Hoboken, New Jersey

We saw most of the “must-see” NYC sights during our last trip here in 2011 so this time we are not rushing madly about to fit everything in. With that in mind, we decided to spend today in New Jersey. A conversation with the RV host sent us to the Brownstone Diner and Pancake Factory. Of course we ordered pancakes and they were probably the fluffiest pancakes I’ve ever had. They came with a side of bacon, eggs and sausage. This sausage was not the standard breakfast sausage I am used to - this was more like a kielbasa sausage. 

The food was all really good. It was 10 am and the place was packed. The staff all spoke as if English was their second language - we thought they sounded Croation but since then I learned that this a Greek family business. This place lives up to the “factory” part of their name in some respects - the hostess and our waitress were short on personality. But the food was good and plentiful.

The Light Rail was just a block from the restaurant so we got tickets and took it to Hoboken. The Hoboken Light Rail station is right next to the train station, and the train station, built in 1907, is worth the trip. It's a work of art. The stained glasswork over the Ticket counters and in the ceiling is by Tiffany and the staircase is cast-iron and marble. The details in the ceiling are amazing.

Next to the station is a long waterfront park with great views of NYC. But it was still cold so we got off the waterfront. Carlo’s Bake Shop of "Cake Boss" fame is in Hoboken so we went to see it. It’s a small, cute shop and we considered going in. But there was a group of people standing outside, not lined up at the door, just standing around. So I asked if they were in line to get into the bakery. The guy said that this was the line of people who had gotten tickets to get into the bakery, but there was another, bigger line across the street to get tickets. The average wait was about 2 hours. To get into a bakery. We passed.

So we walked around Hoboken a bit more. It’s a pretty town and they have a lot of unique building that are being kept in good condition.

Back at the waterfront we were admiring the architecture, including part of the station that looks like it's detailed in copper.

I was wondering if all that green could really be copper, and then we noticed the building next to it. It’s almost completely covered in copper that has been recently cleaned.