It was an early start to the morning today as we had booked to go to the 9/11 Memorial at 10am. We met the Winklers at 8am and went for breakfast in the hotel. Vegemite toast has never tasted so good!!!
After breakfast we had another New York first - we travelled on the Subway to get to the Memorial. Thanks to advice from Glen and Sue who had worked out the Metrocard was the way to go the process was made much easier for us. The Subway in New York is a little more complex than the underground systems we have used in many other countries.
The 9/11 Memorial is free of charge to visit but you need to book a Visitor Pass to attend. This is largely because they are rebuilding the World Trade Center all around the Memorial. Sue had arranged Visitor Passes for all of us before we left Australia. This saved us a lot of time when we arrived at the Memorial (a short walk from the Subway station) as we were in a priority queue. The line moved reasonably fast and as we have come to expect there was the obligatory security check and scan before we could make our way into the final entrance to the Memorial site.
The Memorial is built on the exact site of the original twin towers as it was deemed that nothing should ever be built here again. When it was decided to construct a memorial an international competition was held and the design of Michael Arad and Peter Walker was chosen from 5201 submissions. The Memorial is two huge waterfall pools set in the footprints of the original North and South Towers; 30 foot waterfalls cascade into the pools and then descend into a center void. Around the outside of each pool the names of the victims of September 11th 2011 attacks and the World Trade Center bombing of February 26th 1993 are inscribed into bronze plates. Its hard to imagine a more fitting memorial.
It is a very sombre and sobering place when you reflect on all the lives lost. From those who were on the planes, to those going about their daily work life, and to the first responders (Police, Fire Fighters, FBI) who went in to help as everyone else was coming out. It was touching for all of us but for some it is clearly so much more personal. We saw one woman crying as she stood silently by a young man stroking a name on the wall - clearly someone close to her. Another reminder of what has been lost.
The Memorial is also a place of hope though. In the midst of the carnage of September 11th one solitary tree, a Callery Pear now known as the Survivor Tree, made it through. This tree was originally planted at the World Trade Center in the 1970s. After September 11th workers found the damaged tree in the wreckage at Ground Zero. The tree was rehabilitated, growing to 30 feet tall, before on March 2010 it was uprooted in severe storms. It again survived and was replanted at the World Trade Center in December 2010. It now stands just to the side of the South Pool to represent survival and resilience. Eventually, when all the building is complete, the new World Trade Center site will include more than 400 swamp white oak trees and the Survivor Tree.
Together with the Survivor Tree the new buildings send a clear message to the world that life goes on and that the USA will not live in fear. When complete the site will have the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, and office and retail spaces. The dominant building will be the Freedom Tower, which when complete will be the tallest building in the United States. It is going up next to the North Pool. It dominates the skyline now so it is hard to imagine what it will be like when completed.
When it was time to leave the Memorial we decided to go and do a harbour cruise, while the Winklers went on a shopping expedition. Unfortunately, this was not as easy as it would have seemed. We walked back to the Subway only to discover that the station was closed. We walked to another station - it was closed. We walked to another station - it was closed. Station after station was closed or had no trains going Uptown. We began the long walk back towards Time Square. It was obvious that it was going to be too far for the boys so David flagged down a cab which took us to 42nd Street. Here we decided, given the weather and the time, to visit Madame Tussaud's as we had abandoned any thought of making the cruise.
Madame Tussaud's was excellent. David and I have been in London but it was many years ago. The boys have never seen anything like it. The museum is spread over a number of floors and included statues of movie stars, musicians, sports stars, politicians, and Royals. It also had sections celebrating all things New York. We had a lot of fun posing with many of the statues. Connor loved he basketball players but was especially over the moon to find that they had Wayne Gretzky.
At present they also have a Marvel Comic Superhero 4D movie experience that can be viewed. The boys loved posing with the various Avenger characters before the film. During the film itself we were immersed in the experience. We could feel each time one of the Avengers were attacked by a soldier of doom or when they attacked the enemy as our seats vibrated and moved. We got wet by Spiderman's web and poked in to back by an icicle. The boys loved sharing this time with Tony Stark, Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, and Spiderman. It was a lot of fun.
When all of the exhibits had been visited we left the Museum and made our way to a street vendor for a hot dog lunch. We ate our dogs while walking to FAO Schwarz. We were on a mission to get Monopoly New York for Connor and some Ninjago Lego for Ryan. Thankfully we were able to successfully complete our mission, and buy another luggage bag, before returning to our hotel for a break before heading out with the Winklers for dinner and a visit to the Top of The Rockefeller Centre.
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