The Globetrotting Geek

Friday – Day 36

August 28, 2012

Today I finally saw it! The Book of Mormon!

After an early wake up at 6:30AM it was a quick breakfast followed by public transport to the Eugene O’Neil theater. By the time I got there at 9AM the standing line cue had already formed. What was lovely about the queue was that there was a real sense of community among the people standing there waiting for tickets as they were all the more dedicated people. When someone needed a bathroom or lunch break, the others would graciously hold their place in line. I chatted for a few hours with the two Canadians and one New Yorker next to me in line before heading off to the grocery store nearby to buy some sushi and the paper. The weekend edition of the New York Times was huge and left me with another few hours of reading material until the ticket lottery at 12PM.

Disappointingly I did not win one of the tickets available (they were front and centre) however on hour later, after a good deal more conversation, I finally reached the front of the standing room line and by 1:10PM I had a ticket and had purchased the sheet music to the book of Mormon. I then went for a quick-lunch and perused the Disney store, whiling away my final hour before the start of the show.

After that it was back to the theatre where I finally got in line to see the show!!

As I walked in, the usher gave me a run down of the procedure for those with standing room tickets, advising me that I was not to disturb those in front of me with 155$ tickets. My standing slot was right at the back of the theatre about twenty rows back, however, it was dead in the centre and provided me with an excellent view of the action.

The lights dimmed, the show started, and, I proceeded to have a most excellent two hours. The show was laugh-out-loud funny, with a smashing score and an excellent book. If you are in New York ever, I give it my full most recommendation.

I arrived home just in time for Shabbat with the family and, settled down for a quiet night in.

New York – Thursday – Day 35

August 27, 2012

Thursday morning and it was time to make my way off again, this time from Cos Cob, CT to New York, New York! After packing my bags again, Gus drove me to the center of town. There I bought a prepaid AT&T sim card after being told that without a social security number I was ineligible for a plan. Following that a quick jaunt to the train station and I was on my way again, catching an MTA local line from Greenwich station to Grand Central.

I arrived at Grand Central Station with all my bags and was thoroughly not in the mood for dragging them around for the entire day till my cousins arrived home.

Thus, I dragged them a few blocks down to Schwartz Travel Services, where they provided a baggage watch service for 5$ a day. With my bags gone I headed a walking down. The first major landmark to catch my eye was the New York public library.

By this time the blisters on my feet were starting to play up, but I was not about to let that stop me from exploring the city on foot. Another few blocks and I was at Times Square, taking the mandatory tourist photo.

From there I walked to the PNC bank at Penn Station, in order to open up an account for the time in the states. There I met Jessica, a bank officer from the Dominican Republic who seemed about ten years older than me and was most friendly. We chatted for a while as she opened the account and I left with a feeling of satisfaction. Following that it was off to AMC Empire Cinemas on 42nd Street, right next to times square. I wished to go see Batman but the next screening was an hour away. So, to kill time I went into the AT&T store to see if someone there would be able to put me on contract rather than prepaid. After a good 25 minute wait I was helped by a lovely guy by the name of Ulysses, who informed me that though I had no SSN, if I put down a large deposit they could arrange a contract. It was thus that I received a brand new Samsung Galaxy SIII phone in return for my commitment to the firm.

At this point I decided to walk to the Eugene O’Neil theatre where the book of Mormon was playing to try and enter a lottery for cheap seats and failing that to join the standing room line. When I arrived I was informed I had just missed the lottery however, the standing room line wasn’t too large so I joined it, having been informed there were between twenty and twenty eight tickets available every day.

After two hours of standing, the queue began moving and I eagerly awaited my turn in line. Finally, I reached the front of the line but was then informed that the last ticket had just been sold. Desperate for a ticket I entered the cancellations line, a last bet where the house manager could sell tickets reserved for celebrities if they didn’t show. Sixth in line, I was hopeful that I might get in, however one hour later, again at the front of the line, the music started and the box office closed.

I then returned to Schwartz’s travel to pick up my bags and caught the subway to get to 55 South End St where my cousins lived. Guided by my phone however, I unfortunately hadn’t noticed that their address was in fact 55 EAST End St and found myself at the opposite end of the city. With all my bags, and the sky dark at 9PM I decided to catch my first cab of the entire trip and soon was safely at Yoni and Rivki Slonim’s. After a quick goodnight to the girls and a slice of pizza, I too was fast asleep.

Tuesday/Wednesday – Day 33/34

August 26, 2012

Unfortunately there are no photos from the next few days so bear with till this blog becomes all colourful again!

Having reserved a seat on the six hour train from Mannheim to Hamburg, I was fairly confident that this time I would receive a seat. Littkle did I know that my train would be almost empty and thus I had an entire private cabin to myself. For the next six hours I drifted in and out of sleep, waking as the conductor came to check my ticket a few times.

Finally, at 1:37AM I arrived at Hamburg Hbf, an almost deserted station at that hour, with many shady types hanging around. My next task was to find the bus stop to the airport, which after about twenty minutes of walking round trying to keep safe I eventually found albeit, populated by a few drunks and some other individuals which to save on the description, I’ll just say I wouldn’t wish to meet on a regular basis.

After a half hour wait, the bus arrived and I nervously boarded with all my bags, arriving after a further twenty minutes to a shuttered Hamburg International Airport. I waited in a small area the security guard opened inside the arrival lounge and cleaned myself up a bit, taking all my bags into the bathroom with me for a shave and a semi-shower with the tap water. I read through “The Litigators”, the new John Grisham book, and spent time observing the other sorry souls surrounding me. No doubt they, unlike me, were catching the first plane of the morning, Airberlin to Berlin. Despite the moaning tone of this post, I quite enjoyed watching the airport go from silent, to bustling and full, as security guards opened up areas, activated escalators and the other staff wandered in, bleary eyed to greet each other in the morn.

I was first in line for my IcelandAir flight, on which no food was served. The flight itself was fine, but nothing special. However, the airplane itself was replete with Icelandic words covering it, and the interior was themed in much the same way. The music during boarding was Sigur Ros, a well known Icelandic band and though I am generally against bottled water, the water from the fjords provided tasted fresh and delicious.

My time after landing in Iceland was all too short! Unfortunately due to my extended stay in Europe and Israel, I had only the time for a transfer. Though I did not see the Fjords, I can comment on the airport shopping: fish and ice-gear. I sampled some of the wild Icelandic smoked salmon and can say that it was top notch. Adding Iceland on the todo list for later.

The flight to the USA was just about the same as the flight from Hamburg, and passed without event. Passport control and customs in the US were not at all a fuss and too, are not worthy of being described in print.

Exiting into the arrivals hall I saw one Samuel ‘Gus’ Ruchman waiting for me with open arms. A very close friend from ISSI who due to his volunteer efforts in Africa and busy school schedule I had found it hard to keep in contact with. This however was no barrier to our friendship and the next few days with him proved that though friends may not see each other for years at a time, it is possible to retain a strong relationship. His parents generously took me in, and after a lovely home cooked meal and a walk around the local nature reserve (I saw a racoon!), jet-lag took me and I was fast asleep.

The next day was spent hanging out and having a good dose of guy time, something I had been sorely lacking in a while, and though our choice of movie for Wednesday evening (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), isn’t exactly known to be the favorite of most guys, we enjoyed it thoroughly. Other hours were spent discussing musical composition and I had the opportunity to play on his grand piano, a beautiful specimen. I felt like a missing part of me had been filled, as though I have many dear and close friends at home, Gus fills a different part as he and I connect on a number of levels, from our involvement in Jewish life, to our love for musicals and political discussion. I was sorry to leave him on Thursday to give him time to prepare for his return to Harvard.