We woke up with a very sad feeling, the trip we started planning a year ago was about the end. We got a late checkout and this made it possible that we could sleep a little bit longer today. Which was not bad since we would miss a whole night due the time difference.

After packing most of our stuff in the suitcases (Danielle) and me writing the blog from yesterday we decided to go out for something to eat. We ended up eating a sub at a local Subway for and at a local Starbucks for a frappuccino. After breakfast/lunch we went back to the hotel room to pack the last items in the suitcases and the carry-on bags. I got the task to guess the weight of the suitcases and I guessed it would be just about right.

After packing the car we left the hotel in the direction of J.F. Kennedy Airport. Without looking at the navigation system how we would be directed we left in the direction of New York City. Soon found out that the drive was a very exciting one over the George Washington Bridge. Danielle told me that it was great to look around, I paid more attention to the traffic since it was busy on the road.

Soon we arrived at National Car Rental to return our Full-size SUV and everything was fine. Too bad we only got to drive this car for a couple days. I can imagine driving this car in one of our next USA trips for a longer period.

For the rental car facility we took the AirTrain to Terminal 1 where the Lufthansa check-inn is located. Danielle was not so sure about the suitcases but as I guessed earlier today we had one suitcase from 21,8 kilogram and the other one was 22,6 kilogram. It’s allowed to have 23 kilogram heavy suitcases. We went directly to the security line and waited near a power outlet to board our flight to Munich. The flight took of 10 minutes earlier then expected and due to the strong back wind the flight time was only 6:56 hours instead of the 8:15 on our flight plans. We landed in Munich at 6:40.

Due to the early arrival we could enjoy a breakfast at the Munich Airport and we were also sure that our suitcases would be on the same flight to Nürnberg. At 8:50 our flight took of and at 9:08 we both woke up from the rough landing on the runway. Since we woke up so abrupt we directly grabbed our coats and luggage jumped in the bus to the baggage claim and at the moment we walked in the suitcases arrived.

And as always at airports the officers from customs are really active if a flight arrives. But this time we were lucky again. They picked the man walking behind us for a check. We were happy and we rushed through the doors to get a ticket for the U-Bahn and the train. At 10:45 we arrived at home.

Danielle unpacked and I started checking my 200+ business mails. We were both directly back into reality. The next evenings I will spend uploading additional pictures to our Flickr account and Facebook.

Thanks for reading and commenting on our blog. It was a pleasure to read the comments every morning.

When waking up we had no idea about what we would be doing today. We had some ideas like going to a movie, visiting Glenn en Gina but no real plan. Then Glenn send us a WhatsApp message about what to do today. Danielle really wanted to go to Central Park since we didn’t had time in the beginning of the week. So after taking a shower and having breakfast at the Starbucks near our hotel we went for a drive to the Ward’s residence in Staten Island.

After arriving there we took the express bus to Central Park which took us about 40 minutes and we got of the bus at the entrance of the park. In the park we walked in uptown direction towards the turtlepond. From there we walked towards the Belvedere Castle.

We were lucky that we had Gina with us as guide so we got to see the nice spots. We saw a lot of nice places like the Bethesda fountain, the boathouse, the Shakespeare theatre and a lot of squirrels.

I was willing to find a geocache in the USA during this trip to drop the “Around the World” travel bug. And what would be a better place for a travel if then one which would like to travel around the world then the Central Park where lots of foreigners try to find a geocache. It took us a minute or 10-15 to find it due to juggles around but I found it in the end.

After the geocache we visit the strawberry fields and the imagine sign which is a memorial to John Lennon who lived a cross the street. And there we had some luck as the self declared major of strawberry field was just talking about the area.

The hike made us feel hungry and there was a nice dinning place in 72nd street called Dallas BBQ. This was a place Gina recommended us to go in the beginning of the week but we didn’t had the time to do so. The place had some awesome food for really great prices for the Manhattan area. Glenn, Gina and Danielle went for a half chicken and a Texas size piña colada. I picked the beef baby back ribs with a Texas size beer. And as you can see it tasted great.

Then we went to the Apple store where Danielle got a pink bumper for her iPhone. The store was crowed and there was a line for the elevator. I can imagine that this is the best selling store in the world.

We picked a metro to the area where Little Italy is for a dessert. We went to the Ferrara Bakery which is an Italian American bakery which is said to be the first place in the USA to server espresso and was established back in 1892. On the way there we got to see a live breakdancing session I the metro.

Glenn found out that his cousin was working at the firehouse that night and suggested to pay him a visit. He is working on the Ladder 5 which is a fire station near to the Freedom Tower. It was the station where former major of New York City made a phone call to president Bush on 9/11. For us this was a unique opportunity to visit a firehouse. It was really packed and with equipment and firefighters.

From the fire station we went back to our car at Staten Island by Metro, Ferry and train. On the train we needed to wait very long at a certain station without a real reason. All of a sudden 2 men came I to the train told an older man to get out which he did. The two men were undercover policemen and arrested the man. At the time we came back at the car we said goodbye to Glenn and Gina for the last time this trip. And we went back to the hotel.

The day which started without having a plan ended up to be one of the days we have seen the most of the city. Thanks Glenn and Gina for taking the time to show us a bit more of New York we had a blast.