Nataliya and I first went to New York in 2019 and we finally returned earlier this year. Alex had briefly visited New York once before but had a much fuller experience this time around!

April 3

For our 2023 spring break vacation, our first stop was to soak up some Slavic culture in Brighton Beach (known as Little Russia or Little Odessa due to the influx of Soviet immigrants since the 1970s).

In early April, the weather on the beach was very cool and windy, and we nearly had the beach to ourselves. After a short promenade, we stopped for lunch at Tatiana, a Russian restaurant and nightclub right on the boardwalk. The restaurant was nearly empty since it was a weekday in very early spring. Tatiana features an extensive menu of pierogi (vareniki) options, kabobs, chicken Kiev, and Korean spicy carrot salad. We ordered Georgian sausages and chicken Kiev. Although it was delicious, each meal included a huge amount of food, so we had to carry around leftovers while we made another stop.

We picked up more cargo at our next destination at the Tashkent Supermarket, an Uzbek grocery store that also serves hot food. It was jam packed even in the middle of a weekday, but we loaded up with even more tasty treats including chocolates and pilaf. I highly recommend checking out Brighton Beach, especially in warmer weather, since the New York Aquarium is also nearby.

Finally, we got on the subway and made our way back to our room at the Pod Hotel at Times Square. We had previously stayed at the Pod Hotel on 51^st Street in 2019, and the Times Square location was also great, although very cramped for three people. It was very clean with a modern minimalist style.

April 4

We started our second day with a quick stop at a shoe store before heading off to the Statue of Liberty. Since we were going to be doing so much walking each day, it would be very important to have comfortable shoes! Unfortunately, Nataliya noticed the shoes she had brought were not up to par as soon as we landed at LaGuardia the day before. Fortunately, there are numerous shoe stores near Times Square so we made a quick pit stop so Nataliya could upgrade her sneakers. The store was filled with tourists in a similar situation – one shopper just abandoned her old shoes in the store!

After we were suitably equipped for the rest of our trip, we took the subway to Battery Park in order to board the ferry of the Statue of Liberty. If you want to visit the statue, it takes a lot of planning in advance! Only one vendor, Statue City Cruises, is authorized to sell tickets to the statue and there are three levels of access: general admission ($24.50), pedestal ($24.80), and crown access ($24.80). There is no elevator access to the crown which is only accessible via a staircase with more than 160 steps. Tickets for the pedestal and crown sold out months ahead of our visit so try to book as soon as your plans are finalized (especially for the peak summer season)! There’s also the option to take a “hard hat” tour of restoration work on Ellis Island ($74.50) which also includes general admission but not access to the pedestal or crown.

I also recommend you arrive at least 30 minutes before your ferry boat is scheduled to depart, since passengers are subject to security screening. However, during the peak summer season, and especially holidays, the wait can be much longer so be warned! On her first visit to the statue in 2019, Nataliya waited more than an hour before boarding the ferry since she visited during the 4^th of July holiday.

It’s suggested that you allow at least two hours to visit the statue and an extra hour if you want to visit Ellis Island. I feel like that’s the bare minimum! The last time slot to arrive at the statue is 3 p.m. and the last boat departs from Ellis Island back to New York at around 5 p.m., but you would really be in a rush and probably not get the full experience in only two hours. I would recommend you arrive in the morning and depart after lunch like we did. You could easily spend five or six hours at both the statue and Ellis Island. Constructed between 1881 and 1886, the Statue of Liberty is truly awe inspiring!

Since we had general admission tickets, we walked around the base of the statue and then ate lunch. There is a small café and a concession stand but the line was very long during the lunch hour rush (even ahead of the peak summer vacation season). There’s also a small museum and tours by park rangers are available. Ellis Island can be accessed on the same ferries that take you to the Statue of Liberty. Ellis Island houses a much larger museum that documents the island’s history as the gateway for approximately 12 million immigrants to the U.S. between 1892 and 1924. Legislative reforms in 1924 curtailed immigration and also allowed immigrants to bypass processing on Ellis Island which began to fall into disuse. Ellis Island was used to detain POWs during World War II but was closed in 1954. Efforts to restore the island led to its designation as a national monument in 1964. Repairs began in the 1970s, and the Ellis Island museum opened in 1990.

The beautifully restored Main Administration building was built in 1900 in the French Renaissance style, and the Great Hall (used to inspect immigrants) is particularly impressive with its 50-foot arched and tiled ceiling. The museum offers three floors of exhibits that document America’s immigration history, including several references to Ukrainian immigrants! We only had time to see some of the exhibits, but I thought they were very informative. However, Nataliya thought the exhibits were a little disorganized. Nevertheless, the entire trip was very fun, affordable, and worthwhile!

For dinner, we returned to one of our favorite eateries from 2019: Max Brenner’s restaurant at Union Square. Alex got his own pizza, and Nataliya and I shared a southwestern salad with salmon. The entrees were very good after a long day with a lot of walking, but the real star was dessert! We decided to surprise Alex with the waffle celebration so there would be a 1:1 ratio of people to waffles. Even one waffle per person was almost too much! Each waffle (strawberry, banana split, and hazelnut) was piled high with toppings, whipped cream, and ice cream. You could easily skip the main course and only eat dessert!

April 5

We usually just ate breakfast on the go, but we do recommend the Westway diner near Times Square for a proper breakfast! It was very full on a weekday morning, and there was a line out the door when we left so get there early! The service was very fast and efficient, and the menu is very extensive.

The weather was overcast and foggy, which was unfortunate since we had scheduled today to be our visit to Central Park! However, it was still a nice visit and pretty empty since it was a gloomy weekday in April. We took Alex through Grand Central to show him the classic architecture (although I was disappointed we didn’t have time to show him the Whispering Gallery). I also picked up a copy of the NY Post (a trashy tabloid I would normally never read) with a cheeky headline about Trump’s arraignment on 34 charges the day before (which turned out to be his first of many indictments so far)!

We took the subway up to Harlem and walked over to the northeastern corner of Central Park at Duke Ellington Circle. We walked around the lake formed by the Jackie Kennedy reservoir which was very pretty and quiet. By now, we were quite tired (especially Alex), so we stopped for lunch on the south side of the lake.

We hopped back on the subway briefly and got off at Lincoln Center to quickly pickup cheap “rush” tickets to an off-Broadway show at the TKTS box office. TKTS is the most popular way to get discounted tickets to Broadway shows although there are several other options available. There’s also a box office at Times Square. Alex had never seen a Broadway show before so that was definitely a  box we needed to check! We picked the comedy The Play That Goes Wrong which features a lot of slapstick humor in an amateur production of a murder mystery. The set itself also played a major role in many humorous and unexpected ways!

After an afternoon nap and dinner, we headed off to our highly anticipated off-Broadway show, The Play That Goes Wrong (TPTGW),at the New Worlds Stages in Hell’s Kitchen (which was originally a cinema multiplex). We ended up sitting on metal folding chairs in the very last row, but it was a small theater so we still had a great view. TPTGW will also be performed locally at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company in May and June of next year (2024)– don’t miss out! I was a little skeptical about TPTGW, but I had a great time. Even the German tourists next to us laughed constantly! The same British theater company that created The Play Goes Wrong also produced a TV miniseries for the BBC called The Goes Wrong Show which offers several variations on the same theme of poorly executed theater productions. The Goes Wrong Show is also funny (albeit a bit repetitive) and available on Apple TV.

If you visit NYC in the spring or late fall, some theaters offer an even better deal on tickets than you can get for rush seats if you feel like taking a risk! Between late March and early April or late October and early November, some theaters participate in the 20 at 20 promotion which offers tickets for $20 at 20 minutes before the curtain goes up. It’s cash only at the respective box office. However, several people were waiting in line at the doors for TPTGW but certainly waited in vain since the show was sold out, so be wary!

April 6

We started off the morning with a tour ($30 per person) of the Tenement Museum down in the Lower East side. Created in 1988, the Tenement Museum tells the history of working-class people and immigrants who lived in tenements (narrow, low-rise apartment buildings). The museum offers tours of a restored tenement building as well as walking tours of the neighborhood, and you must reserve a spot in advance. Unfortunately, the original tenement building located at 97 Orchard Street (built in 1863 and abandoned for more than 50 years before being restored) was undergoing renovations when we booked our tour, but we still had a great time and learned a lot. However, the renovations are now complete so you can get the full experience!

The museum highlights the daily life of various immigrants and features several small apartments furnished according to various points in time. We took the 100 Years Apart tour which highlighted the stories of Natalie Gumpertz, a German-Jewish immigrant, in the 1880s and Mrs. Wong, a garment worker in Chinatown in the 1980s. Although the Gumpertz left comparatively few primary sources in the historical record, the tour guide did a great job of painting a picture of how the family lived. The most shocking fact was that the husband, Julius Gumpertz, disappeared after the Panic of 1873 (in other words an economic recession) sparked widespread unemployment and hardship. The tour guide said Julius’ fate was unknown, but later I found out he ended up in Cincinnati’s West End! After being legally declared dead, Julius appeared in Cincinnati public records in 1885. He listed his address in Cincinnati’s Jewish “ghetto” and listed his occupation as huckster (door-to door salesman). Fifteen years later, he entered a Jewish charitable retirement home until he died in 1924.

Since the Wong family still lives in NYC, the Tenement Museum had lots of primary sources and oral history sources. Since the museum offers so many different tours, we will definitely return and might try a neighborhood walking tour. I highly recommend including the Tenement Museum on your next NYC itinerary, especially since the renovations are complete! The Tenement Museum also served as the inspiration for a similar museum in Cincinnati called the OTR Museum.

The Tenement Museum is also located only a few blocks south of Ukrainian Village which was our next destination. Ukrainian Village was another enclave for immigrants in NYC and still retains much of that character, including restaurants, churches, and a museum. Numerous blue and yellow flags were also on display in apartment windows as well.

We stopped for lunch at Veselka (which means “rainbow” in Ukrainian), one of the more popular Ukrainian eateries in the area, which has been a mainstay in the neighborhood since 1954. It was very popular even on a weekday, but we managed to get a table. I ordered pan-fried pierogi (vareniki) with braised beef filling, while Nataliya and Alex ordered borscht. Nataliya said the borscht was the best she’s had in the US! The pierogi were very tasty with very generous filling, and the pan-fried version is much more crispy than the standard boiled ones.

Before heading back uptown to see The Play That Goes Wrong, we stopped at another famous eatery nearby, Russ & Daughters, which is known for its Jewish comfort food (bagels, smoked fish, etc.). Founded in 1914 by a Polish Jewish immigrant, Russ & Daughters was one of the first companies to recognize the founder’s female offspring (of which he had three) instead of sons.

On a weekday afternoon, we only had a short wait so I recommend again that you avoid the peak meal times! The store on East Houston Street is fairly small, so we waited outside until our number was called. There’s also a sit-down café nearby by the same name so don’t get confused! We had a hankering for babka, a traditional Jewish bread that is also popular in Ukraine, which is hard to find at bakeries in Cincinnati. Russ & Daughters offers a cinnamon and brown sugar option or a chocolate and coffee babka, although other variations include fruit or sweet cheese filling. We selected chocolate which was delicious and traditional challah (a twisted, sweet bread similar to brioche)! At $16 a loaf or $4 a slice, I highly recommend the babka and the challah ($9)! I would assume everything else in the store is just as tasty. You can also find stores on 34^th Street or in Brooklyn. Nataliya said it was a quintessential New York experience that provided a taste of the neighborhood.

We split up briefly and I spent a couple hours chatting with Frido, a friend who lives in NYC, while Nataliya and Alex got back on the subway and went down to the World Trade Center complex to visit the observatory (starting at $39). I was happy to miss out since I’m terrified of heights. Frido (short for Fridolin) works for Deutsche Bank and transferred to NYC from Germany several years ago. We met while playing an online Star Wars role-playing game a couple of years ago. We had never met in real life, so it was great to chat in person for a while.

Nataliya opted for the “Combination” tickets ($49) for the observatory which included priority entry and a digital guide. The observatory is on the 100^th floor and Nataliya said the elevator ride up was smooth and fast. An introductory video that explains how the New York skyline has evolved over the decades is displayed on the walls of the elevator during the ride up to the observatory. Neither Nataliya nor Alex were anxious, and Nataliya said it was a very moving experience to see the whole city. Nataliya said she is glad she paid a little extra for the priority entry and digital guide. The digital guide is loaded on a tablet and identifies various skyline landmarks. She also overheard some visitors point out condos or penthouses that celebrities owned.

All of us met up again for dinner at Burger Joint, a no-frills hole-in-the-wall hidden behind a curtain inside the Thompson Central Park hotel. Ironically, we passed a table full of foodie bloggers inside the official hotel restaurant who were all gushing over their food and taking lots of pictures. It was quite a contrast to the Burger Joint, where the walls are covered in graffiti!

The menu is limited to hamburgers, cheeseburgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken sandwiches, and plant based Beyond burgers as well as French fries and milkshakes. A burger and fries will cost about $21 which is not very expensive for NYC. Even on a weeknight, the small, cramped space was full, and we were very lucky to claim a table that would accommodate all five of us (including Frido’s wife). The burgers and shakes were great, although I would recommend trying to avoid the main lunch or dinner rushes.

April 7

We started our final day with a quick return to Hudson Yards since Alex had never been there before. Unfortunately, the iconic Vessel remains closed indefinitely, but Alex was impressed by its massive size. He also reveled in the apparent reference to a character, also named Vessel, from one of his favorite video games – Hollowknight. We also took a short walk along the High Line which Alex enjoyed as well, although it was still pretty chilly!

We finished off our second NYC visit with a lightning tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art ($30 per person)! We dashed through the ancient Egyptian collection and the medieval arms and armor section, which were both very impressive! We merely scratched the surface after only a few hours, and I look forward to returning on a future trip for a more leisurely and thorough tour. A nearly complete ancient Egyptian temple was one of the most impressive pieces. Completed while Egypt was part of the Roman Empire (approximately 10 BCE), the Egyptian government built new dams on the Nile River that threatened to flood the temple in the 1960s. The Egyptians gave it to the United States in 1967 and President Lyndon Johnson asked the Met to display it.

The Met has a smaller subsidiary that I’d also love to visit on a future trip – the Cloisters. Unfortunately, the Cloisters are located in the Washington Heights section of Upper Manhattan, so it was a little too far out of the way on my previous trips. Ruthless businessman John D. Rockefeller bought parts of several French and Spanish monasteries and had them shipped and reassembled in Washington Heights piece by piece. The Cloisters house many medieval art pieces Rockefeller that also bought from sculptor George Grey Barnard. The Cloisters opened to the public in 1938 and is also known for its gardens.

Nataliya would like to attend an opera at the Metropolitan, which I think would be fun as well. Nataliya has seen some of the performances that have been broadcast at movie theaters but says it doesn’t compare to the real thing!

Here’s one final tip. If you plan to visit a lot of popular attractions in NYC, especially museums, then it’s probably worth considering a pass that gives you access to many destinations at a discount. There are several options to choose from such as CityPass (starting at $96 per person). If you plan on visiting the Empire State Building observatory, then CityPass could be a real money-saver. The “main deck” observatory on the 86^th floor of the ESB is $44 per person while the “top deck” observatory on the 102^nd floor is $79. We decided against the CityPass since we have already visited some of the attractions on previous trips, but it could be very convenient for your first trip.