Today we went back into Brooklyn. We have started to like this borough a lot, it seems to have a lot going for it. We have booked ourselves into a 2 hour trolley tour of Green-Wood Cemetary for 1pm. In other words, we have time in the morning beforehand and Chris, our host in Chinatown, suggested that Prospect Park may be something that we would like to see. It is also very close to the cemetary.
So, we take the subway from East Broadway to Fort Hamilton Parkway station and find a coffee shop called Brooklyn Commune as soon as we are on the street. Need!
Prospect Park is only a few small blocks away by walking along Greenwood Avenue and 5 minutes or so after we finished our cuppas, we are there. Discover!
Prospect Park was designed by the same guy who did Central Park so there are some common elements, including a few lakes, nice bridges and a boat house for hiring paddle boats in the summer.
Here is a view of one of the lakes. If you squint you might notice the terrapins on the log sticking out of the water.
As you can see below the Drummers Grove space can hold quite a lot of drummers. Would be great to see and hear a whole bunch of them go for it, sort of "The Visitor" style if you've seen that movie.
There are major works underway in the park and this lovely lakeside area was inaccessible as it was being renovated. Looks nearly done and great. It's called Concert Grove.
Which explains why we saw Beethoven this way... a trim would not have been out of place. This bust and monument, together with one of Mozart and a few others lesser known were donated by a group of German singers in the late 1800s.
We head uphill... Brooklyn's definitely not flat. The stairs need to realignment too. The girl here however is doing just fine.
There are some quite wild parts to Prospect Park. This picture could have been from anywhere and it certainly felt that way.
Then you come across a lovely feature like this and realise how well parks are done in New York. We've visited so many parks that we like. Whilst here, we got chatting to a fisherman on the other side on the creek who was aiming to catch some Bass or Catfish. All we saw were serious sized carp but we are sure he's right.
We come to the boathouse area and it all looks very nice but very locked up. We are not sure when it will open but it seems that most beaches and summer activities open on Memorial Day, which is next Monday 27 May (always on the last Monday of May).
We stumbled onto a large meadow full of school kids playing and doing activities. We stopped for a break and thought the naming of this business was well suited to the work of fixed park land equipment, "Dr Playground" if you can't read it.
We felt that we had to leave the park by about 11.45am to allow us time for lunch and to wander down to Green-Wood Cemetery. This is one of the entrances to the park called the "West Drive" where they were hosting an organic farmers market just inside.
In this part of Brooklyn it does not take much effort to find somewhere to eat, and although we had vowed "no Chinese outside Chinatown" we were tempted by $5.95 lunch deal including a can of drink.
Typical Chinese advertising behind Di reminds us of a certain favourite Chinese restaurant in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains (Three Sisters anyone?)
Ready to eat... Unfortunately we were again reminded of the old adage that you get what you pay for. The food wasn't very good for either of us despite going for old Chinese basics. Oh well...
We then wander northwest on 16th Street through a Brooklyn area that we believe is called Park Slope, highlighted how quickly architechture can change on Brooklyn streets.
First it was like what we had seen in Brooklyn Heights.
Then a similar style but with siding not brick...
Closer to the Green-Wood Cemetery on 7th Avenue there were these colourful examples, which we thought were the most attractive.
Even the street art varies and is interesting. This is 5th Avenue. In Brooklyn still that is.
This mural is not your normal suburban display, but looked very interesting.
A great variety of food types - Der Kommissar specializes in German Wurst and beer. How could you go wrong?
We get to the main entrance of Green-Wood Cemetery around 12.45pm with 15 minutes to spare.
These are the main entrance gates into Green-Wood. Stunning stone work, hand carved. What's interesting is that some Monk Parrots have made the main spire their home so the edges at the top are stuffed with twigs, hanging out over the edges and clearly visible from the ground.
Our trolley was ready and waiting. We chose the open sided caboose (the second carriage).
We got on early to get prime seats. It was a nearly full tour, including 25 students from FDR High School in New Jersey. They sat in the front carriage (whew).
Hans spots this marker shortly after we take off...What the...? Is Volvo buried here too...?
The Battle of Brooklyn during the American Civil War took place here. They are still digging up and identifying dead soldiers from the grounds. This area, called Battle Hill, is a monument to ALL who fought and died in the civil war.
A tasteful monument and definitely on a hill, in fact the highest point in Brooklyn means that on a clear day, you get sweeping views all over Brooklyn.
Minerva is an "Altar to Liberty".
What you can faintly see through the fog is that Minerva is waving to the Statue of Liberty. Look just under her upper arm.
Well - what can we say - Di accidentally volunteered to talk to a reporter about her thoughts on Green-Wood Cemetery. The reporter was asking if there were any overseas visitors in the group. Di immediately raised her hand and said yes. This is the second time that Di is being interviewed on TV since our landing in USA and definitely not intended (or so she says..., Hans remark). What could Di say after being here for only 20 minutes or so? She made it up! We had heard this cemetery was designed with Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris as a role model. Ok, let's talk about that...we've been there.
Still going...
Straining for ideas... Went on far too long for Di's liking.
The piece, plus lots of other footage the lady took, was for Brooklyn local news on a piece for Green-Wood Cemetary's 175 year anniversary, but as we have no TV we can't check out whether Di would be included in the final cut. Di insists she will have been edited out, Hans thinks that she would be included.
Find the piece on the Green-Wood Cemetary's 175 year anniversary date stamped 22 May
Remember our tour guide is a singer? Well we all clicked our fingers and she sung the Jets song from West Side Story followed by some other song that we didn't recognize.
Back on the trolley. Di is early to get on to ensure we get our previous good seats.
Onto a Civil War section of Green-Wood Cemetary. The soldiers were not given very much from their government at the time, but they were given a headstone should that be required.
Many (most? all?) battles during the American Civil War were started with the sound of drum rolls from little drummer boys. This grave is for a 12 year old drummer boy who accidentally got killed by one of his own.
Henry Bergh founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).
This memorial and plaque are in front of Henry Bergh's tomb.
The people buried underground here were provided with openings and windows above them should...they awake (everyone was worried about being buried alive).
The archangel of death makes a dramatic topping for this tomb...
This lady apparently got killed on her wedding day...
William Tweed, known as Boss Tweed, was a corrupt New York City and New York State politician who stole huge amounts from the taxpayers. In his final wish, he wanted to be buried here, and they allowed him to be.
The Green-Wood Cemetary's chapel. As you can see, Green-Wood Cemetary celebrates its 175 years as a cemetary this year.
The back of the entrance to Green-Wood Cemetary as say goodbye and wander out to 5th Avenue.
More platform photography. A real time camera pointing to us and beaming the picture onto this monitor. Things that you can do with a camera...
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