Spring is in the air and I think Spring is the best time to visit Boston. At the end of last March I made a short trip to Boston and enjoyed its culture and history. Boston is one of the oldest cities in the U.S, which was founded in 1630 and today is the 21st largest city in the U.S with the population of 609,690.
I went to Boston by train from New York, it was comfortable and I liked to watch the view along the trip. I got off at South Station and took subway to reach my hotel which was near the Charles River. This is the view of Charles River from my hotel room.
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| Charles River |
I started the first day walking to Massachusetts State House,which was completed in 1798 and impressive with its golden dome. You have to call in advance for free tours if you want to see the inside of the building. After visiting The State House I walked to the Boston Common which is the oldest public park in America. This place is both relaxing and vivid with running squirrels, concerts and perfomances. There is a visitor center inside the park, I stopped by to get a Freedom Trial Map. Freedom Trial is a historic path that helps you to discover 16 historic sites by walking on it. Also you can walk with a costumed guide and an audio guide. Because Boston is a pedestrian friendly city I prefered to walk by my self and saw all the landmarks.
Then I headed to The Commonwealth Avenue, this avenue was like a postcard with blooming magnolias. Newbury Street is parallel to The Commonwealth Avenue so my next stop was Newbury Street which is famous for chic shops and galleries.
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| Newbury Street |
After I spent some time exploring this cool street, I found a chic a cafe to have dinner and it was the end of day one in Boston. On the second day I took the red line and got off at Harvard Square. This area has a charming atmosphere with bookstores and cafes. First, I visited Harvard University and joined a free tour that lasted an hour and learned about the history of The University. After Harvard I walked to MIT and spent a bit of time there too.
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| Harvard University |
The last neighborhood I visited was the Charlestown, which is a very important place for American Revolutionary War. I reached here from downtown, walking through Charlestown Bridge, there are lots of cute cafes, houses and buildings and one of them was the Bunker Hill Barber Shop.
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| Bunker Hill Barber Shop |
Bunker Hill is very important for American Revolutionary War, because first battle between British Army and Colonists fought here in 1775. After visiting Bunker Hill Monument, I headed to the USS Constitution, which is the world's oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat. You can also visit USS Constitution Museum that is very close to the USS Constitution.
If you enjoy to spend time visiting historic landmarks, walking on cobblestone streets and red brick sidewalks like me, Boston will be a satisfying destination.
Boston'da Gezilecek Gorulecekler
Bahar kapida ve bence Boston'u ziyaret etmek icin en guzel zaman bahar aylari. Gecen Mart'in sonunda Boston'a kisa bir seyahat yapmis ve sehrin kulturu ve tarihi yapisini cok sevmistim. 1630 yilinda kurulmus olan bu sehir Amerika'nin en eski sehirlerinden biri olup bugun 609,690 nufusuyla Amerika'nin 21. buyuk sehridir.
New York'ta yasadigim icin Boston'a trenle gitmeyi tercih ettim, konforlu bir trende yol boyunca manzara seyrederek yolculuk yapmak keyifliydi. Son durak olan South Station'da indikten sonra metroya binerek kolayca Charles Nehri kiyisindaki otelime ulastim. Asagida, kaldigim odadan Charles Nehri manzarasi.
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| Charles River |
Ilk gunume Massachusetts State House'i ziyaret ederek basladim. 1798 yilinda tamamlanan ve altinla kapli kubbesi ile ilgi ceken bu bina bugun yonetim binasi olarak kullanilmakta. Onceden rezervasyon yaptirarak ucretsiz turlar ile binanin icerisini de gezebilirsiniz. State House'dan sonra Boston Common'i yani Amerika'nin en eski halka acik parkini yuruyerek gezdim. Burasinin hem insani dinlendiren bir atmosferi hem de kosan sincaplari, konser ve performanslariyla canli bir yapisi var. Parkin icerisindeki danisma burosundan Freedom Trial haritasini aldiktan sonra yuruyuse koyuldum. Freedom Trial, iki tane kirmizi tuglanin yanyana Boston sokaklarina dosenmesiyle olusturulmus bir yol. Bu yolu tamamlayarak harita uzerindeki 16 tane tarihi yapiyi kendi basiniza gorebileceginiz gibi tarihi kostum icindeki bir rehber ile birlikte de gezebilirsiniz.
Freedom Trial'in kuzey kismi disindaki duraklari bitirdikten sonra Commonwealth Caddesi'ne geldim. Cadde boyunca pembe beyaz acmis olan manolya agaclari ve muhtesem evleri ile bu cadde tam bir kartpostal gibiydi. Buradan sonra ise Commonwealth'e paralel olan Newbury Sokagi'na gectim, burasi ise sik cafeleri, butikleri ve galerileri ile unlu bir sokak. Burada uzunca bir sure yuruyup dukkanlari kesfettikten sonra, gunu bir restoranda oturup aksam yemegi yiyerek tamamlamis oldum.
Ikinci gune ise metronun kirmizi hattina binip Harvard'a giderek basladim. Harvard Meydan'i kitapcilari, sevimli kafeleri ile etkileyici bir yer. Etrafta biraz dolastiktan sonra Harvard Universitesi'ne dogru yurumeye basladim, burada Universiteyi tanitan ve bir saat suren bir tur oldugunu gorunce tura katilarak hem Universite ve cevresini gezdim hem de tarihi hakkinda bilgi sahibi oldum. Harvard sonrasi hemen yanindaki MIT'yi de gezerek universiteler turunu tamamlamis oldum.
Boston'da son gezdigim bolge Charlestown oldu, burasi Amerikalilarin Ingiliz Imparatorlugu'na karsi verdigi savasta tarihi bir oneme sahip. Charlestown'a, Charlestown Bridge uzerinden yuruyerek gecerek vardim. Yol uzerindeki tarihi yapilarin mimarisi gorulmeye deger, asagidaki berber dukkani gibi bir cok kucuk dukkan var.
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| Bunker Hill Barber Shop |
Burada, Bunker Hill Abidesi'nin bulundugu tepede, 1775 yilinda, Ingiliz askerleri ve Amerikalilar arasinda ilk catisma yasandigindan tarihi onemi buyuk. Bunker Hill Abidesi'nden sonra ise yine yuruyerek USS Constitution Muzesinin bulundugu alana geldim. USS Constitution, Dunya'nin yuzer durumda olan en eski deniz gemisi. Yine bu gemi bagimsizlik mucadelesinde kullanildigi icin onemi buyuk.
Siz de benim gibi tarihi binalari gormek ve kirmizi tugla ile kapli kaldirimlarda yurumekten hoslaniyorsaniz, Boston cok tatmin edici bir sehir olacaktir.
