Day 1 - 9/11 15 years later

Of major world events, we know exactly where we were when we heard the news or  we saw it live: the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1962, the first moon landing in 1969, Elvis Presley's death in 1977, the fifth victory in the Tour de France of  Eddy Merckx in 1974, the marriage of Charles and Diana in 1981 ... and the events of 9/11.

It is  September 9, 2001. We had just ran  a few errands during a week's holiday and had finished  a round of a shopping  with lunch, after all it was vacation. Having eaten our lunch we hopped in the car and went on our way home. On the car radio we listened to  the thrilling storyline of the new book by Stephen King or was it the latest film by Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielberg ... ??? That was at least what we thought  : aircrafts  had disappeared, apparently hijacked and flown into the World Trade Towers in New York. However none of that  came from the imagination of a famous writer, celebrated screenwriter or  famous director . What we heard was a live coverage of the terrible events of that day. We hurried home where we saw the burning World Trade Towers on CNN, which suddenly changed into a giant dark gray cloud ... Gone were the towers, the streets were filled with rubble and fleeing people. Fleeing from the ashes, smoke, fire, and even more drama. People covered by a thick layer of dust, tears and blood making  their way on their face.  Fear of death on their faces. On September 11, 2001 2,996 people were killed,  2,606 in and around the Towers, 265 in the four hijacked planes and 125 at the Pentagon.

It changed New York forever.

Every tragedy leaves scars behind. For the survivors, these are their injuries and psychological suffering. For the remaining family members and friends, this is the pain of losing a loved one. For the city it is in the form of an amputated skyline.

But New Yorkers are strong people. Their mainly immigrant background has a lot to do with it. At the time, they fled from the famine and war in Europe, the crop failure in Ireland. There were large migrations of Jews, Italians, Greeks and Chinese. They became all New Yorkers and  built something from the ground up. A strong race.

Meanwhile, the city has received a prosthesis with the construction of the Freedom Tower, One World Trade Center.And on this iconic place, begins tomorrow our visit to New York, 15 years after 9/11 and 18 years after my last visit.
Today upon arrival  in New York, with take it slowly. New York is not on the other side of the world, but after a flight of more than 7 hours, you need to recover. That flight is  special, because it is the first time my dearest brother-in-law is one of the crew members on the flight.
Having gone through immigration and customs, the bus takes us from JFK  to downtown Manhattan. During our bus ride, we get a first glimpse of Manhattan. It's back  getting used to the traffic, the variety of sounds of the sirens, and the many police officers on the streets. The bus drops us off at Madison Square Park next to the Fuller Building, also called the Flatiron Building since 1902 because of its distinctive shape. 

We are not up for a walk¸It is hot in New York, not the scorching heat of the previous days, but still a solid 26 degree, so we are looking for one of the hippest places in New York with a beautiful view of the skyline. We find itnext to the Belgian Beer Cafe on Fifth Avenue namely the Rooftopbar. 

The bellini is delicious. From here we go to our hotel for dinner and our bed. We are trying to stay up untill 10 pm to quickly get rid of the jet lag. A second bellini at the bar of the hotel a little later ensures sweet dreams, dreams about the  one and only New York.