Just a Teaser

Here it is folks!  What you’ve all been waiting for!  My inaugural post from Europe!  (Germany in fact at present.)  However I have decided to start my travels with the advent of my touristing this summer and as the family and I spent Sunday in NYC at Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty I thought –it makes this trip sort of a pilgrimage in reverse.  SO! Alas, you must suffer to read about our family vacation first before you get to the good stuff.

June 13^th, 2011: 10:51am (EST)

After attending our cousin’s wedding Saturday afternoon we departed from Connecticut at 7:30 to make our 10am tickets for the ferry to Ellis Island.  The remains of the train station at Liberty Park in New Jersey are quite interesting.  The trains were all outside, in rows, under a large pavilion, and the iron gate-work holds signs with the name of each train.  Names that inspire romance like “Queen of the Valley”.  
The inside of the station consists mainly of a large tiled hall with columns all around supporting an upper floor.  On either side of the hall there are offices and ticket windows.   In fact it reminded me of the train station in Malmö. 
There were displays set in the hall which described the history and transformation of Communipaw Cove into Liberty Park.

On the ferry ride over we of course took the obligatory family photos in front of hazy NY landmarks in the distance that are barely visible because of the foggy day, which was in fact quite chilly, especially after the previous week in Virginia where the temperatures resided in the upper nineties.

Ellis Island itself was predictably crowded with tourists, and after a brief trip to the gift shop to obtain the necessary materials, we found our way out to the memorial wall where the children made rubbings of their great grandfather’s and their great uncle’s names.  On our way back inside from the wall we passed under a great many strings strung between the building and lampposts over the terrace outside the cafeteria.  While wondering what those strings could possibly be for we watched as an errant seagull attempted to fly down towards the terrace and became tangled in the lightweight strings.  Not to worry, though, there were several people who untangled the seagull and returned him to flight.

Back inside we joined approximately 150 other people, and one loquacious baby, in an auditorium with exactly 140 seats (as we were informed by the very cheery park marshal).  There we watched a movie lasting exactly 28 minutes (again as we were informed by the park ranger) about the experiences of immigrants as they came through Ellis Island.  The film was called “Island of Hope, Island of Tears.

We followed the film up with lunch, and then upstairs to the great hall of the building, which was where people were received and processed.  The hall wasn’t really anything special, what was more interesting were the rooms in and around it where people were tested for infectious diseases and given mental testing.  In several of the upstairs rooms were displays about the journey of the immigrants.  It was quite striking to look at all of the photographs.  Two things I remember in particular were the photos of the pogroms in Russia (mostly because I had to ask what a pogrom was) and the postcards with pictures of the passenger ships on them.  I’m not quite sure why I remember the post cards specifically, except that Paula and I spent some time looking at them.  There were also several posters in many languages warning young female immigrants to be sure of the moral character of a job before they accepted a position.  What was perhaps most interesting is that those posters were produced and posted in immigrants home countries in Europe.  I think it would be quite remarkable today if a country which one planned to leave was so concerned about the welfare of its citizens upon their arrival in a new country.  But I know similar problems still exist, not so much in Western Europe, but in eastern Europe, the far east, and the pacific islands.  I suppose human trafficking was always a concern. 

There was also an interesting exhibit on immigration into Galveston, Texas.  Apparently immigration in Galveston was much more difficult to pass through, especially if one was Jewish.  It seems the immigration officials in Texas weren’t nearly so accepting as those in New York, again, I suppose some things don’t change.

Our next stop of the day was the statue of liberty.  Tickets to the crown were sold out until November, but mom did manage to score some tickets to the pedestal, which is almost as big as the lady herself.  By this time I was dying of exhaustion, though I’m not particularly sure why.  In any case it meant that I viewed the exhibit about the statue of liberty with much less scrutiny than those I had found at Ellis island.  Once we were done with the exhibit we carried on to the hundred and something odd steps (if you want the exact number you’ll have to ask one of the children) to the top of the pedestal.  At the top I found a lovely park ranger who gave me the “five minute tour of the bay”.  He pointed out Jersey city behind us, Manhattan across from us and then Brooklyn next to that.   Jason and I then took several pictures as we attempted to get one where his hair didn’t look like the flying nun, and his eyes were open.  Coming down from the top of the pedestal we wandered around its base and read the many historical plaques. 

On our return to Liberty Park from the statue of Liberty I remarked to dad that Lady Liberty really isn’t so big after all.  His reply was that I would look a lot bigger if I constantly stood on a pedestal too – and suggested that perhaps it was an approach I should try.

I apologize for the length of this post – but it’s the end of my American adventures.  Check back soon for more!