Metropolitan Mädchen

As expected, Mädchen's schedule dictated that we didn't get to see and do many of the things we typically would have in the past. Instead, we got to see the city from her perspective.

She went to Times Square (and really didn't seem terribly impressed):



She loved riding on the subway (and standing on the platform and saying "bye-bye" to trains on other tracks as they pulled away):



She also loved riding in taxis (at least until we got caught in a sudden downpour and dove into a taxi, with the only problem being that Gretchen forgot that Mädchen was on her backpack and accidentally smacked her forehead into the door frame, leaving a nice little goose-egg, so that after that any time we would say "taxi" after that she would reflexively touch her head):



One of her most exciting moments was hanging out in a shoe store and running back and forth between the various floor-level mirrors to look at herself:



And the other highlight was the Central Park Zoo, where she made a new friend:



But more than anything, she didn't seem to care about looking at most of the animals...she just wanted to walk as purposefully as possible, anywhere she could:



Overall, she seemed to have a good impression of New York, and we don't think she'll object if we take her back (although to be perfectly honest, it would be a lot more fun if we could go back without her).