble. I'd do something like fly somewhere completely different: Florida, California, or the Rocky Mountain West.

As an Austrian, I don't think you'd find any of the national parks on the East Coast as nice as or impressive as what you have at home. ("Mountains" in east coast parlance are more just rolling hills by any other standards...) If you're planning to hit up a National Park, I would bring a buddy. You don't want to be hiking by yourself in Yosemite, for example, without the proper gear and without someone more experienced with you. Grand Canyon is touristy enough, but you'll still need to drive from place to place within the park. Remember that America is huuuuuuge and most of our National Parks are GIANT. Grand Canyon National Park is almost 5000 square kilometers. That's 10 times the area of Vienna. They are all extremely difficult and inconvenient without your own form of transportation. Driving a car in the US is easy compared to Europe (automatic transmissions and all), the culture surrounding driving is a lot different. Be prepared for a lot of aggressive drivers, and you have to be comfortable on the freeway and changing lanes frequently.

If I were you, I'd save the National Parks for another trip, or at least make a significant chunk of your trip the National Parks? You'll want at least 5-6 days in each to really cover all the sights.

[schneefink]

Yeah, it sounds like it would be smarter to save the national parks for another trip. Maybe in a few years I'll do a longer road trip or something like that.

I mentioned Boston because my parents said they enjoyed it there, but you're right that going somewhere not as similar might be more interesting. I'll see how much time I have.