18 engineers touch down in The Big Apple

There is so much to see in NYC that three full days is hardly enough to scratch the surface. Most of the team were first time visitors, although we also had a few recent visitors. We tried to balance the trip's sightseeing agenda with “must-visit-tourist-attraction-classics” and “underground-hipster-hangouts”.

Arrival

Our last team members arrived with Finnair on the Saturday 15^th of August. After a super convenient and fast direct flight, USA border surprised us with a nice 3 hour wait to get through the border. Even with this slight set back, our first night was a success with a tasty first night dinner at an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn. Afterparties were cut short due to a slight jetlag.

Our choice of accommodation were two big AirBnB’s in the middle part of Brooklyn. While the location was relatively central (metros running smoothly straight to Manhattan) the quality of space was rather “interesting”. The bigger one of AirBnB:s was instantly nicknamed “The Man Cave”, either due to the manly 10 engineers habituating the space or the rather sketchy type atmosphere of the space. The other AirBnB did not get a nickname, but the guest were kept in a constant fear of a gas explosion due to a leaking stove.

First few days

We started the touring of the city on Sunday with a visit to the iconic Central Park. The size of the park is beyond what we had imagined and it leaves even the huge fields of Otaniemi in shame.

After lunch we proceeded to go check out THE tourist attraction, Statue of Liberty. 























The statue was very impressive, as were the green Statue of liberty hats awarded to 5 guys who had missed the Statue of Liberty ferry by 45 minutes.

Wall Street bulls also got a weighting from few savvy engineers.

On Monday we filled our trip’s culture bucket with a classical Broadway show called “Phantom of the Opera”. The show was impressive and kept us awake!

Other attractions our team covered included the Brooklyn Bridge, 9/11 Museum, Freedom tower, Rockefeller tower. Overall there would have been things to do and see for a full week, but strict schedule, slight jetlag and pressuring heatwave (humid + 25 each day) kept outdoor wandering on a rather moderate level.

More to come, stay tuned!